Smsl x3 wi-fi lossless streaming media player

gcgst

Active Member
This is apparently very new item -- as I can't find any reviews anywhere. All sites are "Be the first to review this item" include NewEgg, Amazon, and Parts Express.

Part Express has it on sale, so I bit. Sounded like a neat product reading the user manual. I'll post a review once I try it out.
 
I have their SA98E amplifier and Sanskrit DAC, both of which are really lovely.

The SA98 is a really ballsy amplifier.
Lots of chat about the TA3116 chip here, but I`ll admit if you like bass in your music or are driving larger speakers the TDA7498E chip is a better bet.

The kit is really nicely made, looks like bonsai high end hi - fi

lovely black anodized aluminium cases, subtle led lighting.

I cant comment on what you have bought, but if it is similar quality to the rest of their gear, you wont be upset.

There is a lot of chat also re power supplies.
I can attest that the included switching power supplies included have acres of headroom , even playing the likes of Opeth at high volume the SA98E doesnt miss a beat.
 
seems like the SMSL/Indeed chinese products are well made so let us know what you think of this. I own an Indeed 2020a t-amp it is pretty nice.
 
This is apparently very new item -- as I can't find any reviews anywhere. All sites are "Be the first to review this item" include NewEgg, Amazon, and Parts Express.

Part Express has it on sale, so I bit. Sounded like a neat product reading the user manual. I'll post a review once I try it out.

How are "media" files loaded onto this device? Which audio CODEC(s) does it support (assuming it's a "playback" source)? Also, if it is a source, what is its media file holding capacity?
 
How are "media" files loaded onto this device? Which audio CODEC(s) does it support (assuming it's a "playback" source)? Also, if it is a source, what is its media file holding capacity?

Storage is USB, micro-SD, or stream from computer via Wi-Fi

Supports WAV, APE(1-4), FLAC, AAC, MP3, and WMA
 
How are "media" files loaded onto this device? Which audio CODEC(s) does it support (assuming it's a "playback" source)? Also, if it is a source, what is its media file holding capacity?

Here is a link to the User manual.

http://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/manuals/230-206--smsl-x3-media-headphone-player-manual.pdf

In short, media can come from USB, micro SD, or wireless streaming vi WiFi.

Formats supported are WAV, APE(1-4), FLAC, AAC, MP3, WMA up to 192kbps/32-bit.

It doesn't do hi-res, but hey, it is a little over a hundred bucks.

I will most likely be streaming FLACs to it via BubbleUpnp on Android from my JRiver MC server.

Currently I do this via Chromecast -> HDMI audio extractor-> hybrid headphone amp/pre-amp-> amp. This box is kinda like a combination of these components in one unit.
 
I'm hoping to add a DAC in the next few months. I was thinking about a Modi, or the Emotiva. It looks like you can stream ITunes directly to this, saving me the possible cost of an Airport Express. Most of my listening is vinyl, but I am working on getting my CD's loaded onto a computer.
 
First Impressions

S.M.S.L X3 Review - Part One.

Packaging
---------

Nice form-fitted foam in attractive box. Not as nice as Apple packaging, but close.

Outside
-------

Looks to be quality construction -- metal case, no exposed screws (hidden under rubber feet I assume), white lettering clean and crisp, gold (colored) connectors.

Power supply
------------

S.M.S.L - labeled wall wart - 5V, 1A switching supply with USB cable. (I like that the power supply is labeled with S.M.S.L. so it doesn't get mixed up with my other generic wall-warts.)
Also, I like that the box itself has the voltage and polarity of the connector labeled (although almost everything is center-positive these days).


User Manual
-----------

Broken English. Diagrams are good. A computer/audio novice may have difficulty.

Setup
-----

Web page via Direct Mode:

The device-generated hot-spot came up right away, and my Samsung Galaxy tablet connected it to easily. However, the default web page comes up in Chinese (yikes!),
and you can't translate it, because the device has no internet connection at this point. But if you study the user manual, you can figure out which of the two radio buttons
on the home page is for LAN setup. Once you click that, you see the networks it has detected, and you can pick out your network name among the hànzì. Once you select your network and
enter your password in the next popup dialog box, it simply drops its local hot spot and connects to your network. So you are left with a broken link until you switch back to your LAN.

Once you connect to the S.M.S.L box via your PC or tablet browser with it connected to your LAN, you can translate the Chinese to English. Then you can navigate to the Information tab and find the
device language setting and change it to English. I assume they will have fixed this in later shipments (default to English when shipping to USA).

