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GUTB
238
Dec 2, 2016
Is it really appropriate to call lo-fi junk like this audiophile grade?
Cujobob
133
Dec 2, 2016
GUTBYou're probably not familiar with these amps but they're well regarded when they're designed properly with quality parts.
GUTB
238
Dec 2, 2016
GUTBActually SMSL is Chinese shovelware junk. Anything in that price range is going to be bad, though. Reddit is not a good place to find recommendations for audio gear.
Cujobob
133
Dec 3, 2016
GUTBI only own one piece of SMSL gear and it's fine for the purpose I intend for it. It's one of the Q5 variants. But you can absolutely get near reference quality sound for low cost.
GUTB
238
Dec 3, 2016
CujobobThat statement indicates you haven't been exposed to high end audio even once in your life.
Cujobob
133
Dec 3, 2016
GUTBYou're demonstrating what is wrong with the high end audio world. Your lack of understanding of proper engineering is not someone else' issue. Companies have been making a fortune off of people who believe you have to spend a fortune to get a quality amplifier, cable, or source for years.
romy_valencia
3
Dec 3, 2016
CujobobI was thinking about buying this but you made me reconsider, now I have to ask...any recommendations for a budget friendly amp?
romy_valenciaThis SMSL amp will likely suit your needs... but do be aware of its limitations: It doesn't have gobs of power, a headphone jack, or digital inputs (optical, coaxial).
On the 'Plus' side, it has USB, microSD, and Bluetooth connectivity built-in. And its small profile = desk-friendly.
SwiftySoul
157
Dec 4, 2016
GUTBwhy do you care so much I have seen some of your other posts and you always bring up how much GOOD QUALITY STUFF COSTS and if us poor cheap people spend less we get crappy gear which is not true but if you want to spend more money ON GOOD STUFF then go ahead but leave us poor poor people who buy shit and don't know anything about audio alone
Cujobob
133
Dec 5, 2016
romy_valenciaIt sort of depends on your needs and budget. The fewer your needs are, the easier it is to meet them. These amps, potentially, can sound amazing with speakers that only require the wattage provided. But in poor circuits, you get noise and SMSL has had questionable QC from what I gather reading many reviews. My Q5 version... 2? I think, has been fine for the purpose I sought it out for (television hooked up to fairly efficient speakers).
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBYou're obviously so much better at listening to things, don't bother with us poorly and sick fools. Don't forget to high five yourself in the balls on your way out. Or you could be useful and offer alternatives or reason.
GUTB
238
Dec 5, 2016
MeastyI'm sorry, what do you want me to say? If you are looking for a support group to make you feel better about sub-$100 Chinese shovelware that sounds like trash you should head over to Reddit, read reviews on Amazon or just ignore the tiny minority of actual audiophiles on Massdrop.
You know what a tiny, low-end Class D chip amp running off a power brick sounds like? Garbage. Furthermore, ALL Class D amps sound bad unless you get one of the super high-end designs that use special amp hardware -- the cheapest of which I am aware of being $3,000. Sub-$100 mass consumer shovelware from China will put you in the very bottom of the barrel.
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBSo there should just be no sub 100 audio equipment even manufactured or produced? Only top of the line should exist? No dipping your toe just cash out your home and become a producer or don't listen to music at all?
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBWho are you trying to impress exactly? I don't give a fuck about buying low tier stuff, why is it your business that I don't care?
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBI'm going to buy this and use it to listen to audio books now I think.
GUTB
238
Dec 5, 2016
MeastyIf you don't value audio, or if you are a have-nothing student that wants to get SOMETHING better than his budget integrated motherboard, then sure why not?
My original comment was questioning if it was appropriate to place something like this in an "audiophile" category, because no actual audiophile would touch this thing with a 15-mile pole.
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBAnd what qualifications constitute the requirement for holding this illustrious title of audiophile? Because I regularly drop a boogie; quite frankly I love to. Does that count? Because I still have student loans unfortunately and can't afford dropping a few hundred dollars. Does that mean I'm not apart of your club?
GUTB
238
Dec 5, 2016
MeastySimply put, an audiophile places a high value in audio. Most non-audiophiles will spend thousands of dollars on a home theater setup; the audiophile will instead spend thousands of dollars on audio equipment. For example, I'm about 5k into my reference system and I'm eyeballing my next upgrade.
