Does My Unicorn Amp & Pre Amp Combo Exist?

[ohmywatt]

Out with the old...and now stuck in limbo! I'm a newbie to the "new age" of audio manufactures offering small, powerful and inexpensive amp/pre amp options. Fosi, VTV, Buckeye, Topping, Apollon etc. all seem to be coming to the table with great options and garnering great reviews. Ideally, I would like to get two monoblocks, being fed with audio signals from an appropriate preamp to which my audio sources/devices are attached. My setup is two channel stereo and I'd like the option to add my single powered sub. The floor-standing speakers are 8 ohm and require up to 250 watts to drive them properly.

The problem I'm trying to solve lies with the amp and pre amp input/output options (or lack thereof). Ideally I would like to connect:
TV audio via available HDMI eArc or Optical cable options
A phonostage with RCA outputs
Sonos digital music streamer which offer RCA, Coax or Optical output options
A powered sub with RCA connecion

So as you can see, my existing source equipment do not have XLR connection options, which most of the Fosi, Topping etc make use of. RCA to XLR cables are available but I believe that requires the introduction of another component to keep the audio signal between the preamp and monoblock stable?

Am I missing something? All suggestions are highly appreciated!

 

[JeffS7444]

So as you can see, my existing source equipment do not have XLR connection options, which most of the Fosi, Topping etc make use of. RCA to XLR cables are available but I believe that requires the introduction of another component to keep the audio signal between the preamp and monoblock stable?

Unless you need really long cables, it's unlikely to make much difference.

 

[Timcognito]

If I understand correctly, this hits the checklist plus Dirac room correction. you will need a separate phono preamp, but many good ones have small foot print.

SHD

Roon Ready network audio streamer with Dirac Live® room correction, miniDSP audio toolbox for subwoofer integration and multiway speakers, Volumio music player, Audiophile 32-bit converters, 450MHz Sharc DSP processor

www.minidsp.com

 

[Timcognito]

Yamaha N800A

 

[DVDdoug]

My setup is two channel stereo and I'd like the option to add my single powered sub.

The easiest way to integrate a sub is with an AVR but not all AVRs have preamp outputs for the stereo or surround channels.

Or some subs have line-level pass-through with a crossover.

The floor-standing speakers are 8 ohm and require up to 250 watts to drive them properly.

That's probably not true unless you listen VERY loud and/or you're trying to fill a dance hall with loud music. The sensitivity spec tells you how loud the speaker goes at 1 meter and 1W. And of course the maximum power spec is important because you don't want to burn-out the speaker. The "recommended power" spec is meaningless without knowing how loud you want to listen.

RCA to XLR cables are available but I believe that requires the introduction of another component to keep the audio signal between the preamp and monoblock stable?

RCA (unbalanced) to XLR (balanced) is always OK and you get most of the noise-rejection benefits of the balanced input. But sometimes "pro" XLR inputs are less sensitive (less gain) so you need to make sure you have enough voltage. The other way around, from balanced to unbalanced is NOT always OK.

 

[JeremyFife]

Hi,
Fortunately there are plenty of options.
Unfortunately, there are so many options it's tricky to narrow it all down

What's your budget, for pre and power amps?
It would help to know the make and model of your speakers, and details of how you like to listen

 

[drmevo]

I think a WiiM Ultra with Fosi V3 Monos would check all the boxes laid out in the OP, right?

 

[Blumlein 88]

This plus a power amp. You didn't mention a budget. This is $1299. I think it has everything you mention plus Dirac Live room correction. It does streaming on its own and has analog in on XLR and RCA for your phono with XLR outs for the power amp. Plus analog outs for up to two subs.

SHD

Roon Ready network audio streamer with Dirac Live® room correction, miniDSP audio toolbox for subwoofer integration and multiway speakers, Volumio music player, Audiophile 32-bit converters, 450MHz Sharc DSP processor

www.minidsp.com

Lots of good choices on amps for your needs. Do you need 250 watts into 8 ohms or 4 ohms?

