SMSL PL200 CD Player & DAC Review - CDs!?!? I Remember Those!

The PL200 was a loan from Apos Audio. Thanks!
Buy from Apos (affiliate link): apos.audio/products/smsl-pl20...
Support me on...
Patreon: / wavetheory1
Donate on Paypal: www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted...
My Reviews of Some Mentioned Gear...
HiFiMan HE1000se (1): • HiFiMan HE1000se Headp...
(2): • What Gear is My Gear? ...
Lake People G111mk2: Lake People G111mk2: • Lake People G111mk2 He...
SMSL DO300: • SMSL DO300 DAC Review ...
My Hearing Quirks: • WaveTheory Reviews Wav...
Timestamps...
00:00 Intro, Pricing, Disclaimer
01:15 Shameless Self Promotion
01:38 Framing & Takeaways
04:07 Features & Specs
05:28 Loading Mechanism
11:24 Build & Unit Tour
13:52 Remote Control
14:40 Test Gear
17:30 Sound
21:31 Transport Performance & DAC Comparison
22:55 Performance as a DDC
25:32 Final Thoughts

[@wavetheorysound]

The DAC chip in the PL200 is an AK4499EX. Apologies for the confusion.

[@carminedesanto6746]

GM ❄️☕️ I needed a replacement cd player recently…so I went with the Audiolab 6000CDT feeding a new Denafrips Ares 12-1…and it’s a revelation as to how good cds 💿 can sound . I’ve had songs disappear from my streaming services..so I’ll use streaming as a library..and if I like it , I’d buy the physical copy. Great review.

[@mechantl0up]

The Audiolab 6000 is said to gradually scratch CDs due to its poorly design slot mechanism. Some KZbinr whom I longer recall also tested it and found it to be somewhat scratch-prone. Is that true or not for all units, I do not know. Audiolab did dispense with that mechanism in their newer 9000 series transport, though. That said, I only listen to CDs myself, but use an old player as a transport connected to a DAC. A local dealer told me he now sells more CD players than at any point during the last decade. New models seem to be coming out all the time as well.

[@carminedesanto6746]

@@mechantl0up As much as there is talk of a “Vinyl Revival “…the cds 💿 are still here …

[@delta9k]

Really got a chuckle from your reference to the SMSL product release shcedule! Nice detailed review.

[@WorldView22]

A comprehensive review, thank you. Two other YT reviewers mentioned that SMSL PL200 sounds rather bad or mediocre as a CD transport using the *coaxial* digital output. Your (positive) experience was using the Toslink output, so I wonder whether you tried the coax...

[@Nephilim-81]

CDs are amazing. I fully support companies making transports/players. For reference listening I still turn to CDs from my incredible player. ❤ People have to remember that the quality of the player/transport matters. Data collection from the CD itself matters. It is not bullshit and when you’ve got a great player? Oh god. You’ll never stream again for reference level listening.

[@lucab5652]

I am with you bro. I'm so passionate about CDs. I'm from Italy and here there aren't so many passionate people like me or you. I'm glad, because the values have decreased and I don't have to bargain so much in order to close a deal.

[@Nephilim-81]

@@lucab5652I’m with you as well, Luca. Enjoy my friend.

[@lisar3944]

For me the reason I want a top loading cd player is that I don't want to worry about a drawer or slot mechanism breaking. That's it. It's the dumbest possible reason for cd player failure, yet it's also the most common. Plus, there is basically no risk of disc damage with a top loading mechanism. I couldn't care less about the "ritual". And you don't need to place the large lid to play. Just place the puck then long press the play button. RTM :) Obvs it's a good idea to replace the large lid when it's not in use to keep the insides clean.

[@drde4010]

Agreed.

[@GeirRssaak]

@@lisar3944 i have never had any probems with the lid!what products have you got?!

[@MrSaproling]

haven't watched it all just yet but already need to comment that the loading is absolutely awesome, I love it and would buy one just for this lol

[@frankbernharduebler]

The large lid is optional. The player plays the CD with an open lid when long-pressing the play button.

[@lisar3944]

Was going to post the same thing. This is the THIRD review I've seen where the reviewer apparently couldn't be bothered to RTM :/

[@tonymagnier9846]

Thanks for sharing this. Could you recommend a top quality external USB CD player to rip CDs from to the computer in the highest bitrates, thanks.

[@rendezvous009]

I own the Shanling ec3. That thing has a glass piece top loader. The CD may not be centered after loading and wobbles a bit and fails to play. I think the 2 pieces system prevents that.

