SMSL PL200 CD player

[@bikeman7982]

Thanks for the nice overview. I'm probably going to pull the trigger. I like how you said the internal DAC is perfectly fine. Modern DACs have become so transparent, the point of diminishing returns hits pretty quickly. I'm fairly confident people will have trouble telling decent DACs apart in a blind test. PS: please use a steady camera mount next time. I became nauseous watching this on my big screen TV, so switched to my iPhone 🙂.

[@drde4010]

@@bikeman7982 agreed on all comments including steady cam. 👍😎

[@roberthart9886]

About a month ago I bought a Shanling ET3 transport. Very similar. Incredible trans especially for $729

[@riccitone]

Thanks for this. Was wondering about this CD player - also the Shanling transport. Very wise outlook on implementation, dacs vs speakers/amps btw. Solid reminder not to go down a big rabbit hole 🙏🏼

[@robinkleinsteuber5217]

Yeah! Funny, I was also looking at the Shanling ET3 transport and this SMSL PL200 player! I like the idea of top-loading units. Still haven't decided. 😊👍🎶🎶🎶

[@wa4aos]

Hi Doc, great review and what a GREAT way to have a decent CD for occasional use and then hide it behind a speaker when my analog audio buds come over. I agree 100% about a "great audiophile," transport and DAC costing way too much and being way too proprietary. As an engineer, I expect to be able to get parts for and repair my own stuff wo and expensive trip to a manufacturer, if they are still in biz and still support the device.

[@DSupremeLounge]

Have and love this cd player. You can actually power off by simply pushing and holding in center dial for a few seconds

[@rastaman5105]

Nice stereo set up , and that Thorenz recordplayer is beautiful !!

[@giangvu7902]

As long as you enjoy the sound of your system, price does not matter.

[@bobnevala5218]

Thank-you for the Album recommendation. It sounds great!

[@MarkSWilliams27]

Nice, no-nonsense system. Great choice of music. I have never owned a DAC and never figure I will. I guess that the designers aren't going to put some junk in a CD player they create. DACs are probably a great way to suck more money out of audiophiles.

[@scroogemcduck3003]

Extremely useful MQA badge/feature

[@timothyfreeseha4056]

I would love a top loading transport , or a transport with a manual door. And then I think it would be cool if said transport company gave us consumers a spare laser in case the existing laser dies. Something we can replace in 2.5 seconds!

[@ConorHanley]

I do like the top loading but I rarely play CDs directly now as I rip them to FLAC and play them over the network. On the other hand I never buy downloads as I regard anything that's not solid is worthless. Maybe I'm just old.

[@slidetek]

LOL, not old, smart. I started collecting CDs as soon as I could in the 80’s, and continued into the 2000’s. After a divorce and getting my gear and software back after many years, I did 2 things. Ultrasonic clean and re-sleeve my vinyl collection, and RIP my CD collection. It didn’t take long to find out some of my CDs began to deteriorate. I’d heard about it, but got to see first hand, especially the ones printed in the 80’s. Thankfully this wonderful new software finds and replaces the gaps, so that saved me a dozen or so times if not more. My DAC and streamer are pretty decent, so the convenience is top notch. If I want the ritual experience, I’ll put on an LP. Still cool to see a nice tidy little unit like this, possibly worthy to use as a transport at least for the new non-ripped stuff.

[@ConorHanley]

@@slidetek Yep, remember those rotted CDs but only have a few, the most annoying being Misty in Roots - Live at the Counter Eurovision. A wonderful Reggie album from 1979 I had to buy again to add to the LP I bought first.

[@Jdsofar]

@@slidetek How does a CD degrade if its in a case for decades untouched? Because I have nearly 20 year old xbox games that are been used and abused and work fine but im only 27 so I haven't had disc for more than 20 years.

[@johnbravo7542]

I use a Bluray player as my transport,and in my case there is a very noticeable difference between optical and coaxial the optical sounds really,really good,and I've tried it with three different DAC's and all three sound better through the optical.

[@drde4010]

Interesting and at one point I thought the same. In a while I'll do an update.

[@Jdsofar]

I would get one but dont really see the need since I already have a top loading CD player - A Technics SA-C600. It also has a built in phono pre I never use, amp to power speakers, CD player of coarse, Bluetooth Streamer, and Radio. So unsure what benefits if any buying this would bring me.

