S.M.S.L AD18 HiFi Audio Stereo Amplifier with Bluetooth 4.2 Supports Apt-X,USB DSP Full Digital Power Amplifier 2.1 for Speaker,Small 80Wx2 Class D…
Last updated on July 12, 2024 2:35 am Details
- This class D amplifier Supports USB coaxial analog Bluetooth and two optical inputs
- With amplifier output port, 3.5mm headphone jack and subwoofer outputs, 80w*2 output power, 1.44-Inch Color screen, The brightness of the display can be adjusted
- Customized BT4.2 Bluetooth module, Supports apt-X, easily connect with Bluetooth by NFC
- The Bluetooth amplifier uses tas5508c+tas5342a from TI as amplifier chips, DSP technology, built-in SDB sound patented
- What you get: SMSL AD18 amplifier, 24V power supply us Plug, Micro USB cable, remote control, antenna, 1 year warranty and friendly customer service
Specification: S.M.S.L AD18 HiFi Audio Stereo Amplifier with Bluetooth 4.2 Supports Apt-X,USB DSP Full Digital Power Amplifier 2.1 for Speaker,Small 80Wx2 Class D…
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10 reviews for S.M.S.L AD18 HiFi Audio Stereo Amplifier with Bluetooth 4.2 Supports Apt-X,USB DSP Full Digital Power Amplifier 2.1 for Speaker,Small 80Wx2 Class D…
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S.M.S.L AD18 HiFi Audio Stereo Amplifier with Bluetooth 4.2 Supports Apt-X,USB DSP Full Digital Power Amplifier 2.1 for Speaker,Small 80Wx2 Class D…
Oscar –
===EDIT===
Despite the product description claiming it’s supported, there is a problem with this amplifier and the 96kHz USB sampling rate, where every so often the speakers will output a deafeningly loud cracking/hissing noise. This can be resolved by setting the sampling rate in windows back to the default 44.1kHz sampling rate.
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I bought this wanting a compact, Bluetooth-enabled amplifier that would compliment my Wharfedale Diamond 220 speakers without breaking the bank while also not being so incredibly cheap the quality is in question.
I’m a student so the limited space of my student bedroom meant I was looking for something with a compact package.
I managed to get a relative bargain by getting a customer return from the Amazon Warehouse, thankfully it was in perfect condition as I’ve found the warehouse to be a bit hit-or-miss.
The unit has loads of connectivity, I opted to use the USB connection (configured at 96kHz) from my laptop as this would bypass my laptop’s sound card and instead send the digital signal directly to the amplifier.
I connected my speakers up with some speaker cable bought from Richer Sounds and some soldered banana plugs from Amazon.
I’m very happy with the sound, my speakers are rated for 50W each and this amplifier can go up to 80W per channel. This amplifier is **loud**, and I’ve gone nowhere near the limits.
The proprietary ‘SDB’ EQ mode makes for a good listening experience, I also did a +2dB bass offset because I don’t have a subwoofer (although there is a port for connecting an active/powered subwoofer in the future). I’m no audiophile but I think it sounds pretty great!
The Bluetooth interface supports APT-X, a low-latency audio codec. My phone and laptop both support this, I think it sounds fantastic too. This is great if I’m watching movies in bed from my laptop as I can avoid using my laptop speakers, I do notice a tiny bit of lag where the audio is behind the video. (With VLC video player you can set a delay on the video if this annoys you).
The display is good for configuring the amplifier, it works well and is intuitive enough.
The remote is nice for controlling the volume and settings from in bed, however, the remote leaves a little to be desired…
Sometimes the amplifier doesn’t respond to button presses on the remote, so you have to press ‘A’ to sync it back to the amplifier. The remote won’t allow you to change to modes without direct sight of the display because there are no buttons like ‘Bluetooth’, ‘Aux’, instead there’s a button for switching between inputs, but you can’t tell which is selected without sight of the display. If I’m in bed and want to switch from ‘USB’ to ‘Bluetooth’ it’s hard to read what the display is set to from that distance.
