Hi, Thank you very much for this review. I have a Yamaha RN803 amp in which i am streaming High res music through airplay. It has a ESS DAC built in. It does not have any USB input however. If I buy this SMSL and connect my macbook to it via USB and the optical output to my Yamaha, do you think I would get better sound? I found that airplay does not support High res audio. Looking forward to your reply.
Hi. Actually No. The Optical on the SMSL is an Input, not an output. You would want to connect your MacBook to SMSL via USB, then the SMSL to your Yamaha via RCA cables into one of the inputs. Then you will hear the DAC in the SMSL. 👍
Yeah, the sound demo is only to show there are frequency domain differences. You can't really hear the imaging or soundstage differences. You have to hear it in person to hear all the differences. But the sound demos are for people who want to know if there are audible differences, not to hear which is "better". Again, Thanks for watching!! 👍
Wil you do a D90 III review? It would be great, and put a sound demo to the end of the video is a good idea too. I think you should do that in every review. THX! :)
Hi does the smsl do100 pro automatically switch between different inputs depending on what is playing ( HDMI or USB)? or do you still ave to switch the inputs manually in the menu?
For most music I challenge anyone to be able to blindly hear a difference in high res and standard cd quality and be able to tell which is which, for most, wouldn't be able to hear a difference from an mp3 to cd quality or better.
I completely agree. But I'd also add, most people don't own the kind of equipment that enables you to hear that difference. The difference in CD to High Res is definitely is more difficult to Hear that mp3 to CD though. On my system it's pretty obvious. I don't do a blind test, but I ask friends all the time to send a Spotify connect stream to my streamer, then I send a Tidal connect stream and simply ask them if they hear a difference. Most people do. Only a few have said it sounds the same. Thanks for watching Eric. I appreciate your feedback. 👍
@@RickRuizAudio Another point I would suggest to consider is that comparing tracks from different streaming platforms more than likely will have a somewhat noticeable sound difference depending on what's happening on their backend. I recall when Apple music launched with lossless and hi-res lossless streaming, some came to the conclusion that Apple sounded better to their ears, but that there may have been some sweetening of the audio either in the Apple music mastering process or their backend and that it allso might be a db or so louder which trick the ear into thinking it was better. A better comparison might be two tracks of known origin and differing qualities.
@@ericjohnson829 for sure. Great point. What about this, I'll Rip some CD tracks to FLAC with EAC then encode them to MP3 with a basic LAME encoder at 320kbps CBR? Then I can ask friends what they think without saying which is which? It's a work in progress but I appreciate the feedback again Eric. 👍
@@RickRuizAudio There's a few online tests that mostly check to see if you can hear audio file compression, NPR hosted one called "How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality" and ABX DIgital Feed has one as well where you have to choose between files multiple times, embarassing to say it's hard and I failed. I worked in high level production and mastering for many years and I'm now convinced my ears can't really discern as much as I would have thought.
@@ericjohnson829 I remember that tidal had one way back. I've been using Tidal since day one . I moved from Rhapsody. And back then I had tried their test and failed as well. But I didn't have anything like the system I do now. I'll Google the NPR one 👍 Thanks again.
Thanks, I'll try to add demos on part 2 videos. If I add to the main review, I can't get monetized for that video and I'm hoping I will soon so I can get more products to review 👍
I personally don't like the sound of the K11. To me it sounds dull and flat. But I'm interested in testing out the new K11 R2R. I'll let you know when I do!
Hi, Thank you very much for this review. I have a Yamaha RN803 amp in which i am streaming High res music through airplay. It has a ESS DAC built in. It does not have any USB input however. If I buy this SMSL and connect my macbook to it via USB and the optical output to my Yamaha, do you think I would get better sound? I found that airplay does not support High res audio. Looking forward to your reply.
