Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

[Deleted member 72219]

Just received notification that all Kickstarter backers of the Fosi V3 mono who have opted for at least 2 amps will be given MUSE02 chips as a free upgrade.

To clarify: all backers will already receive one chip since we hit $300,000. If we can hit $500,000, backers who opted for at least two amps will receive a second chip.

-Ed

 

[redstang]

To clarify: all backers will already receive one chip since we hit $300,000. If we can hit $500,000, backers who opted for at least two amps will receive a second chip.

-Ed

That seems silly - so if we don't hit 500k we either have to buy the second chip or what - send it to one of the other backers so they have a pair? If I am looking at the right chip it looks like they retail for about $27? So at least not very expensive, unlike the Sparkos chips.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

After a rather heavy handed ban for simply discussing the Fosi V3 and it's "components" while all sorts of other topics are being discussed not relevant to the V3, page after page about the power supply debacle, page after page critiquing YouTube reviews, and now the discussion's full circle back to the ban happy component Alrighty then.

Glad the Fosi V3 mono block campaign was so successful, well done Fosi!

 

[Sokel]

Generally distortion is fairly constant until clipping hits, and then it shoots up very quickly. This particular amp does have a distortion characteristic that gently increases from a minimum at about 20W, then it hit clipping and shoots up.

But even just before clipping the distortion is still basically inaudible.

Sometimes is the very terms that mess things up.
For example that's from the new Purifi amp data sheet :



By the "full biamping" it obviously means by bypassing the internal crossover and go full active.
But I can see how some people can easily mistake it for the bi-wire practice.

 

[MCH]

Sometimes is the very terms that mess things up.
For example that's from the new Purifi amp data sheet :

View attachment 368347

By the "full biamping" it obviously means by bypassing the internal crossover and go full active.
But I can see how some people can easily mistake it for the bi-wire practice.

Interesting. I thought that the double connector was because a single would not be rated for the amp max current. Every day you learn something new

 

[Sokel]

Interesting. I thought that the double connector was because a single would not be rated for the amp max current. Every day you learn something new

There are terminals like that good for 600V-48A,so not a rating problem here if some decent are used.



Edit: I *think* I found what Purifi uses which is good up to 600V-20A.

https://www.farnell.com/datasheets/1722353.pdf

and that's the exact ones that my icepower 1200as2 uses for each channel (also bi-wire),good for up to 250V-10A:

https://www.jst-mfg.com/product/pdf/eng/eVH.pdf

 

[Sokel]

What's really interesting is side-notes as this one:

There's so many things to take into account when designing a device that looks chaotic in layman's view.
(and by that I can now understand a little how Halcro's designer insisted on VERY specific types of metals for his amp)

 

[SMen]

That seems silly - so if we don't hit 500k we either have to buy the second chip or what - send it to one of the other backers so they have a pair? If I am looking at the right chip it looks like they retail for about $27? So at least not very expensive, unlike the Sparkos chips.

It is a strange one. Purely from a marketing point of view they should have gone with full complement OPA2604 x2 per unit, and then Muses02 x2 per unit if they hit 500,000.

I speak purely from a marketing point of view (in my opinion)! I suspect I will probably sell mine.

I hope that the xlr cables are well made.

 

[gwing]

Thank you! Pre-outs are definitely what I need to be looking for. Just didn't know the term. "Luckily" I have no AVR yet, and I'm not exactly bound to the idea of using balanced connections. Still in need of a center channel and AVR before I have 5.2 up and running.

Just a personal comment here from someone who isn't really into home cinema but I'd caution about too much priority for a centre channel. I don't think this really offers anything at all over a simple stereo pair *except* that simple 2 way speakers designed for music can actually be really poor for male speaking voices - if you have speakers without this problem you may not need anything else (and you may also be able to use the TV's internal speakers as a centre channel if your kit permits this).

 

[Rafaille]

Just a personal comment here from someone who isn't really into home cinema but I'd caution about too much priority for a centre channel. I don't think this really offers anything at all over a simple stereo pair *except* that simple 2 way speakers designed for music can actually be really poor for male speaking voices - if you have speakers without this problem you may not need anything else (and you may also be able to use the TV's internal speakers as a centre channel if your kit permits this).

I get your point but I have had a 5.1 system in the past and although speakers were cheap I still miss the center speaker for dialogues on my current 2.1 setup.

