In this video I review the S.M.S.L SH-9 headphone amp and SU-9 DAC as a mid-tier “stack” option, and huge thanks to Shenzhen Audio for sending both units over for review. Visually and physically, both pieces are legitimately premium for the money—solid metal chassis, nice finish, curved edges, good screens, and knobs that feel great. I also touch on pricing/value since these sit right around that “moving out of entry level into mid level” zone, especially as a combo. The SH-9 is the quick one: if you saw my SP200 review, this is basically that same THX AAA-style experience (flagship AAA 888 topology, same power numbers) but with better build and the big feature add—remote control and a screen—for about a $25 premium. It’s an analytical amp, and like other THX amps in my experience, you’re trading for a bit of smeared/compressed microdynamics, but overall it’s one of my favorite sub-$500 THX amps. The SU-9 is the star here. Even though it’s ESS-based (ES9038) and I usually complain about “Sabre glare,” I really didn’t hear that typical bright/harsh thing. What surprised me most was how good the staging/imaging and detail retrieval are for the price, plus you get a stacked feature set: balanced outs, tons of inputs, Bluetooth codecs, filters, and full MQA decoding. Against stuff like the Schiit Modius, I actually prefer the SU-9 for detail, and it absolutely earns a spot high on the sub-$500 DAC shortlist.