Hi. Actually No. The Optical on the SMSL is an Input, not an output. You would want to connect your MacBook to SMSL via USB, then the SMSL to your Yamaha via RCA cables into one of the inputs. Then you will hear the DAC in the SMSL. 👍
As per ur choice which one is better sir smpl do100 or topping d50s
DO100
In the sound demo I hardly hear any differences. There is but very subtle... BTW thanks for the review!
Yeah, the sound demo is only to show there are frequency domain differences. You can't really hear the imaging or soundstage differences. You have to hear it in person to hear all the differences. But the sound demos are for people who want to know if there are audible differences, not to hear which is "better". Again, Thanks for watching!! 👍
You can completely shut up the display through the remote control.
Thanks John! I missed it! I appreciate it 👍
How to use HDMI??????????
Just plug HDMI cable to HDMI port on TV that says HDMI ARC. Will not work on every input. Only on ARC input.
Wil you do a D90 III review? It would be great, and put a sound demo to the end of the video is a good idea too. I think you should do that in every review. THX! :)
Yes, I'm filming D90iii Sabre, this evening! Will post in the next few days. Thanks for watching!
@@RickRuizAudio THX! I'm waiting for that! :)
Hi does the smsl do100 pro automatically switch between different inputs depending on what is playing ( HDMI or USB)? or do you still ave to switch the inputs manually in the menu?
Hey Carl, you have to change input yourself.
For most music I challenge anyone to be able to blindly hear a difference in high res and standard cd quality and be able to tell which is which, for most, wouldn't be able to hear a difference from an mp3 to cd quality or better.
I completely agree. But I'd also add, most people don't own the kind of equipment that enables you to hear that difference. The difference in CD to High Res is definitely is more difficult to Hear that mp3 to CD though. On my system it's pretty obvious. I don't do a blind test, but I ask friends all the time to send a Spotify connect stream to my streamer, then I send a Tidal connect stream and simply ask them if they hear a difference. Most people do. Only a few have said it sounds the same. Thanks for watching Eric. I appreciate your feedback. 👍
@@RickRuizAudio Another point I would suggest to consider is that comparing tracks from different streaming platforms more than likely will have a somewhat noticeable sound difference depending on what's happening on their backend. I recall when Apple music launched with lossless and hi-res lossless streaming, some came to the conclusion that Apple sounded better to their ears, but that there may have been some sweetening of the audio either in the Apple music mastering process or their backend and that it allso might be a db or so louder which trick the ear into thinking it was better. A better comparison might be two tracks of known origin and differing qualities.
@@ericjohnson829 for sure. Great point. What about this, I'll Rip some CD tracks to FLAC with EAC then encode them to MP3 with a basic LAME encoder at 320kbps CBR? Then I can ask friends what they think without saying which is which? It's a work in progress but I appreciate the feedback again Eric. 👍
@@RickRuizAudio There's a few online tests that mostly check to see if you can hear audio file compression, NPR hosted one called "How Well Can You Hear Audio Quality" and ABX DIgital Feed has one as well where you have to choose between files multiple times, embarassing to say it's hard and I failed. I worked in high level production and mastering for many years and I'm now convinced my ears can't really discern as much as I would have thought.
@@ericjohnson829 I remember that tidal had one way back. I've been using Tidal since day one . I moved from Rhapsody. And back then I had tried their test and failed as well. But I didn't have anything like the system I do now. I'll Google the NPR one 👍 Thanks again.
Excellent test. Let the music play a little longer and put a second track, too.
Thanks, I'll try to add demos on part 2 videos. If I add to the main review, I can't get monetized for that video and I'm hoping I will soon so I can get more products to review 👍
@@RickRuizAudio you have one of the best channels!!!! Great work. Keep it up. Really awesome.
Is this better than the Fiio K11?
I personally don't like the sound of the K11. To me it sounds dull and flat. But I'm interested in testing out the new K11 R2R. I'll let you know when I do!
will this work with my ksc75
No, you would need a headphone amp or a DAC with a headphone input for that.