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The SMSL PL-150

Lavane

Lavane

Lunatic Member
I had bought one of the SMSL PL-150's just to use as a CD transport while researching and deciding on a transport to use long term. When I bought it I didn't even try it as a CD Player. I hooked it up to a SMSL SU-2 DAC right away with an optical cable. After using the PL-150 for several months now as a transport only I decided to give it a try as a CD player. Its not half bad actually. It doesn't have the latest processor or OP amps, but the thing sounds pretty good. I listened to it like that for a few days before hooking the DAC back up to it. I still haven't decided on a transport yet though. I think I've narrowed ot down to a top loader though.
 
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Lavane said:
I had bought one of the SMSL PL-150's just to use as a CD transport while researching and deciding on a transport to use long term. When I bought it I didn't even try it as a CD Player. I hooked it up to a SMSL SU-2 DAC right away with an optical cable. After using the PL-150 for several months now as a transport only I decided to give it a try as a CD player. Its not half bad actually. It doesn't have the latest processor or OP amps, but the thing sounds pretty good. I listened to it like that for a few days before hooking the DAC back up to it. I still haven't decided on a transport yet though. I think I've narrowed ot down to a top loader though.
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This one seems to pop up more and more in YT video's of reviews systems (in the background). I think for the price it's pretty hard to beat, though I've never owned one. Any idea which DAC it's using?
 
Hajidub said:
This one seems to pop up more and more in YT video's of reviews systems (in the background). I think for the price it's pretty hard to beat, though I've never owned one. Any idea which DAC it's using?
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The dac is the Cirrus CS43198. Below is a link to testing of the PL-150 along with pictures of the inside. It pretty much has the same performance of the PL-100 thats even cheaper. I just couldn't get past the looks of the PL-100.
www.audiosciencereview.com

SMSL PL150 Review (CD Player)

Hello everyone, This is a review and measurements of the SMSL PL150 CD player and transport: After the review of the SMSL PL100 which seems to have been replaced by this one, I thought it'd be good to check out potential evolutions, as the PL100 did really well for the cost. SMLS PL150 -...
www.audiosciencereview.com www.audiosciencereview.com
 
J English said:
The Fosi Merak, in my opinion, is betterIMG_1315.jpeg all around, both as a player and a transport, than the SMSL units.
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I’m going to judge both brands on my desktop system…I have the SMSL PL 150 Pro right now & have the Merak unopened also…
 
J English said:
The Fosi Merak, in my opinion, is better all around, both as a player and a transport, than the SMSL units.
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Im sure. I just bought the PL-150 to use as an inexpensive transport until I decide on the transport I want to use long term. Still, its specs aren't too shabby used as a CDP. And it is easy to listen to. I'll most likely give it to one of my sons when I do get a better transport.
 
I have the PL-100 as a transport. It was the tiny, not ridiculously priced, and very good quality transport/player I had been waiting for many years for someone to produce. The PL-100 faceplate looks hideous in pictures, but actually looks pretty decent in real-life (you don't really see the stupid faceplate pattern, at least in my setting which isn't super brightly lit). It feels like a brick in the hand and the quality is pretty amazing, especially for the price. I'm using it with a Muse Model 2 DAC.

I'm not really convinced I'd get better sound with a high-end transport, so no plans to upgrade from the PL-100.
 
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I haven't seen a PL-150 in person -- it looks like the silver version has a slightly pebbled surface on the faceplate from the pics. I'm not terribly fond of the pebbled surface (if that's what it is), though it's better than the senseless graphics on the PL-100. For as much quality as SMSL put into the player itself, you'd think they'd put a nicer finish on the faceplate (though it's impossible to complain at the price).

I'm not a fan of the Fosi Merak looks and a top-loader would not work in my system, but curious to hear how it stacks up performance-wise. When it comes to Meraks, I prefer the Maserati Meraks :):) (much better looking than the Bora to my eye).
 
peterp1 said:
I haven't seen a PL-150 in person -- it looks like the silver version has a slightly pebbled surface on the faceplate from the pics. I'm not terribly fond of the pebbled surface (if that's what it is), though it's better than the senseless graphics on the PL-100. For as much quality as SMSL put into the player itself, you'd think they'd put a nicer finish on the faceplate (though it's impossible to complain at the price).

