SMSL VMV P2 - What were they thinking?!?
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- čas přidán 25. 08. 2024
- Sometimes manufacturers have strange product ideas. The SMSL VMV P2 headphone amplifier seems to be one of them. If, even after what I've said, you still think you'd like to buy one, do so with the link below (which supports my channel) and report your experiences back in the comments.
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I'm so glad you made this. While unrealistic it is my dream to never see another topping or SMSL product review. This is all bland crap to appeal to the ASR crowd.
BINGO!!! Excellent SINAD numbers but sounding sterile, lifeless, mechanical, "canned", and 1000% unnatural, LOL....
Really enjoyed this piece. Looking forward to the Mjolinir 3 review. The Aune S17 Pro is advertised as class A, might make for a interesting comparison.
YAS! Singxer SA1 was the Class A amp at $600 and from this point prices get steep, gsx-mini, burson soloist 3xp and bam, almost double the price! I'm really interested in Aune S17 Pro indeed.
I've owned the Mjolnir 3 for a little over a month now...
Can't stop listening to it!!
I'm so glad not EVERY headphone amp company chases SINAD, because wow what a joyless hobby this would become.
they may as well have put the volume knob in the back
I appreciate your insightful analysis on smsl unit. But it would be nice if you have a follow up video listening impression of the unit to see whether the sound align with your prediction.
I have the S.M.S.L H300 and even though the toggle switches are on the front they are still a pain to use! It's not too bad with the HPA/PRE as I never need to touch this, The same for the RCA/XLR. But when it comes to the gain switch which I use often it's easy to overshoot if you are not careful. I listen in a dark room so it's interrupting my enjoyment. The power switch is at least on the front but even that is a bit awkward to press in and out. The volume control even though small feels solid and is precise, I like it even though it looks odd compared with a bigger control. Sound wise it can power my Hifiman HE6se V2 on high gain with a volume level at about 10 o'clock. The sound is okay but I think the HE6se V2 needs a better quality amplifier. But coming from a Ifi Zen Can signature Hifiman it is a step up in power and dynamics and resolution.
Some of the marketing nonsense I’ve read recently is hilarious, obviously not written by someone who speaks English 😂
It's got a near 100% "on-sight" approval rating by the ASR crowd though, LOL - though most of them have NEVER listened to the great majority of their "recommended" components list, LOL.....
Reality is that switching power supplies will overtake linear ones. My nad m28 sounds superb! I also have a 2 channel setup that is powered by an old Yamaha m10000 stereo amp, which is a traditional power amplifier that was designed so well that it can keep up with anything these days. The point is a that the amp power section needs to be well designed for the audio application vs arguing over switching power supply vs linear power supply
Ordered a Mjolnir3 in Silver. I guess there is a back order. Yea Class A push pull will most likely definitely win in sound quality over op amps stuffed in a box.
I agree with you on most things but I have to push back on the switching power supply thing.
It could be a multi stage voltage regulating system where you use a switching power supply to get to just above the voltage that you need and then have a linear power supply right after. That way since the linear power supply is not burning too much voltage it stays efficient and filter out all the noise from the switching power supply. So you could get the benefit of both.
I certainly don't know if thats what SMSL is doing but I don't think audiophiles should run in the opposite direction as soon as they see a switching power supply.
The problem seems to be people whose amps are only a few years old, which are suddenly dying. At least if a switching PSU is used, it should be external, so it can be replaced.
@@Currawong If the switching PSU is outside, the power going into the machine would be DC.
Then how would you get the AC power into the linear power stage in a multistage configuration? A second AC plug?
I think that would be more inconvenient.
This amp just makes me think of that quote “Show me the incentive, and I will show you the outcome.” It’s like they’ve built a dragster, a competition winning machine. Almost feels irresponsible to sell it, as it’s clearly not designed for normal listening. But I appreciate it as a joke product, even if it’s a bit expensive as a joke.
At this point, I think companies like SMSL and Topping are just pumping out lifeless sounding products for the sake of better measurements. People who have been in this hobby long enough will know that their products are pretty mediocre once you look past all the marketing and measurement garbage.
Thanks, this just made me change my mind about this chifi stuff I was looking at. I'm now looking at buying a mjolnir 3
You should.
@@CurrawongThanks. I just sold my Tyrs because I no longer had a use for them. They were amazing, but I believe the same tech is inside the Mjolnir 3. If the Tyrs were any indication of of Mjolnir performance, I think it'll be a homerun. Just curious if you know whether the Mjolnir can run a 0.1 ohm load? Apparently the Tyrs could do it just fine
Switches in the back is better than what Sinxer had on the bottom. 🤷🏻
You literally don't have to ever put the SA-1 in any gain but high....
i see a good looking amp up there, when is the mjolnir 3 review coming?