Overall I’m really pleased with this amplifier. It’s small, affordable, well built, sounds great and has great specs.
Malmesbury Mike –
I’ve been wanting to upgrade the sound system for my PC for a while and have been pondering whether to go for powered speakers or Amp driven ones. Having found this little Amp and its good reviews I thought i’d go down the route of Amp driven. The set up is from the computer sound card into the amp and onto the Wharfedale Diamond 9.1’s. The power the amp supplies is plenty to drive the speakers comfortably at low and high volumes and it sounds as good as an entry level Intergated separate amp so the price of £122.99 seems reasonable.
The Amp comes with a power supply that looks similar to a standard PC type PS, but this one is a 24V 5A – which makes the claim that the amp is 2 * 80 watts unlikely, as the max power consumption is likely around 120 watts. 20-30 per channel is more likely, but even so it still packs a punch and is perfectly good for a PC/TV set up where space is a key consideration. Aux from the PC, Optical from the TV tested and work well, and I’ve just tried Bluetooth and my Huawei P10 Lite connected first time and the sound is good. I’ve included the User Manual for those interested in the technical data and operation.
The headphone output is okay, but as others have noted it does have a limited output, so if you have high impeadance phones and want to listen loud you may want to think about a headphone preamp. The remote control – it works and does the job, but not exactly elegant.
Overall though i’m really pleased i went for this set up over powered speakers
ThisK –
I am honestly amazed about this Amp/DAC. Its design is sleek and very appealing sitting on a shelf. This review is not going to be extensive, and I will simply show you some of the pros and cons I found.
Pros:
-Plenty of inputs
-Powerful
-Backlit display which allows you to change text color
-Comes with remote control!
-Bluetooth connectivity!
-Sub input
-Bass & Treble EQ
-Preset EQ’s (SDB preset sounds great!)
Cons:
-Headphone power isn’t enough
-Dial on front has play in it and wiggles around; it also isn’t accurate when adjusting volume. i.e. when turning the knob, it will jump from volume level 1 to 9 if you turn it quickly, or sometimes it will not increase volume at all when you turn it because it won’t recognise the turn. That being said, the remote works great and feels more natural to use for volume and going through the menu.
-Might be an awkward shape for some setups. Since it is narrow and long, it may look awkward stacking on top of a receiver. You will need to find a nice spot for this to sit, but where you do find a spot, it will look beautiful.
**Note** I have this Amp/DAC plugged into my Fluance SX6 bookshelf speakers. The speakers sound phenomenal and I never went above volume 20 (this Amp goes to 60).
Yvan Provencher –
Tout simplement impressionnant !!! J’ai même vendu mon amplificateur Cambridge Audio pour conserver que ce petit ampli, petit mais très efficace. Les bases sont solides et bien définies, le bas médium des bien présent offre un niveau de détails remarquables et le médium soyeux alors que les aigües ne sont jamais agressifs. Le côté spatialisation des instruments est très précis. La puissance est plus que suffisante, même avec des haut-parleurs comme les B&W DM7, qui ne sont pas reconnus comme un modèle de sensibilité (87 db – seulement). Un achat que je recommande à tous les amateurs de musique.
Married Guy –
Over the past 5 months I have used the USB input with my computer, the optical with a PS3 and the 3.5mm input with an Echo Dot. All have worked perfectly. (Have not tried Bluetooth.) I have driven a variety of headphones including AT M40x and PSB M4U1’s as well as a pair of Elac B6.2 speakers. No hiss or obvious defects.
My only small complaint is that the volume /menu selector knob is not as solid as I would like. Minor quibble that does not affect operation at all.
I will not wax poetic about sound quality because like all modern, well designed amps it simply reproduces the signal given it.