I'm not a fan of the Fosi Merak looks and a top-loader would not work in my system, but curious to hear how it stacks up performance-wise. When it comes to Meraks, I prefer the Maserati Meraks :):) (much better looking than the Bora to my eye).
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The SMSL PL 150 looks good & works great with my SCHIIT MIMIR…IMG_1303.jpeg
 
red 111 said:
The SMSL PL 150 looks good & works great with my SCHIIT MIMIR…View attachment 3817279
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It's not a bad sounding player at all. As for it being a grabber, supposedly it uses one of the best Phillips car stereo grabber's? I haven't seen any scratches left on any of my discs. I cwn see that being a problem with car stereos since they live in a dusty and sometimes dirty environment.
 
peterp1 said:
This video discusses the SMSL PL200 top loader transport, and also the Denu Concept R top loader (which I had never heard of)

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The PL-200 is one I'm considering. For that price it would be nicer if the top cover was glass instead acrylic or polycarbonate. They scratch easily.
 
peterp1 said:
The reviewer didn't seem impressed with the build quality (just the buttons I think) of the PL-200, but liked that it can act as a DDC.

Did you look at the Denu unit the reviewer mentioned? (https://www.dunu-topsound.com/product-page/concept-r-cd-player-preorder)
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It looks nice, but has more features than I would use I think.
I saw a strange transport when doing some rearches, dont remember the brand, that has a built in CD ripper that only ripped to the android OS. You can get a ripper for under $35 and use it with Windows OS.
 
There's now a PL-200 MKII, which is less expensive than the PL-200, uses ESS DAC chips instead of AKM, and has the clear acrylic lid instead of the opaque aluminum one. It also adds a clock input. It's too bad SMSL doesn't sell the different lids, as far as I can tell.

It is $600 while the PL-200 was $650-ish? The PL-200T is $500.

I just got the PL-200T and so far it's a fantastic transport that has the magic trick of running off a USB battery brick (must be at least 5V/1A. My Anker battery is 5V/3A), so I'm able to pick it up and use it anywhere I have a digital input handy.

You can run all of these entirely lidless, and you can even play discs without putting the magnetic puck on top. My first CD player was a Citizen-branded (CBM777) portable player that had a similar spindle with nothing holding the disc down but it had a clamp in the lid and it worked okay too. I seem to remember being able to push the lid-closure detection down and being able to play the disc without stabilization on that player, too.

Edited to add, in addition to the corrections about my memory about the Citizen player:

I like the PL200 series "piano key" controls, for what it's worth. The thing I would change is to engrave the symbols on the top of each key instead of just putting a small silkscreen on the front edge of each. Then you could see the key functions from the top and use them by feel.
 
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justin_r_23 said:
There's now a PL-200 MKII, which is less expensive than the PL-200, uses ESS DAC chips instead of AKM, and has the clear acrylic lid instead of the opaque aluminum one. It also adds a clock input. It's too bad SMSL doesn't sell the different lids, as far as I can tell.

It is $600 while the PL-200 was $650-ish? The PL-200T is $500.

I just got the PL-200T and so far it's a fantastic transport that has the magic trick of running off a USB battery brick (must be at least 5V/1A. My Anker battery is 5V/3A), so I'm able to pick it up and use it anywhere I have a digital input handy.

You can run all of these entirely lidless, and you can even play discs without putting the magnetic puck on top. My first CD player was a Citizen-branded (CBM777) portable player that had a similar spindle with nothing holding the disc down but it had a clamp in the lid and it worked okay too. I seem to remember being able to push the lid-closure detection down and being able to play the disc without stabilization on that player, too.

Edited to add, in addition to the corrections about my memory about the Citizen player:

I like the PL200 series "piano key" controls, for what it's worth. The thing I would change is to engrave the symbols on the top of each key instead of just putting a small silkscreen on the front edge of each. Then you could see the key functions from the top and use them by feel.
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If they're going to continue using silk screening on the controls it could be darker. That's the one gripe I have about the PL-150 I have. You have to look at the buttons at just the right angle to see the symbols on them. I use the remote mostly, but the lettering could be darker on the silver faced one I bought.
 
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