SMSL SP200 THX headphone amp

Hello. Has anybody received one yet? I think they started shipping about a week ago. Cheaper than the Monoprice 887 by quite a bit but only has a one year warranty. For those unaware, the list is $289.00. I did just get an email from Shenzhen Audio stating that it would be down to $255.11 for 11-11/Black Friday.

Curious to hear what folks think about it. Cheaper than the other two and shipping right now.

Shane D

 

*sigh* I'll bite, not having heard THX 789 I can't say anything about how the two compare.

Off hand with Modi 3 I don't notice anything off about the amp,

When I moved it up to the RME ADI 2 and began comparing it again'st my existing tubes the staging and overall dynamics are a bit flat VS my modded SET with both my K501 and HD800,

Curious now how it'll do with the Planars on my reference system as I quite liked it's performance with Ether CX

 

here some review by my friend...

https://orronoco.blogspot.com/2020/03/smsl-sp200-thx-certified-headphones.html

 

here are component analysis for modification and improvement

https://orronoco.blogspot.com/2020/03/smsl-sp200-components-analysis.html

 

It is definitely neutral and flat to me. Not a favourite in my collection but does work well with certain headphones. The Fostex TH-610 loved it!
I just spent 21 straight days listening to my new Focal Elex`s with every amp I own. The Elex`s and SP200 certainly pick up and magnify every flaw in the music. I decided to pair these two and only listen to jazz for a day. Think Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard and Kamasi Washington. It was the most perfect sounding combo for my home that I have ever heard. Unfortunately, I don`t do jazz all the time, but it was great while it lasted.

 

Won one of these from a local youtuber. He's only got a handful of patrons but, still, SCORE!
The build quality is nicer than I expected, volume knob does suck. The rhombus shape though

Only just hooked it up. In the same ballpark as my Jot. A bit thinner and lighter, maybe a hair more resolution. Based on the comparisons others have posted between the THX789 and the Jot, I'd expect the SP200 to sounds basically identical to the 789.

 

The knob performance varies a lot, I've been lucky and picked a used "golden unit" which has perfect channel balance even for sensitive IEMs (not that I'm powering them with this amp).