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After connecting the set to my usual 27" quad-core music iMac, AudioMidi and PureMusic both recognized it as a USB 2.0 device with 384kHz compatibility. Since PureMusic 2.0.1 was programmed for maximum upsampling in x 2 mode, it set itself to 352.8kHz. Whilst all the necessarily SOtM lights came up, I had no sound.


Before figuring out why, I powered the iMac down whilst redoing the USB cable connection. With the next boot-up, the SOtM registered as a USB 1.0 device limited to 96kHz. PureMusic auto-adjusted to 88.2kHz upsampling and voilà, I had sound. With the following hard reset (full power down, USB cable pull), I was back to USB 2.0 and 384kHz. This time I made sure to limit PureMusic to 176.4kHz upsampling and again had sound.

When I asked May Park why her box registered as 384kHz when in fact it wouldn't process PCM files beyond 192kHz, she explained that it was "normal to be recognized for 384kHz support because it needs the 352.84kHz transfer rate to support DSD128 via DoP. But I wonder why it was recognized as USB1.0? The sHP-100 runs in USB audio class 1.0 only if the transmitting unit doesn’t support USB audio class 2.0. Then the sHP-100 is treated as USB 1.0. The PCM limitation is due to the Cirrus Logic CS4398 chip which supports DSD128 but not 352.8/384kHz PCM. If anything higher than 192kHz enters, the DAC will mute itself if the audio data is PCM but unmute when it is DSD."


Since I didn't re-encounter this USB 1.0 limitation, let's write it off as a one-time PCfi hiccup. This sector certainly is no stranger to the occasional gremlin and glitch. A final element on first impressions were the two small paper stickers on the main unit's belly to identify its two small sliders for impedance and fixed/variable mode. They were about to peel off and as such rather low-rent in appearance.



To take the SOtM's measure as a combo DAC and headfi amp, I set up my Eximus DP-1 and a loaner of its more affordable sibling, April Music's Stello HP100MkII. At $1'300, the latter is within spitting distance of the €1'200 SOtM. It's just one box to eliminate the need for an add-on stand; sports a linear power supply to eliminate a nasty battery-charging switcher on the power line; adds remote-controlled preamp functionality with three analog inputs plus XLR outs; but is limited to 16/48 USB to not steal any thunder from its 32/384-enabled DA100MkII mate. At $2'995, the Eximus belongs to a different league to keep us honest on converter quality.

Given SOtM's positioning on price, I decided to only run on it serious full-size headphones. For a representative mix I settled on an ALO-recabled Audez'e LCD-XC; HifiMan HE-560; ALO-recabled Sennheiser HD-800; and ALO'd beyer T5p. This gave me two planars and two dynamics, two open-backed and two sealed alignments. Source was my usual quad-core 27" iMac with PureMusic 2.0.2.