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SGva
46
Jan 4, 2019
I received my SMSL T1 the Friday before Christmas but, alas, it was defective. Noisy popping and crackling sounds. It wasn't the supplied tube doing this. I tried to sub a Valvo ECC88 but it too produced the same noisy results. I think either the power supply or output section was defective. Massdrop was wonderfully cooperative immediately sending me a shipping label to return the defective unit and began processing a replacement. The replacement arrived Wednesday, January 2nd and it works quite well with a portable CD player and sounds great! I'll try running my MacBook Air computer music files (FLAC and AAIF I think, gotta look) this weekend. So far, the T1 does a fine job of driving my Massdrop HiFiMAN HE4XX headphones. Plenty of reserve power despite the seemingly low output specs. I'll try my Massdrop HD6XX's this weekend, too. I'm very impressed how quickly and efficiently Massrop resolved my initial issue!
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Paraglider
67
Jun 24, 2019
SGvaI have 2 of these and both exhibit the same noise issues even with premium NOS tubes. It is an intermittent problem and I suspect it originates in the power supply design. It works well otherwise, but I am very unsatisfied with these amps now. This is clearly a design issue and should never have passed developmental QC testing. They should have eliminated this problem before producing amps for sale, IMO. Us tube amp customers are seeking quality sound, and this issue is unacceptable to true Audiophiles! Has your replacement shown this issue yet?
SGvaFrom personal experience, I can confirm that the T1 does not drive the HE4XX headphones well; it only gets them loud. The 4XX is eating up every bit of power the amp gives them. Once you hear the headphones on an amp with upwards of 1W per channel, you'll immediately notice what you've been missing: bigger soundstage, more bass, greater dynamics, and smoother mids and treble.
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