SMSL SU-9 and SH 9 Review - A Step Up with BT To Go With That!!

[@CuttoothsRoom]

great write up! i have the SU-9 paired with a AAA 789 and love the combination. one thing about running a tube amp and the AAA at the same time. i have the AAA off the balanced chain and a bottlehead crack running off the rca chain, no problem running both simultaneously.

[@timothyoliethoowor]

Firstly, thanks for this review Chuck! Very precise 👌. Secondly, I think I just I just found the "holy grail" of audio. The PREAMP!! I've been watching videos about what a preamp adds to the audio chain and I can say this needs serious investigation. I checked PS Audio's videos and Paul seems to agree with my findings. It turns out, headphones aren't the problem most times, the recordings are (Loudness Wars). However, using a preamp volume knob (gain), one can easily get headphones to sound extremely NATURAL. Philips Fidelio X2 headphones are said to be peaky and grainy. After I started using the PREAMP knob to control volume instead of the power amp knob, the headphones morphed into "an end game pair for fun listening"; 1. Absolutely zero grain 2. Smooth buttery treble and midrange 3. Authoritative Bass Slam 4. The soundstage opened up significantly to a point where you could almost look straight into the audio 5. The treble sounded very life like 6. Zero Listening fatigue It turns out listening fatigue is caused by digital artifacts that are curtailed when using a preamp. Please look into this and share yo thoughts with the community regarding the advantages/disadvantages of having a preamp between the DAC and POWER AMP. FYI, even using digital preamps like the one in NEUTRON music player yielded the same results. All you have to do is open the equalizer; drop the PREAMP gain from 0 to about -15 or even -20 Db. Then raise the Power Amp volume to get the audio to loud enough levels and observe. Thanks

[@chungang7037]

Ah man, all these wonderful toys not available in Korea here. Anyway, appreciate the reviews!

[@chuckolatte600]

Heyo

[@johnsoriano3812]

Awesome review! Thanks for a good one.

[@johnellison3173]

You could just use the quarter inch at the front of the amp as your preamp to your speakers as you wont be using it for headphones at the same time. You will just need one of those 3.5mm to rca cables.

[@ManicQuinn]

When will you review the Hifiman HE400se?

[@airun5362]

I do not reccomend chinese amps. Ive had topping a50 and smsl HO200. First was "thrown in trash after 5 min", second after 3 minutes. (sold them both) I recommend to buy vintage amps if you have space. PC2002 with xlr-preamp like TC electronics (50$) with headphone selector beats HO200 with no any doubt. Yamaha is more expensive only becouse of devlivery and weight. Its 2 quality steps higher in every way. I guesss su-9 is almost the same as ho200.