SMSL AO300 MA5332MS Class D Power Amplifier CS43131 165W x 165W DAC Headphone Amp, USB/Coax/Opt/HDMI ARC/RCA Input 2.1 Channel Speaker/Subwoofer 4.4mm/6.35mm Headphone Output, MQA-CD DAC Amp(Black)

First off: this is NOT a sponsored review, but hopefully a usefull bit of info for people looking to buy the SMSL AO300.My wife and I had been thinking of adding some external speakers to our LG OLED TV for better sound. Initially we were going to go with a compact full surround system or soundbar, but after trying a few it was decided to stick with a 2.0/2.1 amp and bookshelf speakers. I’m a pretty avid music listener and have several class A amp/AV receivers that could work, but they are not what I’d consider compact. Since we wanted a minimal footprint by our TV, it was time to get a class D all in one amp. After quite a bit of research, we decided to try out the Aoshida SMSL AO300. Based on all the reviews, this little unit seemed too good to be true: Hi-Fi sound out of a budget priced unit, plus HDMI ARC, Bluetooth and a sub out.When it arrived, it took no more than a few minutes to set up. Hooked upt the HDMI ARC to our TV, and… nothing but electronic static noise. First I thought that I had hooked things up incorrectly (not much to goof up, but simple stuff first). But after rechecking, same noise. Different cable – same result. Tried the optical out – same issue. Then I switched to the analog headphone out from the TV to the aux in on the AO300, and it sounded fantastic. The Bluetooth worked flawlessly as well. Obviously we received an example with a bad digital processor, so back it went.As ususal, it was a quick and easy exchange with Amazon, and just a couple of days later, the replacement showed up. To my dismay, the same issue. I figured something had to be wrong with the digital input side. During my retesting, the HDMI ARC only worked for one instance, but when I switched inputs and came back to it, there was only the static noise. At this point I had a feeling that it was very unlikely that two units in a row could be defective, so I contacted Aoshida for help.They were very quick to respond and had me check the usual basic items, like cables and a quick factory reset (again, start with the simple stuff first). I'm not too proud to admit that I’ve had basic things incorrect in the past. Well, that all checked out. They had me test the digital inputs on other equipment to see if it was related to our TV. So I tried a CD in our LG DVD player via optical – and it worked. Then I tried an older LG TV with HDMI ARC and Optical – nothing but noise. Really old Samsung TV with Optical – worked. Ok, we’re narrowing things down a bit. Seems like an LG TV issue.After a bit of back and forth with Aoshida about the results, they recommended testing the TV with the “Optical + TV“ setting. Low and behold, the optical connection worked. So once we figured out that it’s a TV output issue, I dug deeper into the TV settings menu and changed the HDMI ARC from “Auto” (which you’d think would work) to “PCM out only”. Success! A beautiful, static free sound from the speakers. So now all inputs were working properly.So tried the same on my other LG TVs, and all worked. So for those of you with LG TV’s, or those that have issues like mine – change the HDMI ARC to PCM (or at least play around with those settings). It may very well fix the issue.But how does it sound now that we’ve had it for a bit, you ask? Simply fantastic. As our main TV speakers we use the Sony SSCS5 bookshelf speakers. The AO300 has virtually zero floor noise, and a very clear sound from low to high. When watching movies, there seems to be a wall of sound, yet the vocals and center details are very easy to hear. Even in chaotic scenes of car chases, explosions or crowds, the voices are very clear and centered. Hard to belive this is only a 2.1 unit. In line with keeping things compact, we wanted only one remote on the table. Connecting things through HDMI ARC makes it easy to set the base volume on the AO300 and control the listening volume with the original TV remote. So the small AO300 is not needed under normal conditions. We also like to listen to music, be it on YouTube or a streaming service. One of the reasons that the AO300 was at the top of the list was that it had a built in DAC and bluetooth. We use an older phone that bypasses it’s internal processor as our streaming device, that is connected via the Aux input on the AO300. Again, very clear sound. There is lots of detail in the music that you wouldn’t notice from lesser systems. The bluetooth also works very well. It found our phones immediately, and has never had an issue with disconnecting.I’ve also tried it on a pair of larger Hi-Fi speakers (CSS Criton 2TD-X Tower), and it had no issue driving them. The soundstage was surprisingly open, and I simply couldn’t belive that all that was coming from such a compact little box. I don’t plan on using it for that since I have dedicated (vintage) class A amps for that, but it would have no problem being a main all-in-one Hi-Fi system.Asthetically the AO300 fits out style. It’s very compact and easily gets lost in the TV stand. Perfect if you want that minimalistic look. Very long story short – We are extremely impressed with the AO300 performance! Such a big performance, from such a small package.I must also give a huge thanks to the Aoshida support team (especially Judy)! They were extremely helpful, never once acted as if I didn’t know what I was doing, and it felt as if they truly wanted to help me figure this out. If I could give double stars I would.