It just gives much more clarity to dialogues. On top of that, although most of what I watch is in English, I am not a native speaker and I sometimes struggle a bit in noisy scenes when I cannot push the volume too much (neighbours, kids...). So I will take any 'clarity' bonus.

I have tried orientating the front speakers differently, boosting the center channel in the stereo downmix via software, but nothing really does it like a dedicated center speaker.
As of using the TV internal speakers, no offense but I ll pass. And I cannot have both usb and hdmi audio output on my AV source at the same time anyway.

Just so that moderators do not get angry, this topic is related to Fosi mono amps, as I think their value makes a 3.1 (or more) system possible on a tight budget.

 

[Kayshot]

Just a personal comment here from someone who isn't really into home cinema but I'd caution about too much priority for a centre channel. I don't think this really offers anything at all over a simple stereo pair *except* that simple 2 way speakers designed for music can actually be really poor for male speaking voices - if you have speakers without this problem you may not need anything else (and you may also be able to use the TV's internal speakers as a centre channel if your kit permits this).

I have Revel M106 speakers, and find that the phantom center is great. The main pull for a center channel for me is that I hear it'll help out the wife who sits off-axis.
Anyhow, I'm relatively new here and am realizing that delving too far off-topic can have its repercussions, so I've got nothing further to say about surround setups unless it's strictly based on V3 mono integration

 

[kwatch]

Between 48V/10A and 2*48V/5A Power Supply, which one should I get?

 

[Yannick]

Between 48V/10A and 2*48V/5A Power Supply, which on should I get?

I would say:
10A for general convenience (fewer outlets required, fewer power bricks needed);
2x5A for outlying convenience (situations where the splitter cable wouldn't be long enough) or for a 'true mono' experience.

Doubtless someone better informed than I will have more to say.

 

[TheBatsEar]

I would say:
10A for general convenience (fewer outlets required, fewer power bricks needed);
2x5A for outlying convenience (situations where the splitter cable wouldn't be long enough) or for a 'true mono' experience.

Doubtless someone better informed than I will have more to say.

Not much to add there. In terms of fidelity it will likely be the same.

 

[Sokel]

Between 48V/10A and 2*48V/5A Power Supply, which one should I get?

I wouldn't overlook this if I was about to choose:

Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

Hi, you write that it is possible to connect 2 amps to 1 48v power block. Is this degrades the power of the amps? To get full power should I use 2? Splitting one power supply to two Amps will naturally cut the available power for each Amp in half. However, Fosi sell a 48V 10A supply, which...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I couldn’t help myself and added 2x V3M and the SP601 speakers to my previous pledge for 3xV3M.

I have a 5.1 setup with a Marantz S6012 as receiver. My speaker setup is as follows:
- Fronts: Monitor Audio GS10 (relatively modest speakers)
- Center: Monitor Audio GSLCR
- Surrounds: the idea is to put the SP601 as surrounds.

Now, with 5 V3 Mono’s to play with, should I go for:
A. Each speaker its own amp
B. Bi-amp the fronts, and drive the surrounds with the S6012’s internal amp?

Of course I’ll experiment, but happy to hear your thoughts on this

I contemplated upgrading my package to their SP601 speaker/amp package, but I haven't been able to find anything on them aside from a factory youtube video. Were you able to get any additional details on them?

 

[Cal_Cobra]

What do you guys think about setting these amp upside down with some taller adhesive feet and applying these heatsink over the chip? Also considering applying new thermal compound to the chip itself. @Fosi Audio, any thoughts?

Might be worth applying something like Arctic Silver. It's used for CPUs and claims to have superior temp reduction capabilities than generic heatsink grease.

 

[Lednek]

Might be worth applying something like Arctic Silver. It's used for CPUs and claims to have superior temp reduction capabilities than generic heatsink grease.

My thoughts exactly.I have an unopened tube sitting at home.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

My thoughts exactly.I have an unopened tube sitting at home.

I used it exclusively when I was in my PC build days, even on GPU chips. It's shocking how terrible of a job most factory thermal grease applications are. Redoing it with Arctic Silver is cheap insurance, and it's application has always returned measurable improvements in my experience (easy to measure on a PC CPU/GPU).

 

[Head_Unit]

I'd happily pay the extra cost for the slightly bigger enclosure.

I am guessing that since those power supplies are like a standard item for computers (I think??) integrating into a fairly larger enclosure might increase the cost more than we might think offhand. I'd be interested in @Fosi Audio's comments about that.

@amirm this should be titled "...dbW" at the top?