Roland68
Major Contributor
A very simple one and not particularly long, about 80-100cm. Since it is only for ARC, HDMI 1.4 is enough.
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New product - SMSL AO300
- Thread starter surroundman
- Start date
I have an amplifier connected via this HDMI cable to the TV, periodically the TV loses connection with force, the connection is displayed on the amplifier itself, and only switching the output on the amplifier itself helps, I thought maybe replacing the HDMI cable will correct this error.
Roland68
Major Contributor
In such a case, it obviously makes sense to try a different cable.
Look for a cable that is as short as possible and as long as necessary. It doesn't hurt to get one with a higher specification.
Above all, pay attention to enough positive recessions and as few negative ones as possible.
I can’t fully understand whether the problem is in the TV, cable or amplifier, I read several forums and no one had such a problem, ARC either did not work at all or worked completely without any problems.
Unfortunately, it is not very possible to find out the version from most HDMI cables (which are not packaged) afterwards, but I don't think it is something super new and of high quality, because it is thin, short, and does not look like a quality piece. I don't even use it because it doesn't reach from the TV to the amplifier. The included power cable is also a pretty lousy PC power cable, so he got a better one instead. The USB cable works, it serves the purpose, but it is not suitable for distance and the DAC also deserves better.
I will try a 2.1 cable (if there is one ;-)), because the TV only turns on the DSP then. Anything above 1.4 for ARC is good and works, but why CEC doesn't work properly (auto on/off) is still a good question, I don't know if the cable could be the problem here as well or if it's more of the software/hardware crippling between devices.
Roland68
Major Contributor
I once had a similar problem, which was just due to bad plug contacts. After replacing the cable I no longer had any problems.
A 2.1 HDMI cable, as I described, costs between €6 and €14 on Amazon in a length of 1 - 1.5m.
Of course it could be some kind of incompatibility, but you'll only find out if you try it out.
I didn't find anything about HDMI CEC in the specifications of the amplifier. But we can turn the power on and off using the remote control and knob. I think this is controlled by the processor. So HDMI CEC can be programmed if desired.
Yes, it might not work on this device, because the manufacturer also indicated it back to me. According to the definition of the HDMI standard, "CEC wiring is mandatory, although implementation of CEC in a product is optional", so I wrote to them to program this function, because it's a joke, since it's only about interpreting some understandable commands.
Subwoofer2596
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I'm having a weird issue where my AO300 is extremely sensitive to electrostatic discharge while wearing headphones. It's a similar issue to the one being reported by these C200 users where their unit would stop working after they removed their headphones. In my case, the unit keeps working but it does some sort of soft reset. I've reached out to Aoshida and SMSL support but haven't heard back from either of them for a few days. If anyone has some advice, I'd appreciate it. I've already tried the firmware off the support site and from this thread. The issue is still there. I may just return this back to Amazon which is too bad. I otherwise am enjoying the unit.
SMSL support does not send an answer, but if you impatiently write there for a long time, it will be transferred to Aoshida, they will answer, but they don't really understand technical things, so they will direct you (if you let them) to the seller, let him struggle. ;-)
II didn't let myself be swayed (since the device is not actually faulty, just poorly supported and programmed), so I asked them to forward my comments to the manufacturer. They supposedly did! (?)
I haven't even tested the front headphone connections, but I read somewhere that it looks like this:
1x Pentaconn 4.4mm, to plug balanced headphone/IEM
1x 6.35 mm Jack, classic unbalanced headphone
Now, I can imagine a problem due to this (I have no experience and knowledge for this), because when plugging in and out, the balanced connector, which has a separate grounding, may be disturbed by an unbalanced connector, and the same is true for the other connector vice versa.
In addition, there is question, which is not visible in the internal pictures (it should be taken apart), where the connector is actually protected against ESD (ElectroStatic Discharge), because if it is returned to the PCB (Printed Circuit Board), a bad contact can lead to a ban and in case of discharge.
But I'm just being smart, I don't know much about this kind of electronics, so I'm not sure that's the problem, I'll test it myself.
It would be premature to send it back (because it's a good little amplifier anyway), until you find the fault. Also, even a firmware update can do wonders in the future, you just have to let them know that they will check the fault, and fix it if it can be fixed.
There was talked about grounding in that topic, about AO300. Therefore, you can try soldering a small piece of wire from the ground pin of the electrical outlet to any screw that is screwed into the case of device. This is my amplifier for example.
The pentaconn 4.4mm is an unbalanced there, it have only three wire.
Yes, you may be right, it seems. But then I don't understand something, do they even produce unbalanced connectors in 4.4mm size?
There are 3.5mm and 6.3mm for traditional, but they started using 2.5mm, 4.4mm and 4pin XLR for balanced.
As far as I know, SONY invented this 4.4mm size and it was basically designed to be balanced.
For the 4.4mm connector, going towards the base of the connector, L+ L- R+ R- G, so I can easily imagine that the G on the invisible part reaches the housing, which is in principle grounded, if the voltage unit itself has a grounded connection.
This is how I interpreted it in the description and pictures of the connector in the link below.
Of course it could all be nonsense. ;-)
Typically this 4.4mm pentacon is a balanced connector. For example, in my Fiio K7 it is balanced. But not in SMSL AO300. If we look at the CS43131 DAC block diagram, we will see that there is no balanced headphone output. And since in this amplifier the headphones are connected directly to the DAC headphone output, it simply cannot have a balanced output. I think that the pentaconn is implemented to be able to connect balanced headphones without any adapters, directly to the amplifier. And this is a good idea, and also simple and inexpensive to implement.
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Subwoofer2596
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I appreciate the suggestion. I didn't go through with the full soldering but used a connector to the ground plug instead. So that may have an effect in this not working. But I just tried this with 3 different screws attached to the case: this screw, one screw attached to the front faceplate, and one screw on the other PCB. Unfortunately, none of the options solved my problem.
It's a pity... I did this to remove low-frequency hum. This partly solved my problem.
Yes
Ready for use