[@AG-6969]

HELP!!!!! I bought this, having issues! I can use RCA, or Coax, or optical to hook it up as my amp has all three options. BUT on optical, the remote will not operate the volume of the player. Only the amp volume works. Also, sometimes, not always, when going from listening to music to the menu, I cannot exit the menu, it just shows "Read'y and is stuck there, till I turn the CD player completely off and turn back onto unstick the unit. Is my unit defective? Or what?

[@jkelley2091]

It doesn,t have a HDMI connection so what good is it?

[@00Silu]

Any plans for reviewing the Aune S17 Pro?

[@jazzandcocktails7]

Thank you for the review. I think that the vinyl revival has now led to revived interest in the CD format -- we want the experience of physical media, ownership, liner notes, photos, etc. without the expense and inconvenience of vinyl. I have been looking for a transport to run into a Matrix Element X. Not sure if the Urd is the best choice. People have had issues with the USB output and it doesn't have I2S. Agree with your assessment of the SMSL -- that a transport may have been a better idea, but I would like to see a better transport/ddc not a cheaper one. I also agree that a transport that plays CDs and SACDs, cheaper than the PS Audio Perfect Wave, would probably sell like hot cakes right now. The Urd needs SACD and an I2S output to justify the price. I would pay more if it had that. As an aside, I would really like to see a review of the Nuprime CD transports. They upsample and have I2S. Might not be your bag. Why dont you have a Thanks button for an easy way for one-time support of your channel? Not everyone wants to be a Patreon, but people will want to contribute.

[@leviuslee8896]

If I use headphones and skip tracks from a CD, it makes a noise like it is turning on and off as soon as I click the button for the next track. Did you notice that?

[@lucab5652]

Hey darling. I'm Luca from Italy I have bought the same player, but it struggles with my cds. My older one cd player used to read better. By the end of the day pl200 reads them, but this situation is a little strange. Do you experience the same situations?

[@stephenmacks23]

I'm not too sure what I understand a DDC is, can you give me a use scenario?

[@zorankalina4399]

Thank you.......👌🙂🍀👋

[@snarf4058]

This looks very nice. I have a Rega Apollo which is probably all i'd need for my remaining CDs. But it is tempting to sell and replace with this or a Shan Ling because they have better DACs, or an Audiolab slot loader. But then i just use Apollo into mu Schiit MMB2 so the DAC doesn't really matter. But hey it's nice to beautifully built and engineered things...

[@TheWorldTeacher]

I now know what to do with my 379 compact discs! 💿

[@wavetheorysound]

Yep. That's certainly too many to hang from your rear view mirror 🤣 And I just dated myself with that joke lol.

[@TheWorldTeacher]

@@wavetheorysound, I, too was joking, because OBVIOUSLY I own a compact disc player (a professional Marantz model). However, after several years of contemplating the enormous task of "ripping" them all to hard-drive, I finally completed that task just a couple of weeks ago. Now all that is to be done, is to label every single track on every single album, and search for album art images online to include in each album folder.

[@johnpajestka5022]

I believe it has an AKM 4499 in there.

[@marzcapone9939]

Ritual aside, there are albums with hidden gems. Some musicians put the "art" within the album. Songs may begin in a way you may not like, but then it changes and becomes magical. When we only listen to songs, and jump around maybe we are missing out.

[@stephenmacks23]

I have the PL200 and it ticks a lot of boxes for me, I like that it is so small and I can move it about the house very easily and listen to CDs in different places. What pcm filter did you use and what about sound colour?

[@lucab5652]

Hey darling. I'm Luca from Italy I have bought the same player, but it struggles with my cds. My older one cd player used to read better. By the end of the day pl200 reads them, but this situation is a little strange. Do you experience the same situations?

[@stephenmacks23]

@@lucab5652 I have had no problems at all. Have you removed the Lazer lens protector on the lens? Is yours carbon fiber on the cd tray?

[@lucab5652]

@@stephenmacks23 first of all thank you so much for answering ! Mine is that with carbon fiber and I didn't have any protection over the lens. There are differences between " with carbon " and " without carbon " ?

[@stephenmacks23]

@@lucab5652 I don't think so, just the appearance. I prefer the carbon myself. I think the silver version was the one sent out to reviewers. They must have updated it. I like the player a lot but it's expensive and missing a few features I would like. For example a media player I could plug a usb dongle into and a usb output. Are you enjoying yours? I prefer CDs to files and I enjoy the cover art and booklet.

[@stephenmacks23]

@@lucab5652 are you using the built in headphones amplifier or an external amp?

[@jamesschneider3828]

I would live a drawer load transport about that size that I could rest my ifi Zen signature amp and DAC stacked on top.

[@stevenkoski228]

For its price point, It’s construction is rugged, it’s connectivity options are excellent, the 4 transport buttons seem chincy, thank goodness it’s not a slot loader😎.