Though the AD 18 is a great little amp it’s regular price puts it within $60 of full sized AV Receivers. If I didn’t need to squeeze this into a small space I would have gone with a basic 5.1 receiver which has all the features of the SMSL plus HDMI/video and true subwoofer output with bass management.
Update Dec 21 2018: I have found when switching between inputs the AD 18 does not hold the current volume setting, but reduces it down to “20” each time. This is extremely annoying as both my Echo Dot through the Aux input and my PS3 through the Optical input need to run at “40+”. This annoyance would have been a deal breaker if I had known.
GODSPEED|seven –
Here is an update of this review; Took off 2 stars.
April 14, 2021
Volume knob isn’t working well. Whether you turn it VERY slowly, or very quickly, volume is all over the place. You just want to adjust volume from 5 to 7, this is what happens: 0 – 5 – 1 – 4 -10… I would expect a $200 piece of equipment to be a little more durable. Forces me to use the remote, but that feels extremely cheap.
Below is the original review.
Purchased on: March 18, 2019
Before I get into the pros and cons..
Quite some years ago, I got tired of the small sound and lack of modularity of computer speaker setups. You know, the typical 3.5mm aux plug 2.1 setup, where you cannot use the speakers on anything else but the included subwoofer. The tin can speakers usually always sound like cans, with their cheap small plastic shells. The sub is just a big mushy pile of hot dung.. and unless you spent a good amount of money of a very high quality setup, they wouldn’t last very long, have a lot of noise, interference, etc..
Some years later, inherited an older Pioneer A/V Receiver from the 90’s and some speakers.. back then, I didn’t really know much or care that much about sound (having dealt with cheap $150 5.1/2.1 PC Speaker setups), so I figured I’d just plug in this older Pioneer receiver that was handed down to me… and I never needed to buy another dumb 2.1 5.1 PC Speaker setup. That was the end of hot dung and the start of hot stuff.
Fast forward to about 2 years from this review… Got into turntables, sound quality, headphones, etc… but still had a budget to respect, so never upgraded my PC audio setup, I’ve kept running various budget audiophile headphones off the motherboard sound. Until I started getting tired of the space that receiver was hogging up, started looking into these small devices.. started out with a FIIO E10K for headphones.. but found power lacking. Also didn’t help with speaker situation.
Z Reviews of Y**Tube seems to be pretty decent with good recommendations and advice on the right gear to get… so after many many reviews, decided to jump in and git this SMSL AD18 Dac/Amp.
This is one of the BEST audio purchases I’ve ever made! The sound quality on this is unlike anything I’ve ever had plugged to my computers. It’s small enough to fit nicely between my case and my Micca MB42x speakers that this thing powers to absolute beauty! With all the input options, the PERFECT speaker terminal outputs (Micca Copper 14AWG Banana speaker cables are the right way to go) and the beautiful simple boxy design. It matches my computer case so well.
The only cons I’ve found, that I’ve come to overlook because of the simply beautiful perfect sound, is… the KNOB. It’s somewhat wobbly if you wobble it. I don’t think it’ll break, but it doesn’t have a premium “feel” when using it. The remote is cheap, but works right.
A few things to note, for those who might go watch reviews about this device.. the version I got (v3.1) is updated from most reviews that feature v2. Example, the sound doesn’t automatically lower/higher when changing output from headphones to speakers (vice-versa). Volume doesn’t adjust itself when powering it on. it’s wtv you last had it.
In conclusion, if you can get over a slightly cheap feeling wobbly knob, what you are getting here is REALLY good stuff. Strong connectors (not worried about connecting disconnecting, no wobble, looseness, play, etc..), extremely clean sound. No matter the volume level, I could never hear hiss, noise or any interference (tried both USB and Optical). This beats any and most sound cards you could put into your pc. It has it’s own power brick nearly the size of the device, so you can power mega headphones.
If you’re on the fence about this… get it, you’ll be happy you did!
