Best Class D Speaker Amp - But Is it Worth It? SMSL SA400 Speaker Amp Review

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[chrisAclaes]

Spot on. It’s hard to justify that price for a brand that isn’t established yet.

[heathmccorkle]

I have had this amp for almost two months now. Paired it with it’s sibling M400 DAC, Quad S2s, and a single SVS SB1000 Pro (thank YouTube reviewers). In a carefully arranged smaller room, it’s blown me and all my audio-enthusiast friends away. I use it 70/30 music/movies in my home office. I rarely find myself in the larger media room of late. The amp was a bit of gamble when I bought it with not a ton of info out there, but after having it awhile, I’m not surprised it’s popping up on my YouTube heroes radar. Thanks for the review and sanity check Randy!

[bobbytaco]

Been running a Starke AD4.320 with a Schitt Saga preamp. Replaced my Adcom 5500 amp and was amazed. My Vandersteen Model 3's and 2 CE signatures don't need a sub anymore. Really opened them up. Class D has really surprised me.

[g.johnson]

This is a great little amp, comparable with $1000 to $1500 class A/B integrateds. I listened with KEF LS 50’s. Great value for the sound quality. The amp is clean and open, with no harshness. The heat is a non-issue, just set the fan to 45C, and the case is only slightly warm.

[philm]

I had two SMSL amps. Both suffered from QC issues, volume chip on one, speaker terminals pulling out in the other. $650 makes me take pause. Thank you for the info! Great video

[ginom]

Thanks Randy for another honest review! I do see SMSL trying to up the ante with the competition, but for $650 there are way too many options! Although in the end... the consumer wins!

[souravmajee]

The beauty of class D amplifier is it's fit into a small case and power consumption is ultra low compared to class AB amplifier. Class D is very efficient and doesn't heat up like the alternatives. Love class D

[freezingCode]

I just built my first budget system after watching a ton of your videos. Ended up with the SMSL SA300 + Chromecast Audio + Neumi BS5's + JBL 550P sub. I then converted a spare Raspberry Pi into a Volumio machine and have been using that to stream local music from my NAS as well as act as my Spotify Connect device.

Already looking for the next step. Don't have any major complaints with the sounds; I feel like the Neumi's have a dip in a certain part of the midrange that I only notice in a very few particular songs. I think my next step may just be replacing the SA300 with something a bit nicer that can apply a high pass to the bookshelves.

[clarencehoover]

Brought to you by Sith Audio Class A Dryer Vent Brush. When you don’t mind the heat and deserve nothing but the very best!

[dcmphoto]

I don't mind class D amplifiers at all. If they have the soundstage and instrument separation, awesome. You're spot on about the price vs. brand reputation. But honestly, I've spent a lot on some big names and been disappointed, so why not try something new?

[doifeellucky]

Happy with my Sabaj A10a for £120 for use in my office connected to a Zen DAC V2 from my PC.

[odwatchguy]

Great review Randy. I was not expecting this to be so highly rated and compared to some really well know equipment. I guess that goes to the comparison of pricing and where it should be. Thanks

[act..]

I think the Swiffer mop and liquid would make a good audiophile product. You know a clean floor is going to sound so much better without sawdust muddying up the sound.

[RoyFJ]

I will be getting my first class D to add to my collection of Yamaha PC2002, P2200, MX-1 amps, wonder how they will sound with my NS-1000m but thanks to you will venture into it and find out. I have been using SMSL Sanskrit on my desktop with my HS7/HS8s combo and have been quite satisfied with the sound and now I upgraded to SU-1 thanks to your review.

[jdlech]

Class D engineering is really coming into it's own this past decade. And I predict that it will become the preferred home theater amp class in about 10 years. And it could possibly become the preferred audiophile class 20 or 30 years out.

[peterrichard]

Great review and I agree with the comment that for this price and power, most will go with a more established brand 's A/B. I bought a Hypex Ncore NC252MP Class D amp from Audiphonics in France, 250W into 4 ohms and quality is top tier, with shipping it came out to about $750 Canadian. Small and light, not too much heat, you won't get near to that quality and power in class a/b for that price. I use a Marantz 2-channel receiver's preamp outs as my preamp so I still have a substantial Marantz in my rack with remote so it doesn't look too dinky. So my point is, go up a little bit in the Class D options for quality and power and you get into a good sweet spot, paired with a quality preamp with remote and you have super value and quality right there!

[Roof_Pizza]

Someone told me to put rice in my speaker stands to deaden them, unfortunately they forgot to tell me to use uncooked rice. Took me a week to figure out where the rotting smell was coming from. I'd imagine it's the same with speaker stuffing.

[DougMen]

Damn Randy! You're really cranking out new vidoes at breakneck speed! I can barely keep up. At what point do you run out of space for amps, DACs, headphones, and speakers, and have to buy a bigger house, build a storage shed in the backyard, or rent a storage space?

[stephenstevens]

Dont sell the Crown short either, Randy...I know you said you didn't care much for it, but I swear to you, with my Maggie's? Its magical..

[MrRonnmaui]

Thanks Randy, great review on the amp. Looks like a really nice amp. I bought a XTZ A-2 300 and am really impressed with it, but this one has a lot more features. Worth considering for sure, Thanks.