 

[ohmywatt]

That's probably not true unless you listen VERY loud and/or you're trying to fill a dance hall with loud music. The sensitivity spec tells you how loud the speaker goes at 1 meter and 1W. And of course the maximum power spec is important because you don't want to burn-out the speaker. The "recommended power" spec is meaningless without knowing how loud you want to listen.

You are correct, the Paradigm Founder 100F speakers require an amplifier power range from 15 - 300 watt and 250 watt maximum input power. From time to time, I do like to turn the volume up.

 

[ohmywatt]

Yamaha N800A
View attachment 435144

I'm sure this Yamaha could do the trick. My older Pioneer Elite amp is quite similar. However, I'm hoping to switch things up a bit and try a combination of these new small footprint components as can be found with manufacturers like Fosi, Topping and the likes.

 

[ohmywatt]

I think a WiiM Ultra with Fosi V3 Monos would check all the boxes laid out in the OP, right?

This actually looks like a good solution. The WiiM seems like a very versatile piece. I only wish the Fosi V3 Monos had more than 100 watt output at 8 ohm.

 

[ohmywatt]

This plus a power amp. You didn't mention a budget. This is $1299. I think it has everything you mention plus Dirac Live room correction. It does streaming on its own and has analog in on XLR and RCA for your phono with XLR outs for the power amp. Plus analog outs for up to two subs.

SHD

Roon Ready network audio streamer with Dirac Live® room correction, miniDSP audio toolbox for subwoofer integration and multiway speakers, Volumio music player, Audiophile 32-bit converters, 450MHz Sharc DSP processor

www.minidsp.com

Lots of good choices on amps for your needs. Do you need 250 watts into 8 ohms or 4 ohms?

The SHD Power amp looks like a neat unit. 120 watts/channel at 8 ohm beats the 100 watts/channel at 8 ohm which the Fosi V3 monoblocks deliver.

 

[ohmywatt]

Hi,
Fortunately there are plenty of options.
Unfortunately, there are so many options it's tricky to narrow it all down

What's your budget, for pre and power amps?
It would help to know the make and model of your speakers, and details of how you like to listen

Budget for pre and power amps is $2000 - $2500. I have the Fosi Audio Box X5 Phono pre amp https://fosiaudio.com/products/box-x5-phono-preamp which got a really great review here. Speakers will most likely end up being Paradigm Founder 100F https://www.paradigm.com/en/floorstanding/founder-100f or something very similar.

 

[Blumlein 88]

The SHD Power amp looks like a neat unit. 120 watts/channel at 8 ohm beats the 100 watts/channel at 8 ohm which the Fosi V3 monoblocks deliver.

True and that might be a one box solution for you except it doesn't have the phono inputs you want. You could feed phono if that is your only analog need to this pocket ADC $55 and you have it all in that simple setup. The output of this is digital and goes to the SHD power amp digital input.

PocketADC

The miniDSP Pocket ADC is an extremely compact high-resolution A/D (analog-to-digital) convertor that accepts a stereo analog input on single-ended (RCA) connectors and converts it to SPDIF coaxial and TOSLINK optical digital outputs. This pocket size converter supports high sample rate and...

www.minidsp.com

 

[ohmywatt]

I started reading through the DAC/Streaming Player reviews and came across a review on this gem which ticks basically all the boxes for my needs. It has HDMI ARC, Optical, COAX, USB and AUX INPUTS. It has RCA and XLR outputs, the latter being a great feature for connecting it to the Topping B200 mono-blocks. This could potentially be a one-and-done setup for my needs. This unit essentially cancels the need for a dedicated pre-amp.
https://www.matrix-digi.com/product/93/mini-i_4

Can the XLR and RCA outputs on the Matrix Mini i 4 be used simultaneously? As an example, my powered sub uses RCA cables. Is it possible to connect my sub to the RCA outputs while using the XLR outputs to feed two mono-blocks which drive my left and right speakers?

XLR and RCA can be used simultaneously on similar components offered by Topping, but again, I'm not sure if the RCA outputs can be connected to a powered sub.