MQA support
The MQA for Master Quality Authenticated is an award-winning British technology to restore the sound of the original recording. The MQA Master file is authenticated by artists, producers, or rights holders. These files are small enough to be streamed or downloaded.
The M500 includes an MQA decoder to play files to ensure the best possible sound quality.
The MQA decoding is only available through the USB input.
USB XMOS XU216 interface
The USB input of the M500 is accompanied by an XMOS XMOS XMOS interface with a unique driver. This ensures rich and detailed playback while supporting a high sampling rate.
Digital filters
The SMSL M500 also includes a digital filter for PCM signals that allows you to adapt playback to your listening needs.
Independent preamp and headphone volume
The volume of the preamplifier and the headphone amplifier circuit is completely independent. Therefore, it is possible to choose a different volume level for headphone output and preamp outputs.
Headphone amplifier
The amplifier grade of the M500 includes many separate components that provide high performance and current, as well as a very good damping factor. This allows you to use many headphones up to 300Ω. It has an LDO ES9311 controller with a noise level of only 1μVrms.
Full connection
On the connecting side, the SMSL M500 is well equipped as it offers a complete panel in order to adapt to different systems. The USB-B input with the XMOS XU216 interface has two Toslink optics and a coaxial SPDIF. On the output side, the M500 offers a 6.35mm connector for amplified headphone output and asymmetrical RCA, as well as a symmetrical XLR for preamp outputs. XLR and RCA outputs are active at the same time.
The SMSL M500 has a sonic display on the front panel that allows you to display all information about the current playback. This includes volume level, active input, signal processing, and file type, as well as the sampling rate of the read file. This screen is protected by a hardened glass pane.
The unit also has an infrared remote control for easy remote control.
ES9038Pro DAC
The M500 uses a high-performance ESS ES9038Pro DAC chip. This is the most efficient conversion chip currently available at ESS, with an SNR of 140DB, THD + N -122dB. This allows the M500 to achieve an extremely low distortion level of 0.00015%.
This converter supports a high sampling rate for high sampling rates so you can enjoy the most accurate playback possible. Therefore, it will be possible to read 32-bit PCM files up to 768 kHz and native DSD files up to DSD512.