Also on the information tab is a "detect and update" button. The text box next to it explains that this will download and update the device with the latest firmware.
Once you click this button, your music stops, and a female voice speaks through your headphones "Detect latest version", followed by "file download start", and then she
updates the percentage complete in your headphones every 15 seconds -- "one percent, two percent ....". It must be a slow connection back in China -- as I have 50 mbps down internet service, and it took
15 minutes to download about 15%. It then announced "Download file failed". Oh well, The voice prompts are cool.

(Second update attempt: Much faster download this time - took 4-5 minutes. It then announced it was restarting, and rebooted back in Chinese mode - Argh! It also lost the WAN
settings).

WPS Button:

I tried this after the firmware update and it worked. This would be the best option if your router supports it.

Sound
-----

Headphones:

I am not a cans guy, but using my old Sennheiser PXC 250's, it sounded quite good when streaming Tidal to it via Bubbleupnp. No discernible background noise.
Volume adjustment is more than ample - got to uncomfortably loud so I didn't max it out.

I connected a pair of Bose headphones (I think I won as a door prize) and turned it all the way up (who cares if I blow these up?).
I could hear the music clearly from 3 feet away with the phones laying on the table, so plenty loud. I wouldn't put them on my head
that loud, so not sure how distorted it was, but sounded o.k. from a distance.

Line out:

(Review coming in part two)

Digital out:

(I'll do an A/B test with my Emotiva DAC and compare with the internal DAC and post in a follow up review).

Changing Modes
--------------

The Mode button on the front switches from Direct Mode (its own hot-spot), WiFi mode (connected to your LAN), and local mode (play from MicroSD or USB thumb drive).
The voice prompt tells you which mode is active. Local mode is pronounced "Loco Mode" -- crazy, eh?

Digging deeper
--------------

The box is running embedded Linux 2.6.31.3 and has five TCP ports open:

23 - telnet
80 - http
9000 - Shairport (Apple AirPlay)
49152 - DLNA Play
49156 - /usr/app/xxx ( The X3 app - ELF binary - still has debug symbols)

Looks like about 64 MB of ram:

~ # free -b
total used free shared buffers
Mem: 59871232 39981056 19890176 0 0
-/+ buffers: 39981056 19890176
Swap: 0 0 0

Built-in storage is 42 MB:

~ # fdisk -l

Disk /dev/ubiblock0: 42 MB, 42663936 bytes
4 heads, 16 sectors/track, 1302 cylinders
Units = cylinders of 64 * 512 = 32768 bytes

~ # df
Filesystem 1K-blocks Used Available Use% Mounted on
ubi0:ubifs 36696 32724 3972 89% /
tmpfs 29232 16 29216 0% /dev
tmpfs 29232 108 29124 0% /tmp
tmpfs 29232 8 29224 0% /var
tmpfs 29232 92 29140 0% /etc
ubi1:config_ro 344 24 268 8% /mnt/config_ro
ubi2:config_rw 4584 36 4548 1% /mnt/config_rw
ubi3:cache 36696 5204 31492 14% /cache
none 29232 4 29228 0% /usr/etc/avahi/services
none 29232 4 29228 0% /usr/var/run


The box has a telnet daemon running, and no root password:

(none) login: root
~ #
~ # uname -a
Linux (none) 2.6.31.3 #108 PREEMPT Mon Jun 9 12:16:53 CST 2014 mips GNU/Linux
~ #

Process list:

