SMSL SH-X tested as both Head-amp and Preamp

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00:00 Intro
00:16 About SH-X
03:19 Sound (Amp)
06:50 vs Topping A90D
09:00 vs Aune S17 pro
11:56 Sound (preamp)
15:42 vs "real" preamp
17:37 Final thoughts

Room test system:
Eversolo DMP-A8, Allo DigiOne Signature

Head-Fi:

#hifi #audiophile #amp #stereo

[lilithspectre]

excellent review, waiting your to review SMSL SU-X 🙏

[mebaugh]

Excellent review. I suggest you are the most balanced, articulate and down to earth reviewer in the audio space. Thnx!

[harryhoplite]

Waiting patiently for the SMSL SU-X DAC review🙏

[Hetsu..]

I end up watching all your reviews even if i dont have interest in the product, your videos are just great

[russianbear]

Серболюб, ваши обзоры самые детальные и понятные, в сравнении с другими аудиоблогерами. Респект!

[evgenishestoperov]

Hello, thanks for the review. I didn't listen to the SM SL SHX, but I had the Topping A90d in conjunction with the Topping D90se, and it's very good. I would be very interested to hear your opinion about the new Topping DX9. Are you planning to do your own review on it?

[ryanlawson]

Really appreciate the pre-amp comparison, that's exactly what I've been looking for especially within context of comparing to a stand alone pre-amp. Good to know there is a definitive difference between the two kinds of products. Thanks a lot for the great review.

[radiofreealbemuth]

I would love to know if there's noise floor/hissing with sensitive iems on the SU-X. Apparently the Aune S17 Pro has too much noise floor for iems.

[JYMBO]

The SH-X & SU-X look so beautiful as a stack... until you turn them on :/ WHY ARE THE SCREENS DIFFERENT SIZES LOL triggers me

[endurosp]

Does the Ladder Bach perform equally good on both single ended and balanced outputs?
From what i read it is built fully balanced

[orthodox--ever]

One idea for next video is "HiFi for noobs"

For example, I am newcomer in HiFi and it is pretty complicated to make own system.
I know there are some other videos about this but I think they are not so descriptive and you will do it better 🙂

There are some example questions to answer:
- What parts of system I need (expect speakers as it is obvious)
- What is the differences between amp, pre-amp, power-amp, integrated amp and do I really need them?
- Some explanations about combinations like DAC+AMP for example...what else I need?
- What are streamers? Do they always include DAC?
- What do you think about all-in-ones as Cambridge Audio EVO 75/150 and should somebody buy such a device + speakers and not think about other parts
-

[Simon_Hawkshaw]

Fantastically detailed review and comparison of all this equipment. Thank you for your time and efforts to share this with us all. Much appreciated.

[paul____s]

what about SH-X vs SP400? Is it worth to upgrade?

[jgabrieltrevino]

Great job comparing these various models as pre-amps; very insightful. Thanks!

[SignorZukini]

Great review! It's good to know the ladder has a better soundstage, but how does it compare in terms of dynamics? Sometimes the headphone pres do a better job in this regard.

[DN]

No bass leanness with my s17 pro as a pre-amp. Maybe due to the 2 subs attached 😅

[PhillioDoede]

I like the industrial design of this SMSL and hope its the future of their design. Specifically a integrated speaker amp that is a step up above the AL200 (and the MA5332MS amps) would be nice. I have the AL200 and it sounds great but I feel like could be improved on build quality, features, and just general performance.

[greenbeginner]

I must not be keeping up with audio terminology. I’ve always known a “head amp” to be a device that is placed “ahead of” a moving magnet phono preamp to provide for the low output of moving coil cartridges. (The other option being a step-up transformer). Meanwhile, I’ve only heard of headphones being driven by a headphone amplifier. I guess I’m getting old.

[reptidan]

I would live it if you could review thieaudio prestige ltd and maybe also the monarch mkiii. I bought the seeaudio bravery based on your review and really love it. But I’m in the market for an upgrade. Sounds like the ru7 would be a great match with the prestige ltd.

[radomirsretenovic]

Last thing I need in my audio life is headphone amplifier. I use headphones only in the office. At home I have Marantz receiver and Monitor Audio speakers.