Audison Forza AF C8.14 Bit DSP Amplifier Review

[amirm]

@amirm
Would be cool to get one of this.

- AUDIO SYSTEM GERMANY dein Car Hifi Spezialist

Car Hifi Produkte für alle, die gute Musik im Auto lieben. Subwoofer, Endstufen, Lautsprecher und Zubehör findet ihr bei Audio System.

www.audio-system.de

Tried the software have high/low pass and PEQ per channel.

It is unusually cheap! Says the only app is on Android and iOS. Would be hard to use if that is the case although I do like the idea of having an app for review/quick adjustments.

 

[anphex]

14 channel car amp with DSP at that (reasonably transparent for most cases) performance for this price?
I'd give this a hard "pretty alright". Is there anything that comes close to this?

 

[amirm]

It is actually 8 amplifier channels but 14 DSP. The last 6 would need their own amps. This is a rather unique combo but yes, there is competition, priced about 20 to 40% higher.

 

[lewdish]

I kinda had somewhat higher hopes for audison tbh, doesnt Alpine also have some pretty simple straightforward software w/ heir AutoEQ functions? Not sure if its as comprehensive as Audison's, but they do seem like decent value and have historically measured alright on here on ASR.

 

[lewdish]

Before you make the final decision…

Zapco HB-410-ADSP 10 Ch. DSP / 8 Ch. Class D Amplifier​

Much much cheaper.

ZAPCO Louis (HB 410 ADSP)

Integrated 10-Ch. DSP / 8-Ch. Class AB Amplifier

www.zapco.com

Doesnt it also say Class AB in the link?

 

[Spitfire93]

Would love to see Helix DSP/ DSP amp measured, as those are the most recommended/used in car audio SQ community.

 

[375HP2482]

That's what I was thinking.

We should see one before too long. Most likely with fan(s).

 

[tomtoo]

It is unusually cheap! Says the only app is on Android and iOS. Would be hard to use if that is the case although I do like the idea of having an app for review/quick adjustments.

Dont get you ? What else in a car ?

 

[amirm]

I kinda had somewhat higher hopes for audison tbh, doesnt Alpine also have some pretty simple straightforward software w/ heir AutoEQ functions?

It does. Their comparable unit costs $800 which is good. Alas, reviews of software is terrible. People say it is buggy, and there is no support from the company. Their auto-eq uses the phone microphone which is hard to imagine being a good way to do things. Otherwise, I liked what I saw.

 

[amirm]

Dont get you ? What else in a car ?

Standard process for programming the DSP in these devices is a computer. Some provide Bluletooth functionality for streaming which can also be used for tweaking the DSP. In the case of the device I was commenting on, it only has the App for phones and no PC software. I was saying that it would be harder to use a touch device to do the DSP programming with just the app.

 

[amirm]

Would love to see Helix DSP/ DSP amp measured, as those are the most recommended/used in car audio SQ community.

Please reach out to them, point them to this review and see if they would send a sample.

 

[tomtoo]

Standard process for programming the DSP in these devices is a computer. Some provide Bluletooth functionality for streaming which can also be used for tweaking the DSP. In the case of the device I was commenting on, it only has the App for phones and no PC software. I was saying that it would be harder to use a touch device to do the DSP programming with just the app.

You can try the app(no need for amp). Its easy. I also think its more easy to use the smartphone in the car than a windows device. But ok maybe a matter of taste.

 

[Nyarlathotep]

You can try the app(no need for amp). Its easy. I also think its more easy to use the smartphone in the car than a windows device. But ok maybe a matter of taste.

In theory, cell phone apps are great, until they aren't. I think a key issue is longevity of the tool. Phone apps are notorious for being unsupported by designers after a few years and the changes/updates that occur in cell phone OSs break apps frequently. Many phone app producers have to patch their apps with each major release of an OS, and sometimes minor releases. A few of my interests have seen great apps become useless in this way. Its frustrating. Plus, as noted, cell phone mics are not always the best.

With PCs apps it is a lot easier to keep them running longer. I have a few 30+ year old apps on my PC. Sometimes you have to fuss to get them to run, but the key is you can do so. With call phones that is often not the case.

 

[ROOSKIE]

You can try the app(no need for amp). Its easy. I also think its more easy to use the smartphone in the car than a windows device. But ok maybe a matter of taste.

Personally it is much easier to hook my measurements mics up to a laptop running REW.
I know that software well and I can't image tuning in any detailed way without it.*
I do have AudioTools on my phone which is nice for some stuff.

*Plus some of these devices allow importing DSP files directly from REW.

I would like the phone app for occasional adjustments and further fine tuning after using the laptop to get the major design work in.

Plus easy to switch presents.
Definitely need to able to that. Open windows vs closed = totally different tuning. Cold vs 65 vs hot = different tuning, especially in MN winter.

 

[tomtoo]

Two good points.

 

[mps]

Why do car amplifiers have lower SINAD?

 

[johny_2000]

Why do car amplifiers have lower SINAD?

I would guess that their performance requirements are lower.

Technically, there is nothing stopping a manufacturer from making it better. But cost, size, efficiency, heat dissipation factors put them where they are now.

 

[ROOSKIE]

Why do car amplifiers have lower SINAD?

There generally is not a need for ultra clean signals in car.
Just running the noise is pretty high in most cars and then on the road it is really high.

Really even in the home things are way beyond what would be audible in all but the cleanest clinical test settings with people straining to her anything 'better' and only a few even really being able to parce something out.

Keep in mind these last couple amps have many channels and DSP processing and are tiny so everything is packed into a small box making keeping it clean even harder. Then the aftermarket sales crowd is not that big anymore so sales volumes for most of these products are just okay at best. A business can't engineer anything without making money so overengineering would typically not happen.

 

[Old_School_Brad]

Why do car amplifiers have lower SINAD?

This exact amplifier is a tightly packed enclosure filled with processors and amplifiers stacked on top of each other. It’s comparable to the large 15-channel surround sound amplifiers used in home theaters -where the size helps physically separate noise-sensitive circuits from those that generate interference. That kind of spatial separation is a luxury rarely afforded in car audio, where space is extremely limited.

That said, car power amplifiers don't necessarily suffer from lower SINAD. In fact, many car audio power amps have performance specs that would be perfectly acceptable in a dedicated listening room. However, they usually aren't forced into enclosures as cramped and densely packed as this particular multi-channel DSP amplifier.

 

[amirm]

Keep in mind these last couple amps have many channels and DSP processing and are tiny so everything is packed into a small box making keeping it clean even harder. Then the aftermarket sales crowd is not that big anymore so sales volumes for most of these products are just okay at best. A business can't engineer anything without making money so overengineering would typically not happen.

While this is all true, the main problem is lack of market demand for something better. To the extent we provide data that separates the good from bad -- much like we have done for home/desktop audio -- it will motivate some companies to do better.