(none) login: root
~ #
~ #
~ # ps -aef
PID USER TIME COMMAND
1 root 0:01 init
2 root 0:00 [kthreadd]
3 root 0:00 [ksoftirqd/0]
4 root 0:00 [events/0]
5 root 0:00 [khelper]
6 root 0:00 [async/mgr]
7 root 0:00 [kblockd/0]
8 root 0:00 [ksuspend_usbd]
9 root 0:00 [khubd]
10 root 0:00 [kmmcd]
11 root 0:00 [pdflush]
12 root 0:00 [pdflush]
13 root 0:00 [kswapd0]
14 root 0:00 [aio/0]
15 root 0:00 [nfsiod]
16 root 0:00 [crypto/0]
27 root 0:00 [mtdblockd]
28 root 0:00 [ubi_bgt0d]
29 root 0:00 [ubiblockd]
30 root 0:00 [rpciod/0]
51 root 0:00 /sbin/udevd --daemon
287 root 0:00 [ubi_bgt1d]
297 root 0:00 [ubi_bgt2d]
300 root 0:00 [ubifs_bgt2_0]
303 root 0:00 [ubi_bgt3d]
307 root 0:00 [ubifs_bgt3_0]
317 root 0:00 creatSystem
318 root 0:00 iappleplay
320 root 0:00 -/bin/sh
321 root 0:00 telnetd
2720 root 0:00 [RTW_CMD_THREAD]
2727 root 0:01 wpa_supplicant -i wlan0 -D wext -c /tmp/network.cfg -B
2756 root 0:00 udhcpc -T 1 -A 1 -i wlan0
2764 root 0:00 /usr/app/dlnaplay
2767 root 0:00 /usr/app/xxx
2770 root 0:00 /usr/app/emplayer
2773 root 0:00 /usr/app/webs
2822 root 0:00 /usr/app/shairport -a SMSL WIFI-017F29 - 192.168.0.190 -d
2823 avahi 0:00 avahi-daemon: running [none.local]
3612 root 0:00 -sh
3659 root 0:00 ps -aef
~ #

(Review will continue in the next few days after I play with it some more).
 
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Review (cont'd)

Review - Part Two

Local Mode:

The MicroSD slot is recessed fairly deep, so if you don't have a long fingernail, you will have trouble getting the card to click in properly.
I had to use a pen to get it out.

The X3 found the music on my 16 GB card quickly and started playing -- even though the music was a couple of directories from the root of the file system.

Pressing next and prev track buttons results in about a 3 second delay before the track changes. Thus, local mode would not be that useful using the front buttons.

However, with the box wide open, it should be fairly easy to add a web interface for local mode. If the hardware proves to be sound, it would be worth hacking up alternate interfaces.

DLNA server:

The X3 has no problem acting as a DLNA server and DLNA client simultaneously. Local storage connected to the X3 is served up simply under a media folder. There is no indexing by artist, album, genre, etc. However, there were some issues serving FLACs - the song would skip a beat every now and then. MP3's had no issues. But to be fair, the X3 isn't advertised as a server, but rather a player. The fact that it has this capability may be some future feature that isn't quite ready, or maybe
a side-effect of the software they are using.

Line Out:

Level controlled by volume controls. Sound is very good (See A/B test below).

Heat management:

Not an issue. After hours of playing, the power supply is still cool, and the X3 itself is only luke warm on the bottom.

A/B Test against Emotiva XDA-2:

I setup the X3 feeding digital to the XDA-2 and analog outs from both DACs to my Sansui AU-717 driving a pair of Monitor Audio Silver 8's. I set the output levels as close as possible by ear, and listened to my favorite reference tracks -- "Fade to Black" by Dire Straits, and Shawn Mullins' "Anchored in You" (44.1/16 served via JRiver MC and directed to the X3 via Bubbleupnp).

I wanted the X3 to sound just as good, but alas, it does not. The bass was not as rich and deep via the X3, and the plectrum hitting the strings from the strumming of the acoustic guitar on Mullins' track was not as clear. The vocals were a little less clear via the X3 also.

Summary:

I am very pleased with the product, but it is not up to serving a main listening setup via its analog outputs. The wireless connectivity is great
-- much better than Chromecast - it never missed a beat, always connected - even in the weaker WiFi zones in my house. The X3 could serve another DAC or receiver digitally on a main system (but if your WiFi strength is good, the Chromecast-to-HDMI audio extractor solution is about half the cost).

Thus, if you are looking for a nice streaming player for a secondary system, e.g., a bedroom, playroom, etc., this is a great product for that - and at about 1/3 the cost of a Sonos connect. I will most likely use it to feed my Fisher 500C setup (where I can't hear the level of detail that my main system can produce anyway).
 
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Greetings!
Hope you can help me.
I'm looking for some media player, that can stream audio from home nework (NAS) to dac > amp.
I though i'll buy Raspberrty Pi2, but now found this one.
How good is it? Can i control it from my Android device?
 
Greetings!
Hope you can help me.
I'm looking for some media player, that can stream audio from home nework (NAS) to dac > amp.
I though i'll buy Raspberrty Pi2, but now found this one.
How good is it? Can i control it from my Android device?

Yes, you can control it from Android; it is just another DLNA renderer.

Now that Chromecast Audio is out, I would go with it and save a hundred bucks. I own both, and the X3 is too pricey for what it does. If it sounded just as good as my better DACs, it would be worth it, but the Chromecast Audio sounds just as good to me.
 
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