[@drde4010]

@@Jdsofar yeah sounds like you already have a good CD player that appears to be a nice one

[@samissomar]

Excellent sound...a must !...

[@carlitomelon4610]

Thanks for sharing. Nice vintage system! Not chasing resolution, but musicality on this one, i appreciate your perspective. Any digital noise pickup from the CD player to the turntable? Easily defeated my powering the CD off during vinyl replay. Thats what i do anyway. So you also have an OB system? Agreed that Music is an emotional & spiritual experience. If the system gets these reactions its good enough, right? (Let the designers & robots listen to measurements;-)

[@drde4010]

@@carlitomelon4610 no noises and have used many open baffles in my video.

[@jhschmidMD4]

See that "Friends of Mr. Cairo" LP, down there in your record cabinet! Not that you need it, but I approve!

[@drde4010]

@@jhschmidMD4 love that album

[@keithbullen2242]

At long long last a real audiophile who like me thinks its a complete waste of money buying really expensive dacs ive listened to them denafrips etc...yes they're different to a good 1k cd player but not worth paying 3-5k i would buy that cd player especially for the price but have an arcam cd5 recently bought fantastic player for around the same price as yours. Nice review thanks.

[@ptg01]

Beautiful.. not sure how you can play DSD if it does not support SACDs... unless it is only through the USB port connected to say a network drive / thumb drive that contains DSD files ?

[@HD-Tech]

Interesting observations. Starting with the quality of the crossover components in your Klipsch it's no wonder you don't hear big differences in DACs resolution. Then speaker cables after that is sorted. Secondly those speakers pushed into the corners and having your component rack in between them is killing the soundstage and the center image you would get if they were out into the room and had space between them. That's where I would start. You could move them out and experiment with degrees of toe in just to see the difference that makes. (Its free after all). You can always push them back when not listening. Cheers

[@drde4010]

I have to disagree with you on this. I have Crites crossovers in my Klipsch Forte's and it's the same thing. DAC's make a very subtle difference. I have listened to DAC's using several speaker placements, look at all my other videos. That's not the reason. Speaker cables don't make any differences worth dealing with. Speaker cables? That's really over the top.

[@HD-Tech]

@@drde4010 I have to disagree. Crites is not a real upgrade to xover parts That speaker connection block and their spade connection counter parts on the xover are all ferrous metal as well as the stock binding posts. They also use some electrolytic caps and they still use sand cast resistors. All that smears the signal. Now once you point to point wire from nonferrous binding posts (Cardas) to XO using proper air core inductors, copper wire wound resistors (Mills, Dueland) and copper foil (or silver) and film capacitors the level of clarity and detail and openness increases tremendously. And yes speaker cables do matter as what material the cable is made of but also the dielectric coating the wire. (Look up teflon dielectric vs polyethylene and frequency absorption ) They don't add to the signal but inferior cables subtract. Try copper or silver in teflon or oiled cotton. Use silver solder like WBT. Ive been doing this for a long time and learned a lot by experimenting once I started being open minded and stopped listening to all the negative noise out there. I say all this in hopes to inspire audio enthusiasts to better sound. Good luck in your journey and take my input for what it's worth. Happy listening!

[@gaborozorai3714]

That speaker placement is just fine. I also have equipment racks and record cabinets between my Cornwalls and spatiality and imaging are excellent. I guess it's due to the way horns project sound into the room that you don't get disturbing reflections.

[@drde4010]

@@HD-Tech I appreciate the feedback however one has to be practical about this.

[@HD-Tech]

@@gaborozorai3714 Pull your speakers out in front of the rack and spend some time adjusting the distance between them and also the degrees of toe in until you would swear there is a third speaker between them. Then you will realize how speaker placement can affect your experience and what imaging and soundstage can really be. Im speaking as a former Heresy, Forte II and Cornwall owner over the years. Now that's assuming you are seated in a dedicated listening position directly between the speakers otherwise is doesn't matter. Just a way to improve your experience at no cost. Happy listening.

[@net_news]

amazing product I got this one and the VMV T2 (transport version of the PL200) and both are EXCELLENT. One question, what's the brand/model of the tube amp that you are using? Thanks!

