330 Watts for $195!? Giant Killer or Giant Disappointment? SMSL A300 Speaker Amp Review

0:00 Start
0:50 Intro
2:01 Sponsored Content Squarespace
4:05 SMSL A300
5:28 On the Back
7:04 On the Back Again
8:38 How it Works
12:02 How to Bridge this Amp
18:01 How it Sounds
19:14 Final Thoughts

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[RM-udcm]

mono audio is always assigned to left channel in stereo setup, to allow use of TS plug instead of TRS plug.

[DPSingh-pxxu]

I've had the A300 for a few weeks after the AO200 spot on as usual Randy...the Infineon modules in the A300 are better in every respect...the elephant in the room is the price....I have a Rega BrioR and a Yamaha AS 501...you know the rest. Like you said I don't know how long this amp will live but I can't ignore or talk myself into denying it kicks the Rega and the Yamaha to the curb for value....there I said it

[ericboehm]

9:48 E1 means the Tx and Bx treble/bass settings are active. They are ignored in all other Ex settings. I’ve had this amp for about 6 month now. Love it. I run a Schitt Loki Mini+ between my DAC and the A300, so mine lives on E0 anyway.

[Jon-nzdm]

The mains filter appears to start the roll off around 90-100hz and 24db/octave. Cool that they include a high pass filter at all. Most don't in these cheap amps

[Chime]

Have this one for over 6 months. It works really fine, actually sold my Rega Brio R as I felt no use anymore for it. Hi-pass filter is cut at 50Hz, as stated by the specs in manual.

[chrislampe]

I just bought this amp in early June and paired it with the Elac Debut 2.0 B5.2 bookshelf speakers. I have zero experience with home audio, and this is a desktop setup that provides audio for my PC in a small home office, as well as serving as my home stereo. The A300 seemed like the best fit for the speakers and received high praise from other YouTube reviewers. I went with the Elacs because they were designed to be shoved against the wall with little to no toe-in, which was the only option for my setup, (the "speakers you can put against the wall" video was invaluable!). When the Elacs were marked down to $200 it was time to pull the trigger. The A300 looks cheap and the display is ugly, but I can't say anything bad about how it sounds, and I haven't had a single audio issue, or noticed any latency between the video and audio. I thought about pairing it with a D300, but I'm holding off for now. The only thing I hate is that the panel controls are all but impossible to use in low light conditions, especially the volume knob. The volume knob is crap. In fact I'm pretty sure they mixed actual feces of an indeterminant origin in with the plastic that they made it out of.

[davidcooper]

I bought 2 of these amps a few months ago. They are amazing. I use them with 2 pairs of my DIY speakers. The large 2 way speakers i use the amps as a stereo pair and Passive Bi Amp the speakers. One amp doing left channel Bass and Tweeter and the other doing the right channel Bass and Tweeter. I use a Schiit Audio Saga with a Tungsol 6SN7 GTB valve. In the second speaker set up i use full range drivers in the main speaker and a pair of Ripol Subs which have a pair of 12" bass drivers in each Ripol cabinet. These Subs have a Sub Amp with integral phase, level x over adjustment. I use 80 hz as the sub x over. I then use the A 300 as BTL Mono Blocks . I connect the right channel from the Saga to the Left input of the right amp. I then connect the Left Channel from the Saga to the left input of the Left amp. I do not daisy chain the amps using as you did. In both systems the amps sound absolutely fantastic they are very fast, dynamic with superb bass control and power. The mid range is wonderful and the high frequencies are clear and open and no harshness. The soundstage and imaging is enormous and clearly defined. i do not use the eq settings as they not only change the sound balance but add a sense of falseness to the sound. I tried the on board SUB with the subs and that sounded POOR as it was too high from my set up . These amps are true giant killers and i just love them. The manual !!!! is basically very poor and i also spent ages trying to get my head around it. But when i worked it out it was simple to implement the BTL set up.

[HeyYall]

I'm really enjoying the sound of my Fosi Audio V3 so far! Thanks a lot! It bugs me when audiophile elites look down on these little class D gems. We really need a detailed test to figure out their power limits and when they might have sound issues. It's super important, and still a bit unclear, to know how well they truly deliver power and handle big demands from thirsty and hungry 4 Ohm speakers.

[CinemaDemocratica]

The SMSL AO-300 (confusing because of the similarity of name) is an AL 200 with a subwoofer output, and honestly I don't know if there are any other differences that aren't cosmetic. Would love to see a review.

[nickwilson]

Interesting review! I’ve owned one for a few months and really like it. Not a fan of the flush volume wheel though. Nor the screen.

[krihanek]

My wish is that one of the channels with test equipment checks this amp out in stereo and bridged mode. Thanks for the video, great as always.

[lukerauch]

Sounds like plenty of power in 2 channel mode. My NAD C316 is only rayed at 40 watts, but it drove my towers perfectly fine for years until I upgraded last year. Now it drives my second system.

[armoth]

How did I miss this video oh (Awesome video by the way)

[peterjanssens]

Hey Randy. Love the content and the review. I'm a visual guy. I'm wondering if you could show how to bridge the two amps with actual wires connected. A good visual is worth a thousand words. Thanks so much again for the content. Love the porcelin sucking device. Cheers.

[fraula]

I don’t know how good is the 3255 ship on the Fosi V3 but the A300 is my absolute best Cass D amp. It compete with my vintage SANSUI & KENWOOD vintage amp. I use it since 1 year.

[EARLandPEARL-ci]

hooked it up to my marantz AV1510 pre outs....what a difference in seperation and sound stage ...front channel bliss

[vjeep]

Have been using this amp to power 4 klipsch rb 51 mkii in parallel (4 ohms) and sub( not really needed) for more than a year and still running strong. Barely gets warm. I listen to it daily for 3 to 4 hours. Mostly 60-75 db with 85 -90 db now and then.

[sittarthailand]

I have the A300 hooked up to the D300 DAC, it's wonderful. Thinking of getting another A300 to do the mono thing. An image of the interconnects would be really helpful, please.

[MarekMarecki]

I bought one! For the price it is an absolute bargein! If you think that the T9 can be compared to it, then no. This is definitely a more powerful and fuller sounding amplifier.

[ufopulse]

I still a year later have never found anything even close to my A300's returned countless stuff now