[@shaunjp2211]

Without thinking to hard disadvantages are only comes in silver and I2S isn't available. Looks ok though.

[@EricRhodeslives]

It's an AKM chip. Same chip as the external dac you used. 😂

[@drde4010]

IMO the disadvantages of how the CD loads is far superior to any conventional disc tray of disc entry because CD players often have trays or ejection systems that break down.

[@wavetheorysound]

Some others have commented similarly. I can see it. My thinking here is probably colored by the fact that I was with my dad when he bought his first CD player circa 1988 or 89...I was kid and the store was Montgomery Ward (lol). The player was a Sony that I've long forgotten the model number of but it was a drawer loader. I remember visiting my parents a few years after I finished undergrad (probably around 2011 or 12) and dad told me it had finally died, and it was the transport motor that failed and not the drawer mechanism. So later that year for Christmas I helped mom pick out a blu-ray player for his HT system and then his standard def DVD player (also a drawer load Sony) got moved to his stereo system to replace the CD player. That Sony DVD player is still working great (far as I know) and is going on 20 years old itself. All that is to say I have not had issues with drawer loading disc players, but it is true that it's a mechanical part that can fail.

[@illustrious420]

This use an ak4499ex, not a ess

[@chrisnyc3641]

Schiit Urd does what you're looking for. Except sacd - nothing plays sacd anymore except the Uber expensive PS Audio sacd transport

[@darmokt]

I use a Sony Blu-Ray player with a DSD-supporting HDMI audio extractor from eBay. The specific extractor I got supports DoP, which allows me to use it with a variety of DACs. The Sony is the UBP-X800M2, which has a dedicated HDMI audio output.

[@marzcapone9939]

Denon and Marantz both make SACD players.

[@thinkIndependent2024]

Flagship AKM!!!

[@Luvdac62]

Streaming via Roon Arc from Android phones is not bit perfect. Android forces up/down sampling to 48khz

[@wavetheorysound]

I'd check your settings and make sure the USB driver is activated. I get bit perfect output from roon arc from my Android phone and my iPad. It supports both major mobile platforms well.

[@chronometa]

It's weird to me that CD's feel older than vinyl.

[@wavetheorysound]

😆 Don't they though? Maybe they'll experience a retro-cool revival like vinyl did?

[@chronometa]

@@wavetheorysound I have people who use vinyl look at my mp3 player like it's old tech 😭.

[@aceofspades6667]

I prefer physical media and the sound quality to streaming but streamings conscience and access to an entire universe of music in undeniable. A properly setup reel to reel and tape collection is undeniably superior but I cannot afford it.

[@wavetheorysound]

Good points. It's very hard to directly compare streaming to physical media as well since the quality of transport, usb implementation, network, software, etc, all play a role. The PL200 simplifies it some as it clearly sounds better to me with CDs as compared to its own usb inputs. Also I agree about the value of music streaming. For the cost of a brand new CD per month we get access to just about every CD Earth has to offer. And with good gear it all still sounds pretty great too. A beautiful time in history to be a music lover and audiophile.

[@DavidMander-rs4uk]

CD players... Remember those!! I listen to CDs all the time. I do not do that paid subscription trash 🗑️👎 Dave.

[@Michael_mki233]

Time to bring back 8-track.

[@Asterisk3095]

should be noted that if you're not careful you can accidentally scratch your CD while loading it into the player. not sure it was a very good idea for SMSL to have the user load the disc themselves by having to put a magnet on the disc as well as a metal cover

[@ernies8828]

Vinyl people can be an odd crowd. I stopped buying records when the better format of CDs came out. I mostly stream now through Spotify. That's a unique unit, although unfortunately, it's made in Communist China, so I wouldn't buy it anyway. Nice review. Thank you

[@inlikeflynt56]

Sorry China, I’ll stick with the Urd thru my Bifrost 2/64.

[@johnpajestka5022]

Wish I could swing something like that. Have a Modi/Loki/Magni stack already. Unfortunately with how expensive life is right now China transport might be the play.

[@jazzandcocktails7]

Are you still happy with your Urd? I am on the fence.

[@GeirRssaak]

Sorry, what is good with this stupid product?!!

[@leviuslee8896]

Do you have any base to call this stupid product?

[@GeirRssaak]

@@leviuslee8896 sorry! My point is that the old masters Sony and Philips made players with very good inboard DACs! They invented the cd!

[@GeirRssaak]

@@leviuslee8896 no, but look at the facts! The grand old masters, Philips and Sony, made the cd format! Their inboard DACS have never been improved! You must be a very stupid person!

[@GeirRssaak]

@@leviuslee8896 you should read about the grand old masters, Philips and Sony! They invented the cd! You must be a very stupid person!