Ok, so anecdotal reviews so far mention an array of bookshelf speakers at various ohmage, and people say the SMSL is loud and clear but not concert loud.
I wanted to use the SMSL with two FULL-size 4 ohm Dali Opticon 6 tower speakers - sensitivity is 89. I previously had a Marantz NR1607, pushing 50w x2 to each speaker (biamp). I want concert loud, I want audiophile clear, and I want it for $160. Who doesn’t?
I just got the amp in the mail, and naturally, hooked it up to blare some Post Malone - Psycho and Wow to test this amp’s guts. I also tried some Trevor Hall for quality. I’m impressed, but there are some caveats, and I won’t be keeping it.
The amp will easily push these towers loud enough that any pet you have in the room will get up and leave. Your wife will hear the bass from the garage. The bass is not lacking, as others have said. This review is 100% flat EQ, and RCA / Bluetooth. I tried both, and am not able to discern a difference, telling me that the amplifier circuitry, and not the DAC is cause the loss in quality.
The amp sounds perfectly clear at volumes that you could reasonably play with guests in your house, and still hold a reasonable conversation. The SQ is great at this volume. Not as crisp as the Marantz, in a way that I would describe as suddenly understanding the lyrics to a song you’ve heard 1,000 times because your system is so clear. The DALIs do this with other amps, the SMSL doesn’t.
Ok, so it’s time for a house party. Some a-hole turns it up to max volume. What’s going to happen? You’re going to damage your speakers due to amplifier distortion. It does get loud enough to have to yell over and will shake your house. Unfortunately, if you have it loud enough to yell over, you’ll get some distortion / popping at max volume. Again, this ONLY applies to listening levels where you yell “WHAT??” after each person speaks. The Marantz could drive these DALIs to concert-level volumes with absolutely no distortion, ever.
In conclusion, this is a BADA** amp for your bedroom, garage, computer speakers, etc; but it will not gain a spot in my living room, where I like to hear new nuances in old songs. It just doesn’t provide that level of quality. What am I going to do? I’m going to head to Goodwill, pick up a 10 year-old Denon that weighs 35 lbs for $29, and buy a $50 Bluetooth adapter. That will provide the SQ I’m looking for.
In short: If the SMSL has what you want, I say go for it. It’s producing no heat. It gets loud and sounds and looks good. Expect the sound quality to be on-par with other $160 receivers, such as Pioneer or Insignia. If that’s what you’re expecting, you’ll be impressed :)
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Reviews with images
Minimalist’s best choice, any amp under $500 budget.
Minimalist’s best choice. Clean and small form factor. It can beat most of AVRs in sound quality. Very clear with nice digital tone controls. Works well. Plan to pair with a subwoofer, but, found it is not needed. Great advance in class D amplifier. I evaluate several high-end audio equipment, but based on the price and form factor, it would be #1 choice under $500 budget. Comparing Yamaha AS 1100 or 2100, there are gaps, however, it costs 1/10 of the price.
Top reviews from the United States
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Reviewed in the United States on March 25, 2020
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020
Minimalist’s best choice, any amp under $500 budget.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020
Minimalist’s best choice. Clean and small form factor. It can beat most of AVRs in sound quality. Very clear with nice digital tone controls. Works well. Plan to pair with a subwoofer, but, found it is not needed. Great advance in class D amplifier. I evaluate several high-end audio equipment, but based on the price and form factor, it would be #1 choice under $500 budget. Comparing Yamaha AS 1100 or 2100, there are gaps, however, it costs 1/10 of the price.
Reviewed in the United States on August 9, 2020
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Top reviews from other countries
maurizia spotorno
piccolo amplificatore dalla ottime prestazioni
Reviewed in Italy on February 16, 2021
JOSELO
Gran resultado sonoro, pero verifica y reház las mas que posibles soldaduras frías de las entradas.
Reviewed in Spain on January 31, 2021Kees
Goede versterker met gebalanceerde ingangen
Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 24, 2020
Kees
Reviewed in the Netherlands on June 24, 2020
Ook de bluetooth mogelijkheid inmiddels getest en ook hierover niets dan goeds. De versterker levert een mooi geluid af, dus de ingebouwde DAC is prima (dat verwacht je ook van SMSL).
Heb je meer ingangen nodig dan kun je beter een andere versterker kopen, maar voor mijn toepassing is het perfect. Kortom: een aanrader.
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