Durability of Chinese amplifiers aiyima, smsl, fosi audio

[Juampa1989]

Hi dear. Good afternoon, I have been reading reviews about Chinese amplifiers from brands like aiyima, slms, fosi audio, apparently they are not very durable over time and there are some people who indicate that they do not have much security against overloads or that failures occur with one channel. I'd be interested in buying one to try it out but if it doesn't have good durability I don't know if it's worth using it as a head amp or just as a toy, maybe it's better to save and buy another one from more recognized brands like Yahama or Marantz. They are more expensive but I imagine that they are much more durable and safe with better protection against voltage changes. What you get in sound may be sacrificed in quality to other components such as construction. What do you think based on your experience with these amplifiers?

 

[staticV3]

@Juampa1989 please use English on ASR.

 

[tomtoo]

Hola. Its your task to translate. If not, we see it as lazynes.

Sure we could push this thru deepl. But you could do also.

 

[eddantes]

Las más baratas no son de muy buena calidad y he tenido fallos. Pero las mejores, que cuestan un poco más, no están nada mal y las llevo usando años.

Or - if you don't want to do any translation - simply ignore the post. Otherwise - just answer the question.

 

[MCH]

I am sure the text is an automatic translation. Feels more like something done wrong, probably unnoticed, than laziness.
I see this happening often, wonder if it is something related to how people uses auto translation...

 

[tomtoo]

I am sure the text is an automatic translation. Feels more like something done wrong, probably unnoticed, than laziness.
I see this happening often, wonder if it is something related to how people uses auto translation...

Oh, i see remember there was some similar problem a while ago. But however its the task of the writer to look whats arrived.

 

[DSJR]

Some countries have official importers so there may be an acceptable warranty. Not all go wrong obviously, but irrespective of how cheap these boxes are, it'd be nice to know that under warranty at least and hopefully beyond, there's some form of service backup.

The rest of us have Schiit of course (with European and UK agent if tricky suppkly on some items).

P.S. I know we've seen long standing measurements of Yamaha's sub £/$1000 amps, but I'd like to see an up to date assessment of the digital inputs on current models, just to see if they're just basically adequate AV receiver standard, or something just a little better.

Rega have just announced digital inputs on their revised £1000 and £2000-ish amps. No sinad leaders these (deliberate I reckon as it's simply not important to them, no matter how talented their designers), but they'd still be solid well laid out (much better than the Io and Brio R) and generally dependable amps although they will unashamedly object to high power levels into 4 ohm loads...

 

[ZolaIII]

@DSJR the A-S701 performs admirably trough analog inputs which are rated at 100 dB but it's DAC ain't great, A-S 801 have a better DAC (rest off internals are the same as 701) which again isn't great but it's better than rated analog input.

Yamaha A-S801 Integrated Amplifier Review

The Yamaha A-S801 is an honestly rated 100 watt/ch integrated amplifier with a built in high resolution USB-B DAC to power a serious dedicated two-channel or upscale PC system with pristine fidelity.

www.audioholics.com

I have older R-N402D with better DAC (DSD1793) then A-S701 and lower A-S range and standalone SABRE32 one which goes over 100 dB SINAD. Let's say I prefer more integrated one which is dead silent to analog input one which products a little bit of buzz when you put ear one inch from woffer.

 

[Joe Smith]

I use both regular amps and receivers and cheaper class D amps from SMSL and Aiyima. If your main concern is long term reliability and/or power, the mini amps probably are not your best bet. While I have found them to be reliable (both main unit and the power supplies), I don't drive them to high volume levels. I think most of the early failures come from folks pushing them to the top of their rated power limits, given that some of the capacitors and other components may not be top of the line.

I have two SMSL SA-50 amps that are going on 9 years old and they are still doing fine.

I don't think any of the mass market/affordable class AB stuff is being built as well as stuff was in the 70s...but probably still well built enough to last 10 or 15 years of steady use.

And, of course, if you have irreplaceable speakers or expensive speakers/other components, manage your risk comfort level accordingly.

For me, I'm happy taking the risk, as the little amps are perfect for certain setups of mine (small footprint, limited number of sources, generally low volumes).