I set this A0300 up on my loft AV setup for high fidelity TV viewing and MQA CD listening with an Audioengine S8 powered subwoofer that is sub-out connected and the main speakers are a pair of Audioengine HDP6. Sound quality over optical and HDMI ARC (I preferred the ARC HDMI as the voice-video sync is perfect) is high quality but the optical sync was still pretty good. But I didn't get this for pretty good, I wanted EXCELLENT and with Hdmi ARC I got it. The sub with the pair of HDP6 are superb. Very loud and very crisp and bassy sound with fantastic midrange too. Playing over bluetooth from my walkman NW-A306 and NW-wm1zm2 both sounded awesome playing Tidal music service over ldac and aptx. Works great as a headphone amp to play into sennheiser HD800s yielded great bass and fantastic mids and highs for cable tv and Amazon fire stick viewing. So this is a fantastic value performer for what I call the triple threat-- 1) 2.1 power amp 2) [w powered sub driver] and 3) headphone amp. My last use for this setup is to play MQA-CD cds through a Shanling EC mini via the A0300 aux in. Again, a truly top notch performer for the money--a versatile performer, just what I needed, this shows SMSL/AOSHIDA not just has AV audiophile awesomeness with its VDV line like the D2R and P2 which I also own and love for highest performance, but with this surprisingly economical high performer gem in the A0300 even audiophiles will notice the excellence, surely. I don't know of a better product in this price range or even 2x this price--BUY THIS! You won't regret the bang for the buck. Five solid stars.

I've been using this with a Wim Pro, my turntable, my TV, and some Elac B5.2's. The whole thing sounds very good. I got this mostly for the ARC connection which worked fine until it didn't. There's no sound output on ARC for about a week now. (Upate: using the factory reset in the menu fixes the problem. Aoshida also reached out immediately but we're still working on messaging each other.) I didn't change anything on the unit or my tv. This unit is easy to hook up and use. I like the menu. It's very neutral sounding which I generally like. I do like that when I play my TV through this via toslink, the TV doesn't need to be muted and vice versa. I love the form factor and I think it looks great. I just wish the ARC hadn't cut out. It's the main reason why I got it.

I owned the SMSL A300 and love the form factor and the sound quality and easy power. When I saw the AO300 with the addition of quality DAC and headphone amp I bought one. It provides the same neutral and clear sound of the A300 with added convenience. I run streaming through the coaxial input, CDs through the optical input and SACDs and LPs through the aux input. All sound great. I am not a Bluetooth user but I tried it and it works well and, although not to the level of the other inputs, it sounds better than any other Bluethooth units I have heard. The headphone amp is a good quality and drives my HiFiman and Sennheiser phones easily. Downsides include the lack of the high pass filter the A300 has, but I'm grateful it has a subwoofer output. A more serious flaw is the LCD screen that although comprehensive and beautiful (you can change the color), is unreadable (by me) at even a few feet distance. The A300 screen was basic and glitchy but was easily viewable from across the room. So in my case, even though the remote functions well, I have to move close to the amp to see what I am doing. Although I find this really annoying, I still love the flexibility, solid construction, and high quality sound of this amp and I am glad I bought it. Lastly, don't let the class D bias of this amp scare you off. Its sound is clean, extended and detailed with excellent imagining and soundstage. All for about $250.