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SMSL SAP-8 Headphone Amp
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SMSL SAP-8 Headphone Amp
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Product Description
Delivering accurate Class-A sound reproduction in a compact package, the SMSL SAP-8 is ideal for pairing with your USB DAC, connecting to your smartphone or digital audio player, or using as part of your mixing console. It’s built with high-quality parts from Panasonic and TOCOS, and features Class-A topology for low-distortion performance Read More
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keyboard_arrow_downaether_tech
30
May 1, 2019
Nothing irks me more than seeing headphone amps being constantly advertised with the Fidelio X2 in pic.
Fucking amazing headphone, that's no longer being produced, and constantly (slowly though) rising in price.
sonicgene
1
Mar 31, 2018
the sap-8 with upgradet opamps is absolutely stunning, the warmth some mention is a lack of highs, but with opa2604 did not work, was ver agile exc. dynamic, but ear fatique, the NE 5532 in all 3 Positions works wonder. My alltime fav.
jaredfergusonn
0
Sep 10, 2017
So, I've plugged an ac adapter into it instead of dc, and it shut off. So, like an idiot, I had decided to plug it in again, and same result. It seems fine now that I've switched back to dc, but I wish to know how likely an event of damage to this unit might be. Is there any way that this could have damaged the capacitors, the potentiometer, or the op amps? Could it cause permanent distortion? I really don't know for sure. (Someone help, I can still replace it)
Ataemonus
16
Sep 1, 2016
Z-Reviews is a lot of BS, he gets things wrong so often it's not even funny. NOT all the amps sound the same, DEFINITELY.
sAp-8 is quite good, linear, neutral, well built, good looking/discrete, etc.
The only downsides are that it gets moderately hot and the RCA inputs are reversed, pretty much like on all smsl products, and you might want a more powerful power supply, I think the amp can use it.
Bami
10
Aug 31, 2016
Hi there, can I use this amp for a turntable (Philips 867 direct control)? Or do I Have to buy something extra like a "pre-amp"? I Have the beyerdynamic custom one Pro plus headphones.
Bami
10
Aug 31, 2016
Thanks for your quick answer, I have found the Behringer PP 400 in a webshop, if I put it like this: Philips turntable -> Behringer preamp- SMSL headphone amp->Beyerdynamic headphones, it will work?
Jaggi
737
Aug 31, 2016
NakedChineseIt's op-amp based, I suspect you'd have a hard time finding an amp built with all discrete components at this kind of price.
Here's a quote taken from the head-fi thread I linked above:
"The smsl SAP-8 is a fine little amp for the money, but no one seems to know about it. Most places have it for $100, but I got mine for about $85 shipped, although it took 3 weeks to arrive. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's detailed and warm, with a large soundstage. It advertises "soft class A sounds", but I don't know if it's true class A. The softer sounds seem to come from the 3 op amps (brand VMV). I replaced them temporarily with my own LME49990, which are quite good, but I think the smsl op amps are a little better. Maybe they are trying to copy the famous MUSES01 op amp."
There's a picture of the internals on this page: http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-sap-8-cnc-class-a-hifi-home-stereo-headphone-amplifier-mkp-alps-tocos.html
It'll be a shame if this drop doesn't get enough buyers to go ahead just because the sap-8 isn't surrounded by the hype of some other smsl products. Based on everything I've been able to find out this is likely one of their best headphone amps, and having the option of balanced xlr input in addition to standard rca is a great little bonus for testing purposes if nothing else!
Here's a quote taken from the head-fi thread I linked above:
"The smsl SAP-8 is a fine little amp for the money, but no one seems to know about it. Most places have it for $100, but I got mine for about $85 shipped, although it took 3 weeks to arrive. I wasn't expecting much, but I was pleasantly surprised. It's detailed and warm, with a large soundstage. It advertises "soft class A sounds", but I don't know if it's true class A. The softer sounds seem to come from the 3 op amps (brand VMV). I replaced them temporarily with my own LME49990, which are quite good, but I think the smsl op amps are a little better. Maybe they are trying to copy the famous MUSES01 op amp."
There's a picture of the internals on this page: http://www.shenzhenaudio.com/smsl-sap-8-cnc-class-a-hifi-home-stereo-headphone-amplifier-mkp-alps-tocos.html
It'll be a shame if this drop doesn't get enough buyers to go ahead just because the sap-8 isn't surrounded by the hype of some other smsl products. Based on everything I've been able to find out this is likely one of their best headphone amps, and having the option of balanced xlr input in addition to standard rca is a great little bonus for testing purposes if nothing else!
Jaggi
737
Aug 29, 2016
There's not a lot of info around regarding the sap-8, so in the hope of getting this drop happening I thought I'd share a couple of links.
The first is a head-fi thread about the SMSL VA1 headphone amp, but which happens to have a few comments about the sap-8 (see page 2 of the thread). I first saw this thread some time ago while researching the VA2 and ever since I've wanted to try out the sap-8:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/775852/smsl-vmv-va1-headphone-amplifier
The other is the review by Zeos which covers the sap-8 along with the sap-6 and sap-7 (he gets a lot more excited by the cheaper little sap-6, but was still happy enough to recommend the sap-8). Skip to 6:45 to see him talking about the sap-8.
The first is a head-fi thread about the SMSL VA1 headphone amp, but which happens to have a few comments about the sap-8 (see page 2 of the thread). I first saw this thread some time ago while researching the VA2 and ever since I've wanted to try out the sap-8:
http://www.head-fi.org/t/775852/smsl-vmv-va1-headphone-amplifier
The other is the review by Zeos which covers the sap-8 along with the sap-6 and sap-7 (he gets a lot more excited by the cheaper little sap-6, but was still happy enough to recommend the sap-8). Skip to 6:45 to see him talking about the sap-8.
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