Review on 🔊 S.M.S.L SA300 HiFi Digital Amplifier, Class D Power Amp with Infineon's MA12070 Chip, RCA USB Bluetooth 5.0 APTX Input, Multiple EQ Modes - Remote Control Included (Black) by Katie Jefferson

Short Version - Plugged into the speakers, plugged everything in and everything worked right away. Perfect so far. Remarkable sound quality. Stupid easy setup and use. Some quirks that a tech-savvy person might encounter. Full version: Received unwrapped, open box (untaped) with shipping label attached. Miraculously, it did not open on the way, and everything scattered. Inside the box was a product, well packaged and insulated with high quality polystyrene foam (not polystyrene foam). Despite the fragile packaging, the product proved to be harmless. The box was opened - it was well packed, inside was a remote control, white USB cable, power adapter (24v 6a, pretty hefty which is what I wanted), screw on BlueTooth antenna and a few small handouts. For the remote control you need 2 AAA batteries, which are not included. There was only one handout with information in English, printed in 6 dot light gray - almost illegible. The English version was in a double page spread, I had to check. It would have been nice to have a big, obvious "Start Here" card that showed a simple schematic and basic instructions, but I'm a techie so it wasn't hard to figure out; This is a fairly simple product design, see below. There was literally no detailed technical documentation on audio settings etc in the box and on the website. The website, apparently in China, is painfully slow but nice to look at, has an English section and has lots of helpful overview information on the product details page. There are no driver or firmware updates for this product. The PDF manual is the same as the tiny 6pt gray handout included in the box. Installation instructions that can be understood by a less experienced person. But honestly the product didn't deserve what it delivers, see below. This thing is so easy to use that it doesn't require a lot of instructions. power button. input selection button. volume control. The rear panel connectors are clearly labeled, these are high quality screw type speaker terminals that will fit banana plugs if available. Press the volume button and you will get a menu. Turn to select an item and press to select. The entries are clearly marked. You can even set the display color, a nice little elegant touch. Small but very clear and bright OLED display, easy to read. USB audio works flawlessly out of the box, with a feature I'll explain below. Plug it in, turn it on and it magically appears as a new Windows audio device, no driver installation required. He just started working. Simply that way. That's what you hoped for and that's what he gave you. The USB quirk is actually a strength and really a feature of Windows and iTunes, not because of the product itself. Short version: If you're using iTunes and want to change the baud rate settings directly on the speaker device, they need to match if you want to use direct audio. On Windows 10, go to Sound Settings > Sound Control Panel and click on the entry for the device (TX 384kb Hifi Type_C Audio). Click Properties. Click on "Advanced". The default is 2 channels, 24-bit, 44100 Hz. This is a good general choice that doesn't depend too much on USB capacity. , which is important if you don't have a USB 2.0 or 3.x that can handle that bandwidth, or other commonly used devices on the same bus like a high-end webcam, etc.). This feature was one of the reasons I chose this product. The default looks ok as Windows Audio seems to re-encode the bitstream (iTunes max is 24 bit). So everything I tried worked. That's probably why they chose this default setting. Yes. However, if you instruct iTunes to use Direct Sound and you want to maximize iTunes playback quality, the default format should be set to 24-bit, max 192000Hz (equivalent to iTunes), otherwise no sound. I connected this to a USB 2.x/3.x hub so I wanted the highest possible quality settings. I've done the setup from 32b/384k (Windows Session Audio) to 24b/192k (Direct Sound) and to be honest I'm not sure I can tell the difference. It still sounded fantastic, see below. On the ego side, the OCD geek in me insists on the highest possible settings I can have anywhere, so it's a bit of an ego kick, but whatever. More like iTunes. Revain Music (which assumes Windows Audio Session is being used by a browser) had no issues with the 32b settings, and if I'm going to use Windows Session Audio from iTunes I'd like to check the "best settings everywhere". " in my head. To try it, I first hooked it up to a pair of Polk T15s, which are a nice pair of small bookshelf or tabletop speakers, about 6" x 6" x 10", solidly built, with a dome tweeter, a small ish base driver and a ported enclosure.In the past I've found them to be 'good but not great' compared to my trusty,loved,battered old Boston Acoustics A70.I just wanted something basic to add connectivity, To test functionality etc. But I have to say. It is. Yes. Just wow. Picture, precision and depth, bass definition, especially the bass (no EQ setting). Even these tiny speakers were a treat to listen to. And that is to compare a very good pair of Seinheiser over ear headphones to compare the best possible sound with other DAC sources like my laptop's RealTek sound chip. They just don't compare. I can never go back. It just sounds nice like that far I can Remember, high good sound quality should sound. It took me a long time to get back to the clarity and detail I could get back then with something like an Infinity EMIT tweeter and a quality amplifier. I've always been a fan of D class amps but now I'm completely sold out. I think I have a brand new set of speakers. I played through various well-known music and was completely surprised by some noises that I hadn't noticed before. That makes itself felt. I also use speakers for audio video conferencing. The irony is that I can now more clearly hear echoes and hits (as well as dogs barking etc.) from poor acoustics in various home offices. It actually helps distinguish what people are saying and helps distinguish between sounds. I chose this device for its simplicity, 32-bit DAC, attractive design, good reviews, and the fact that it accepts a direct, high-bandwidth USB audio stream. . He's wonderful in every way. In addition, I realized how mediocre the sound quality is from various sources, BlueTooth devices, etc. In this regard, I've always considered BlueTooth not the best sound source, but I still tried this feature in the spirit of a full review. I connected it to my laptop with no problems, but first I had to unplug it from my iPhone or it wouldn't show up as an available device. Pairing with the iPhone was flawless and delivered the audio quality I was expecting from an iPhone source. On Windows 10, the Speaker Properties > Advanced tab shows it's paired with 16-bit, 44100 Hz "CD Quality", which I consider a step down from the USB settings I tried above, less than that 24-bit quality that iTunes can play from downloaded music purchased from their store. I could tell the difference - dirtier, loss of detail etc. But I'm sitting right between two very high quality speakers and testing the same music in high detail side by side, A/B etc. In the backyard or in a large room. In a room with different ambient noise, it would be difficult at best to tell a significant difference and unlikely you would care in such circumstances. And that's not a product issue, it's the BlueTooth sound itself. So I'd say it worked as expected, ie without any complaints. Again, just like USB, Direct Sound wouldn't connect at the higher baud rate settings, so I just switched it to Windows Session Audio and heard the expected blurry BlueTooth music. Sean Puck's Bach song on acoustic guitar lacked a fair amount of echo and resonance. It's very different for me. But the device is not to blame. So that we understand each other. BlueTooth will never be an audiophile source of sound (in my opinion), but it's more than enough for larger rooms, more typical audio systems, or situations where such overly discerning tastes don't matter. So I would say that BlueTooth worked flawlessly. , from two different units, produced as good a sound quality as I could expect from a source that I think is as good as it gets. Personally, I'd say a 32-bit DAC is overkill for Bluetooth audio, but it's a good opportunity for flexibility when setting up an A/V room. In general, the quality of the product clearly corresponds to 5 stars. I had an odd delivery experience, hopefully not the norm. The finished product wasn't perfect, but it wasn't bad either, in part because the product is well designed, clearly labeled, and does what it's supposed to do and nothing else. I find it overkill for a BlueTooth source, but for direct or USB audio it has very high fidelity, clarity, playback etc, everything I would expect from a DAC and amplifier. The 32-bit DAC specified in the product description and the precision D-class amplifier electronics seem to offer exactly what I wanted. I literally couldn't be happier with the choice. So here. go spend money