I spent $600 on a power cable: https://www.lessloss.com/dfpc-series-p-213.html I spent $240 on headphone cables: https://www.moon-audio.com/black-dragon-headphone-cable-v2.html
Those items aren't even that great in audiophilia. The LessLoss is actually the bottom model in their line. The Black Dragons are good but not the best. The height of audio quality is far, far beyond what you've been exposed to. My USB isolator (Schiit Wyrd) is twice the price of this joke "amp".
Measty
332
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBGolly gee. I wish my life was so mundane that I could allocate funds to owning Patrick Bateman tier audio equipment. I think I'll stick to traveling and snowboarding though.
Fergy
23
Dec 5, 2016
GUTBYou sound like a spoiled Prick who's opinion is the Facts Of Life just so you know expensive wires only do so much when I buy wires it's for build quality not price
Cujobob
133
Dec 6, 2016
GUTBYou could probably better spend those funds in your system. Expensive cables are generally snake oil. What makes for good sound is science and what many high end companies don't want you to know is that they use very little of it. You can DIY better power cables, install No-Rez in your speaker cabinets, get room treatments, or get a medical isolation transformer.

And yes, cheap class D amps can sound good. It's not about being expensive. One can put together a superb Gainclone or just put together a fantastic sounding low powered amp. It's important to have a good regulated power supply. You think you know more about audio than you actually do. Anyone who has studied acoustics, psychoacoustics, or electrical engineering would laugh at your statements. I've heard a reference system run off a $200 Pioneer receiver. Why? Because it utilized chipamps and had really low crossover distortion. Sounds amazing with efficient speakers.
GUTB
238
Dec 6, 2016
Cujobob
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Philimon
59
Oct 8, 2017
GUTBShill gonna shill.
Sitwon
277
Oct 10, 2017
GUTBYou know what's funny to me? This notion that "audiophiles" can hear a difference between a $600 power cable and a $6 one. Or just the general hubris that they claim to be able to hear variations that cannot be measured by the industry standard tools that electrical engineers rely upon.
There are a lot of engineers in the amateur radio community, and they like to spend lots of money. (As professional engineers, they have plenty of money to spend.) I've seen them spend tens of thousands of dollars on transceivers and antennas and and all kinds of gadgets. I've seen them do all kinds of crazy things trying to achieve more range, or clearer signals. These guys obsess over their amps and use expensive, professional diagnostic tools to measure impedance, distortion, interference, and noise.
Mechanically speaking, there is no difference between the amps that hams use and the kind used in professional audio. They both amplify power in the same way, often using the same designs and components. A power amplifier is a power amplifier. It can be profiled and measured with the same tools regardless of its marketed application.
You know what I've never seen them waste money on? A $600 power cable or $240 headphone cable.
If a HAM who is happy to spend $4,000 on a glorified walkie-talkie thinks it's a waste of money, you can be pretty sure it's snake oil.
If you want to spend $600 because you think the colorful braids are pretty, be my guest. But don't pretend for a second that it's going to have any perceivable impact on the sound coming out of your drivers. At least, not any more difference than you could achieve with some cheap ferrite beads.
Philimon
59
Oct 10, 2017
GUTB"You know what a tiny, low-end Class D chip amp running off a power brick sounds like? Garbage. Furthermore, ALL Class D amps sound bad unless you get one of the super high-end designs that use special amp hardware -- the cheapest of which I am aware of being $3,000. Sub-$100 mass consumer shovelware from China will put you in the very bottom of the barrel."
This whole quote is too silly to be real. Shill gonna shill. Then tries to contradict your logic with "scientific" terms like "super high-end design" and "special amp hardware."
onoduras
54
Jan 29, 2018
SitwonI know this comment thread is old as the hills, but I wanted thank everyone for clearly rebutting this 'audiophile' nonsense. I love music and audio in general to the point of obsession, but over the years I've stopped calling myself an audiophile. I'm a music lover, a fan and a critic - I like what sounds good to me, I like LEARNING what sounds good to me, and I love sharing and exploring those experiences with others. In my experience, 'audiophiles' aren't really that in love with music, they are in love with spending a shitload of money on magic, and then revelling in their narcissistic superiority over us filthy proles.
This is not to say that expensive gear is ALWAYS a waste, just that thinking every additional decimal point is a logarithmic increase in sound value IS IDIOTIC. I can't count the number of people who listen to my ATH-m50x cans and wonder WTF they spent so much money on their Beats.
tl;dr if a $5 pair of headphones sounds awesome to you, don't buy a $5000 pair just because that extra money means it's 5000x better.
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