Auins Hifiman Lin.Lin.Lin SMSL DS200 DAC Headphone AMP Review – Cirrus Logic For Modern Audio
SMSL DS200 is a $109 USD Desktop DAC and Headphone AMP, with a Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC at the heart, and a uniquely modern and progressive design to bring the music to the party. Today we review DS200 and also briefly compare it to the market.
Introduction
SMSL has designed many DACs and headphone AMPs over the years, but DS200 is the first one that looks revolutionary, and I mean by design. Most of them are usually a re-design and simplification of the classic hifi DAC AMP, but DS200 has bold, orange, silver, black accents, a unique volume meter, and two headphone outputs, it is the most modern product that the company produced to date. Auins Hifiman is the shop that provided us with the review sample, it is a new and upcoming chifi sales channel, making their products available on Amazon and Aliexpress, so that you can have peace of mind when ordering.
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Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/47L6z2U
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oC0y1C7
Build Quality – Design
SMSL DS200 comes with a new tempered glass panel, offering a more modern design but with strong functionality. At the core, SMSL used a Cirrus Logic CS43131 DAC, single DAC approach, with SMOS XU-316 USB DAC support, allowing it to decide signals as high as 32 bit / 768 kHz, and DSD256. It also has MQA support for MQA-CD, and has both a 3.5mm single ended and a 4.4mm balanced headphone output.
With a casing made of aluminum, it does not feel cheap and instead it feels quite well made, and it has Bluetooth 5.1 digital support too, with an external antenna, with SBC and AAC support. It works on Windows, iOS, Android and Linux, and it has a weight of 346 grams.
Measurements for geeky audio data make it look flat, and it is available in a single color, but it also has two lights to show it is working, one in the upper left corner as you look at it, and one above the headphone outputs. A very small light climbs on an oblique path to show the input and you can use it via Optical, Coaxial, Bt or USB.
USB DAC – Subjective Usage
There is no USB DAC delay, but if you restart DS200, you have to be sure the little light is set on USB or the input you want to use. Controlling the volume with the little lateral slider is not the most ergonomic thing, as you cannot adjust things too smoothly or with strong granularity, but it works well enough for me.
It looks really sharp and nice, is tiny, does not get hot, and is a wonderful DAC AMP from a structural point.
Sound Quality
Pairings – I have paired the tiny SMSL DS200 with a selection of earphones and headphones including KBEar Cepheus, Crosszone CZ-10 Enhanced, NFAudio NE4, NfAudio NA2+, Rose Technics QT-X, Palma DHS-1, Audeze MM-100, HIFIMAN Shangri-La Electrostatic System, FiiO FT7, ZiiGaat Luna, Erzetich Thalia, Erzetich Mania 2024, Moritz Audio Enzo, HIFIMAN Susvara Unveiled, Dunu Vulkan 2, Sivga Peng, HarmonicDyne Baroque, Mrotiz Dragon, Sivga AIVA 2, Soundz Flame, YanYin Canon, and RAPTGO LEAF D01.
It has about enough power for easy to drive planar headphones like HIFMAN Arya Organic and Ananda Nano, or Arya Unveiled, but it is not quite a powerhouse and will struggle with Susvara Unveiled. For IEMS, the noise is minimal and not audible usually.
Overall Signature – SMSL DS200 sounds rather flat and neutral, brings me back to the usual SMSL house signature, a bit mid centric, not very warm nor bright. It has a mostly wide, relaxed sound, expands well in the lateral plane, has a good resolution and clarity, but is a laid-back, smooth sound without a strong impact, bass depth or treble sparkle. For a non-offensive, smooth, safe signature, it is great.
Dynamic Range And Textures – Typical for a DAC / Headphone AMP with a relaxed sonic signature, SMSL DS200 has a rather flat dynamic range, and a relaxed, smooth texture, it is great for listening to relaxed and laid-back music, and not intentionally designed for rock and metal, Dubstep, Electronic or aggressive music in general. DS-200 is quite good at rounding hard edges, taking away the fatigue and harshness from music and for creating what could be considered a really pleasing and musical sound.
Loudness Saturation Gradient – SMSL DS 200 has a good loudness saturation gradient, it has good low and high volume performance, has good control at almost 100%, but volume control is not very precise or granular, as the volume slider is quite hard to adjust smoothly. High Gain and Low Gain act a bit more as volume gains, it has a similar voltage power saturation gradient with both, and you can switch between line out and headphone output, they do not work at the same time.
Soundstage – The flatter dynamic range and safe sound is projected wide in the lateral plane, with a limited depth. This is because the sound is not very warm, so it does not produce a complex layering, but it does produce a clean imaging and directionality for the sound. DS200 is quite good at bringing voices up close, but this is true for most music as the tuning feels a bit mid centric, usually the lead singer’s voice and lead instrument are in your face, with the background instrument content taking a second place.
Value and Conclusion
For the mere price of 109 USD, SMSL DS200 is quite nice, looks modern, and has a strong sonic performance, has a good resolution, and no software issues, although it does have some kinks to iron out. You can grab a couple of other DACs with a similar sound from SMSL, the highlight for DS200 being the unusual design which will be its main selling point.
At the end of the day, if you’re looking for music and fun, SMSL DS200 is not exceptional but it is laid-back, smooth and relaxed, has a strong resolution and can drive most headphones, for a very low price, and it is a good product to check out from Auins Hifiman and although I don’t quite yet know how or why it has the lin.lin.lin in the official web page of SMSL, I can share with you that you’ll be happy if using DS200.
PROs
- Modern, Edgy, Techy design
- RCA line out at the back
- Low price
- Balanced headphone output in the 4.4mm format
- Can drive most headphones
- Reasonably low noise
- Laid-back, safe signature with a relaxed sound
- Smooth and clean
- Wide soundstage
- Vocal, mid centric signature that works well with most entry-level equipment
Cons
- Flat dynamic range and not very exciting
- Adjusting the volume looks cool but is not very practical
Product Link
Amazon – https://amzn.to/47L6z2U
Aliexpress – https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oC0y1C7
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Full Playlist used for this review
We listened to more songs than those named in this playlist, but those are excellent for identifying a sonic signature. I recommend trying most of the songs from this playlist, especially if you’re searching for new music! The playlists are different for Spotify, Tidal and Youtube, and based on the songs I enjoy and are available on each!
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL_cjBXGmwSHSdGcwuc_bKbBDGHL4QvYBu
https://open.spotify.com/playlist/5J3oloz8Riy9LxEGenOjQ0?si=979ba4f082414be7
https://tidal.com/browse/playlist/330fd544-8e5b-4839-bd35-676b2edbb3d5
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