 

[Kimbrough Xu]

I bought a fosi audio BT20A for my KEF Q35. The sound is amazing, very clean. I used it for 2 years now and it is still working very well.

 

[Cawafuoshi]

Fosi BT30D going strong for 16 months+ paired with some Miccas. Great sound for under $200.

 

[Talisman]

What I have to say is anecdotal, but any comments on this thread will be, to date I have had no failures from small budget amps from the brands you name (I have several).
A breeze mini dual tpa 3116 has been on continuously (connected to the Alexa output) for three years (never turned off).
Is this a guarantee that the products you mentioned will last a long time? no, that's just my experience.

 

[Graham849]

AO200 turned on 24/7 for past 12 months. DO100 same for 10 months.

A friend now has my Fosi Q4/ BT30D stack that he turns off every night for past year.

I am very content so far.

 

[Soria Moria]

My Singxer SA-1 stopped working properly after less than a year.

 

[Waxx]

I got a 50€ SMSL SA-36 that i take a lot on the road (test amp and mobile amp) and it still works perfectly, even after years of abuse. But not all are like that and the company support for these devices is little to non existing. So i would not spend big sums on amps that have no local support department. But for cheap things it's worth the risk I think. For more expensive amps i would take something that is at least local supported so if it breaks down you can have it repaired easely.

 

[tmtomh]

I would echo and reinforce one key point several others have mentioned: warranty, and even to an extent public info on reliability, is less important than how you access the warranty coverage if something goes wrong.

When people question the reliability of "Chinese gear" - which is a hilarious phrase since a lot of "non-Chinese" gear is made in the same factories with the same components as the "Chinese" gear - they often make an assumption that gear produced by non-Chinese companies, and gear produced in the past, is more reliable. In some cases that's true - but in others it's not.

People also sometimes make the assumption that if you have to send a device to China for warranty replacement, it's not worth it because shipping is so expensive and it takes so long. It makes me wonder if any of those folks have ever had the experience of paying to ship a 30-lb piece of gear across the country in the US to have it looked at by a major manufacturer's authorized warranty repair facility, and then waiting weeks for it to be diagnosed and the broken component to be received by them, installed, and the unit then sent back.

My point is that I think we tend to oversimplify this issue. Warranty repair/replacement of the "Chinese" gear is perhaps slightly less likely and slightly less of a hassle than some of us think. And conversely, dependability and ease of warranty repair/replacement of the "non-Chinese" gear is perhaps slightly more likely and more of a potential hassle than some of us seem to assume.

 

[abdo123]

i've been using my Aiyimas for quite sometime now, like two or three years? they definitely paid their enviromental and financial costs, I use them everyday and they're cool as a whistle too.

Now thinking about it my MiniDSP gets significantly warmer.

it's all about how stable and regulated the power supply is if you're going to do a "mediocre" job on everything downstream.

 

[mhardy6647]

Fosi BT30D going strong for 16 months+ paired with some Miccas. Great sound for under $200.

Sixteen months?

Not what I'd consider stunning reliability.

 

[Cawafuoshi]

Sixteen months?

Not what I'd consider stunning reliability.

I know, not even past the 2 years mark. Only time will tell. It‘s probably running every day 6 hours on average in a tropical climate.

But, for something that cost less than $80 and doesn‘t suck sonically, I am willing to accept it might need replacement before my other more expensive receiver gear. But maybe not.

 

[Joe Smith]

I know, not even past the 2 years mark. Only time will tell. It‘s probably running every day 6 hours on average in a tropical climate.

But, for something that cost less than $80 and doesn‘t suck sonically, I am willing to accept it might need replacement before my other more expensive receiver gear. But maybe not.

I agree! I view these units a little differently than something I have many hundreds of dollars in...

The one area I'd truly like to see improved is encased, average-user-friendly, higher voltage/amp power bricks with very good build quality and caps. I am happy with the basic Aiyima 32v/5a brick, and now they have a higher power encased one, but no validation re quality internal components etc. Or more choices in the 100wpc 8ohm capable units that have the power board enclosed in the main case, with good components.