Jon Lefave –
Excellent sound quality, build quality, and plenty of connections. I’m using both opticals for a Chromecast Audio and my TV. Connected to a pair of KEF Q150’s. Volume goes from 0-60, but I usually hover around the 15 to 20 range. The remote included is a little dinky, and I can’t find the universal remote codes for it but not a deal breaker. Bonus is that it can stream over bluetooth using AAC (perfect for iPhone/Mac users) so even bluetooth quality sounds good. With a good optical/USB connection, this can do better-than-CD quality. Highly recommended.
Kevin Boone –
I’m using this coupled with a pair of Denon bookshelf speakers and a Yahama subwoofer. It sounds pretty good for a tiny, cheap amplifier. Compared to the full-size Denon amp I was using until now, the bass is a bit weak from ordinary speakers, and it really needs the subwoofer to fill out the low frequencies. In addition, the middle frequencies sound a bit harsh to my ears but, again, that’s in comparison to my previous amp.
The USB input appears as a USB soundcard, and does need any specific drivers on my computer. The Bluetooth connected to my Sony phone without difficulties, and was recognized as an AptX device.
The unit is smaller than it looks in photos — about the size of a house-brick cut in half lengthways. It needs an external power adapter, which is about the same size. I was irritated to find it was supplied with a European plug, not a UK one. This isn’t a deal-breaker, but it means adding a couple of quid for an adapter or a replacement plug to the cost. It is supplied with a short USB cable which is, oddly, white. There is an external Bluetooth antenna — presumably because the all-metal casing would prevent an internal antenna working.
Geeky technical note — this unit uses class D amplification. This means that the amplitude of the output signal is controlled by pulse-width modulating (PWM) a current which is either fully on or fully off. Thus negligible power is dissipated in the final output stage which, presumably, is why the unit can be so small. It also means that no separate DAC is needed for digital input signals — the digital sample values are converted directly to PWM duty cycles. It also means that the analog input has to be converted to digital. There is therefore no conceivable benefit to using this unit with an external DAC feeding the analog input, as is the case for many traditional class-B amplifier designs.
Class D amplifiers do tend to have a characteristically “digital” sound — bright and a little harsh. However, the signal-to-noise ratio is impressive, because there is no analog processing whatsoever.
All in all, a good purchase, if you need a very compact amp with direct digital inputs and a subwoofer output.
NDA –
Power on a budget…. I had this hooked up to my iPhone and passive Mission 100 watt speakers in minutes. This is not a Class A high fidelity item – but for what it is, it’s extremely good (which is why I’ve given it 5 stars). Bass sounds warm and controlled, mid range is clear and the treble is a little splashy and harsh if adjusted from the neutral. But it packs a big punch through 8 ohm speakers – plenty loud enough for most applications, and I listen loud! My application is an outbuilding at home and I’m very happy this will do just what I need. I have some doubt how this tiny amp will cope with heat sync (lack of) over extended use – but I have nothing to back this up…. merely it’s small size and power. I should add that it comes with a substantial power brick which is the same size as the entire amp.
Mr JGH –
This amp produces clear and powerful sound with my 15 year old Acoustic Energy 109 floorstanding speakers and 5 metres of QED cable. I use the optical to connect to my TV (my £300 ARC sound bar and sub caused lip sync problems that I could resolve) and Bluetooth with my iPhone for music. The amp fixed the TV lip sync issues. As for music, with the amp at volume 23 and iPhone volume about 3/4 it shakes my 10m x 5m lounge so could easily work for a house party. With this amp I tried the What Hi-Fi 10 songs to test your speakers and my setup ticked all the boxes. Likewise songs that I have listened to for years have detail I have never heard before. I’m not an audiophile, I have just been buying hi-fi kit for 30 years and a £120 amp with15 year old speakers and £10 speaker cable blows everything else away, IMHO. It’s a pity these class D amps aren’t taken seriously by the press.