SMSL PS200 Review: Why DAC Chips Are NOT Everything

Some people think that the DACDigital-to-Analog Converter - a device that translates binary audio data into an analog electrical signal that can be amplified and heard. chip is all that matters for sound in a DAC. Others argue the chips make no difference, and that it’s all about the output stageThe final amplification block of an amp that directly drives the load (speakers or headphones), supplying the current and voltage the load demands. Unrelated to "stage" / "soundstage" - that's a listening term about perceived spatial width and depth; this is a circuit block., power supply, and filters.

The SMSL PS200 is a $90 tiny digital-to-analog converter that focuses exclusively on measurements. Is it a good approach?

Build Quality and Design

It’s a very small, lightweight box. It can fit easily in the palm of my hand. Furthermore, it’s so light that it’s very easy for it to get pulled by the connected cables. It doesn’t feel super fancy or anything. Likewise, it’s made fully out of black plastic.

What’s interesting, they used the same shell as on the PS100, to reduce manufacturing and R&D costs. On the front, there’s a rectangular button used to control the DAC’s inputs and power it on or off. The top of the unit features an engraved SMSL logo. It’s one of my favorite ways of branding products. It looks way better than regular printed text or a logo.

Inputs/Outputs

It uses a USB-C connector for power. No matter if you’re also using it for data, it has to be plugged into a phone charger or some other form of linear PSU.

There’s a USB 1.1 and 2.0 switch, made to increase compatibility with older devices and maximize performance with newer ones. Next to it, there’s an optical input, which can be a good idea if you’re trying to use it with a noisy source like a computer’s motherboard. ToslinkAn optical S/PDIF digital audio interface using a plastic fibre and a red LED, common on TVs, soundbars, and consumer DACs. Limited to 24-bit/96kHz stereo PCM in practice; longer runs need glass fibre for stability. uses light as a form of communication - unlike electrons, it can’t transfer any electrical noise.

Lastly, there’s a regular coaxial input, going through an RCA plug. For the analog outs, we have a single-endedAn amplifier configuration using one output device for the complete audio waveform; produces even-order harmonic distortion considered "euphonic" by many. pair of RCAs. You can’t expect such a small and inexpensive DAC to be balancedA signal transmission method using two opposite-polarity signal lines plus a ground; noise induced on both lines is cancelled at the differential input.. Moreover, going single-ended cuts down on the cabling costs, as XLRA professional locking audio connector with three pins: ground, positive signal, and negative signal; the standard for balanced studio connections. cables tend to be significantly more expensive. It also makes the process easier for beginners - as they don’t have to worry about so many things and make so many difficult decisions.

Finally, there’s Bluetooth 5.0 for wireless audio.

Technical Specifications

The output voltage is flat 2 volts RMS, which is a standard for RCA. Its THD+NTotal Harmonic Distortion plus Noise - a more complete distortion measurement that includes both harmonic products and broadband noise. is at 0.0001%, or -118dB. The dynamic rangeThe decibel span between a system's maximum undistorted output and its noise floor; 16-bit audio has ~96dB, 24-bit has ~144dB of theoretical range. and the signal-to-noise ratio are 123dB. It means one thing: the internals are not purposefully messed up, and it measures fairly well.

It can decode up to 768kHz PCMPulse-Code Modulation - the standard digital audio format, encoding amplitude as binary integers at fixed time intervals (e.g., 16-bit/44.1kHz for CD). at 32-bit. The maximum DSDDirect Stream Digital - a 1-bit, high-sample-rate audio format used on SACD, encoding audio through rapid single-bit switching rather than multi-bit PCM words. rate is very high - 512. For USB decoding, it uses a 3rd gen XMOS solution - I’m starting to see a pattern with the XU-316 chip. SMSL almost always uses this one. For digital-to-analog conversion, an ES9039Q2M chip is being used. That’s a good chip, one of the higher-end ones from ESS. It also has 4 dual op-amp chips, presumably in the output stage.

Sound Quality

Looking at the measurements and the chips, which are both good, would indicate that it has to sound great. However, the truth is a little different.

Luckily, it doesn’t sound terrible, wrong, or off in any way. In less resolving setups, DACs don’t make such a huge difference that this device could be a limiting factor. At some point, I’m sure it is going to be. For example, my reference speaker setup, being quite resolving, shows clear signs of system mismatch. It doesn’t make the sound unpleasant or collapsed, but I definitely wouldn’t build such a system with high-end speakers, an expensive amplifier, and such a budget-oriented DAC.

On the other hand, the PS200 can do a fantastic job in many cases. Dedicated headphone amplifiers paired with budget to lower-medium range headphones or active speakers are some of them.

Regarding its sound characteristics: the tonality is just fine, with a slight bright tilt - it’s important, as the perceived tonality itself is one of the bigger factors. Bass punchBass impact in the 60-150Hz region - the chest-thump of a kick drum or the snap of a slap-bass note. Distinct from slam, which extends lower; punch is about the leading edge of bass transients, not the depth. is also there - ESS chips tend to overemphasize it slightly, in my experience. Nonetheless, while this DAC can perform well in some aspects, it can’t do everything.

The soundstageThe perceived three-dimensional acoustic space in a stereo recording - width beyond the speakers, depth front-to-back, and sometimes height information. width doesn’t seem to be super wide. It doesn’t shrink it down a lot, but it does it a little bit. The sense of depth is also not there, but it’s understandable, as that’s something usually associated with high-end components.

Timbral accuracy is not bad, but it has a plasticky sound added to strings or brass sound sources.

If you feel like your HiFi system isn’t worthy of a super expensive DAC, you care only about the measurements, or simply don’t hear large differences between DACs, this one will be perfect for you. Especially since it offers lots of audio formats and connection possibilities, I’d consider it a perfect beginner-friendly option.

Comparisons

If you’re on a tight budget and would like to explore some more options from SMSL, there are quite a few.

First, their even cheaper PS100 is performing quite similarly. What you’re losing with it is the ability to decode higher sampling rate and bit depthThe number of bits per sample - determines dynamic range (approximately 6dB per bit, so 16-bit gives ~96dB, 24-bit gives ~144dB). formats, DSD, MQAMaster Quality Authenticated - a proprietary lossy compression format claiming to preserve master-quality information in a smaller file. Critics argue it adds distortion and serves rights-holder DRM more than fidelity; Tidal removed MQA from its catalogue in 2024., and some sound fidelity. By that I mean the sound is less refined, more closed in, and less detailed. However, the output stage and other components must be similar enough in both PS100 and PS200, since they generally sound alike.

The DO100 PRO is a clear upgrade in almost every aspect - it sounds better, is built to a higher quality standard, has more functions, and has lots of input/output options. However, it costs more and is much larger. There’s also the DL100, which can be the most interesting option.