Version 2...100 op-amps. Thanks for the laughs. My Master9 is shaking in its boots.
If they had made those 99 opamps removable could have been the endgame in opamp rolling, all for 999! 😂
I see that Mjolnir 3 back there. Looking forward to your thoughts on it.
Thanks your informative videos
Just noticed one little mistake in your presentation. While you are talking about distortion at 0.5W, you are actually pointing at a number at 500 microwatts. I know it 's just a technicallity and doesn't influence the rest of the video but still.
You're right! I think more relevant is that with most headphones, you're only using about 50-100mW most of the time anyway. While I was editing, I thought of cutting or re-shooting that section, and probably should have, given what you pointed out.
I will buy that amp to my hifiman arya stealth, i think it will be a good matsh! Mvh/Peter Sweden
I got Xduoo XA-10 recently and it measures like trash on ASR website but sounds rich, warm, musical but also clean to me
Always fun to get educated through this marketing BS walk-through! Still, I would love to know how this unit actually sounds. To me that's all that matters.
SMSL and Topping teams just seem to be putting out stuff every two months, made from parts they can get on stock easily. Just like kids playing with a big LEGO set.
You should review it not just making fun of it, and if it doesn't sound any good or up to your expectations and price to match at least you are justified in making fun of it.
You joke about switches on the bottom, but I once had the questyle cma400i. It had gain switches on the bottom, for each channel. I kind of get it for EMI theoretical purity perspective, because you don't have to span traces and wires that could otherwise pick up noise.
I stopped paying attention to smsl and topping a few years back
the rohm dac from the same range is not even dual mono...
I actually would buy this because of the cool look. But before I even consider it, the price needs to be cut in half. No way it’s worth $1k alone or 2k for the DAC/amp stack.
I've spent quite some valuable time trying to figure what could be wrong with these kind of modern equipments.
To me the obvious part is always the power input. This seems so weak in design.
Another ringing bell is the used of blutooth on these. Why put something that will make poorer sound ?
A real pity that so many people in YT are worshiping these brands. They sound fine like you mentioned but we are far from Hi-Fi experience.
I've owned one of the entry level DAC at the beginning of my HI-Fi journey. Yeah it sounds better than my computer's sound, that's about it. But the connections failed after 2 months.
Those marketing traps are maddening !
Thank you for this refreshing POV.
well at least is not inside like some Little dot products had switches inside to adjust gain levels
SMSL and Topping are both busy chasing SINAD they forgot about musicality.
What is musicality?
What is the $4k amp that is his top amp? I don't recognize it.
ALO Audio Studio Six.
Other than the ergonomic trainwreck I see nothing wrong with this amp, good SMPS is obviously far superior to linear power supply, biasing here is interesting I wonder if it will overheat when pushed. Also looks like you called schiit and all of industry dishonest since almost everyone publishes their thd numbers as best case scenario at full power before clipping, at least in headphone space.
An SMPS requires noise filtering after it, which can be detrimental to the sound quality of the amp, so I'd say you have things backwards.
As for Schiit, they provide full APx555 measurements for all their products. What is more, they are conservative on their numbers, listing the *worst* case scenario (eg: "
I didn't much care for the sound of the H300. I imagine this will sound similar with its hi op amp count. I liked the sound of the HO100 much more than the H300 on pretty much everything.
Market speak, man.
Why all this negativity even before you get your hands on the product? Based on probabilities and marketing bs?
he's biased against products from these brands
No, I just think the design is hilarious. I have a Topping D70 Pro in for review, and so far my impressions have been fairly positive.
Na.. Lowend wasnt gd enough.. em hiend almost perfected.. wow almost 12Watts..Peace!
Chi fi miss, FiiO are not innocent either seen there site few years back? Jesus 😂 a lot of chi fi shite out there - wont touch most of it with a barge pole. play it safe stick with a Chord (but I’m a Brit so aye!)
a douglas self amp sold at 999😅
Lifeless the new way.
Wait until you see the new audiophile Yamaha headamp (£3499)
Yamaha has engineers that know how to make good stereo amplifiers, so I'm not particularly concerned. I could be wrong though.
Lol. After Pac-Man 99 and Tetris 99, Nintendo *cough* SMSL presents Op-amps 99.
Not worth even a small consider especially at that price lol
Yes what they were thinking.
No doing remote control..... what a fail
Great analysis, but you forgot the worst part. IT DOES NOT HAVE A REMOTE! What a miserable turd of a product.
nobody will own SMSL in 10 years because it will be broken :(
Headphone amps are pretty much a done deal, a solved problem. This is quite overpriced for what it is. Then again so are amps half the cost of this.