CD/SACD-проигрыватели и транспорты — SMSL PL100 Pro

The PL100 Pro is a compact CD player from SMSL that combines a disc transport, a DAC, a headphone amplifier, a digital transport and a preamplifier in one small chassis whose shell is precision-machined from aluminium alloy. The drive reads pressed CDs, CD-R and CD-RW discs as well as MP3 CDs, with up to 200 tracks read from an MP3 disc, and the player also supports MQA playback. SMSL priced it at USD 159 at launch, with silver and black chassis colours available to buyers.

Key specs that matter

Two 32-bit Cirrus Logic CS43131 chips perform the conversion. The player is rated at 110 dB SNR and 0.001% THD+N. The XLR outputs deliver 4 Vrms and the RCA outputs 2 Vrms. Through the 4.4 mm balanced headphone socket the amplifier gives 100 mW into 16 ohm, 200 mW into 32 ohm, 160 mW into 64 ohm, 85 mW into 150 ohm, 53 mW into 300 ohm and 25 mW into 600 ohm. The 3.5 mm single-ended socket gives 58 mW into 16 and 32 ohm, 45 mW into 64 ohm, 23 mW into 150 ohm, 12 mW into 300 ohm and 6 mW into 600 ohm. Power draw is 4 W in use and below 0.1 W in standby. The case measures 160 x 44.5 x 160 mm and weighs 953.5 g.

Engineering and use context

A slot-loading drive takes the discs, and it is driven by an automotive-grade suction-type motor mechanism. Unlike the earlier PL100, the Pro version has a balanced circuit layout, which is what makes the XLR line outputs and the balanced headphone output possible. A small colour IPS display shows playback status, and the full-function remote handles track selection, volume and mode switching from the listening seat. The unit takes its power via a USB-C input rated at 5 V and 2 A. The chassis can stand either horizontally or vertically.

Pairing

A preamp function with adjustable output level lets the PL100 Pro feed active loudspeakers or a power amplifier directly from its XLR or RCA outputs, and in this mode the level can be changed with the remote, so no separate preamplifier is needed. The RCA pair also plugs into a line input of a stereo integrated amplifier. Its coaxial and optical sockets output the raw bit-stream, which lets the player serve purely as a disc transport for an outboard converter, while the headphone sockets cover listening without any further amplifier, with the balanced socket giving the higher power figures.

Alternatives

The SMSL PL150 is another CD player in the current SMSL catalogue.