[@drde4010]

@@net_news thanks for sharing. Yes it’s in the description below, but it’s called a Dynaco ST70 from GetDynaco.com

[@clarencehoover6748]

Does thus unit play “gapless”? For example, some recordings are continuous but demarcated by numbered sections. Gapless players smoothly transition without pauses between these tracks (which aren’t really separate tracks).

[@bertroost1675]

Good question. I read about some newer player that came out and, as ridiculous as it seems, it played with gaps. That's a huge fail.

[@Porscheke7]

I've got the same CD player (PL200 ...never remember the name!) and yes: gapless, as far as I can tell (because you don't directly notice "gapless" unless it isn't!) but, like in classical music, opera, the sound just goes on, without those really troublesome cuts in the sound on my battery-operated Shanling Mini, an otherwise good product. And, BTW, I love that top-loading, the good build, the sound etc. my only observation would be that these Chinese instruction manuals, as well as the actual operational procedures aren't as straightforward as I've seen elsewhere. But once "set", the only thing I do is put on a CD and ... sit down. Thankee!

[@WACONimages]

The bluetooth could be nice to use with a bluetooth headphone. Not for purists maybe but it can come in handy

[@superdougie10]

I can't remember if you spoke about price.

[@drde4010]

Yeah, it was 535 on sale normally 669

[@Jon-be9yy]

Where did you get the clear cover for your turntable?

[@drde4010]

@@Jon-be9yy I made it. I had a friend who does CNC and I assembled it myself.

[@uruguayo6395]

Is The bluetooth feature, receiver or output or both?

[@drde4010]

@@uruguayo6395 it has a Bluetooth receiver so I think it does both

[@cobar5342]

It is rather expensive for what it is. I would go for the Audiolab 6000CDT Premium Audiophile CD Transport any day for the same cost

[@DSupremeLounge]

That slide in cd mechanism is suspect over time. I returned mine

[@quinto34]

@@DSupremeLounge this

[@cobar5342]

@@DSupremeLounge It does look a bit cheesy

[@MD-cy6pe]

if you say you have a leak transport & denafrips dac why did you buy a cd player?

[@drde4010]

@@MD-cy6pe that’s a good question. The reason is because there are three different sound systems I have.

[@jamesminotto8036]

Could you, please, keep the camera steady? Very distracting

[@drde4010]

Yeah, I agree. I noticed it after I finished the video. Thanks for mentioning it. Next time I’ll use the tripod. Much appreciated. 👍

[@jean-pierrescherer8250]

SACD?

[@drde4010]

@@jean-pierrescherer8250 they say it is but reviews say it didn’t sound any better than a normal CD. I don’t know the reasons why

[@andrewlittleboy8532]

@@drde4010they probably meant it's compatible with hybrid SACD's. It's not an SACD player but it will play the other defunct format 'MQA' cd's.

[@Evolved_ue7]

You should name the channel " Breath of fresh air reviews" looking forward to your complete review..

[@drde4010]

@@Evolved_ue7 😂 that’s a good one thank you

[@mongo2044]

For those not familiar with CD players or transports, it is a bit daunting with much misinformation about how they work at a technical level as well as in practice with humans. Sadly, there is also a lot of audiophile snake oil garbage out there about them in the form of products and utter nonsense ideas about how the technology works. Be skeptical. Some really ugly and clunky looking players out there from the 1990 to the mid teens for $10 at a thrift store will either match or exceed many new ones costing much more. Like turntables, CD players need checking/cleaning internally about every decade. Many dead players just need the old yellow lubricant cleaned off (manufacturers went cheap on that) and new lubrication put on. (Super Lube makes a safer PTFE free version that works great.) Unlike 1970s turntables and older, the electronics inside 1990s to early teens CD players tend to be much more reliable as they age and for the most part, remain fine. Electronics simply got better by the mid 1990s.

[@user-jp3vl5jx1j]

739 Euro over here. Way overpriced. I´d rather rip a CD and stream to my main DAC(s).

[@drde4010]

In my opinion, it’s reasonably price compared to what else is available considering the quality.

[@tonyfrench2574]

Incoherent, self indulgent. Get on with it !