Disclaimer: I'm fairly new here and with so many forums, it wasn't easy to decide which one to post this...
If this is not the best one please let me know or (if you're a mod) feel free to move it.
TL;DR: I've recently order a Fosi V3 (should get it next week or so).
I'm not sure I'll keep it, so I will have only a few weeks to try it out before returning if I don't like it... and I've been wondering if it's worth getting some op-amps and try some op-amp rolling.
I'm usually a bit skeptic on these, but curious if anyone tried and what results they got...
Here's some background on what I've tried before and why I'm looking into this...
The speakers I have are the DALI Spektor 2, currently driven by an old Philips FA950 amp.
When I bought the DALI (a few months ago), I originally ordered an Aiyima T9 Pro (because I wanted something small and also needed an USB DAC).
My father had an old Philips amp in his garage collecting dust, so I decided to pick it up and see if it still worked and how it sounded with the new speakers.
I honestly was expecting the T9 Pro to be better, because it was newer and I thought technology would have made significant advances in the past decades... (but apparently this was a wrong premise)
There were significant differences between the T9 Pro and the vintage amp... with the Aiyima, it sounded kind of veiled as if the sound was coming from the end of the room, behind a thick curtain. Soundstage/imaging wasn't the best...
With the Philips amp soundstage was much more forward. There seemed to be better instrument separation too. Acoustic instruments sounded more "natural". Everything was more "alive".
I ended returning the Aiyima and kind of lost my faith in these tiny chi-fi amps...
In the meanwhile I got a Topping E30 II to use with the vintage amp and I've been happy, except for the fact the Philips amp is huge and I'd really like to get something smaller that would actually fit in my current furniture... (and make other half a bit more happy about the aesthetics...)
Fosi V3 has been released and after so many people raving about it, I decided to give it a try...
No high expectation and I'm actually a bit afraid it might be another big disappointment like the T9 Pro was... So I was wondering if replacing the op-amps could somehow improve soundstage (in case it needs to be improved) or other aspects... or if this op-amp rolling thing is just snake oil marketing...
No way I'm going to spend €80 or €170 for a pair of MUSES02 or Sparkos op-amps... I was thinking more about something like OPA2134, OPA2604 or AD712...
Any thoughts on this from someone who actually tried rolling the op-amps on the Fosi V3?
Did it impact soundstage or any other aspect?
TIA
If this is not the best one please let me know or (if you're a mod) feel free to move it.
TL;DR: I've recently order a Fosi V3 (should get it next week or so).
I'm not sure I'll keep it, so I will have only a few weeks to try it out before returning if I don't like it... and I've been wondering if it's worth getting some op-amps and try some op-amp rolling.
I'm usually a bit skeptic on these, but curious if anyone tried and what results they got...
Here's some background on what I've tried before and why I'm looking into this...
The speakers I have are the DALI Spektor 2, currently driven by an old Philips FA950 amp.
When I bought the DALI (a few months ago), I originally ordered an Aiyima T9 Pro (because I wanted something small and also needed an USB DAC).
My father had an old Philips amp in his garage collecting dust, so I decided to pick it up and see if it still worked and how it sounded with the new speakers.
I honestly was expecting the T9 Pro to be better, because it was newer and I thought technology would have made significant advances in the past decades... (but apparently this was a wrong premise)
There were significant differences between the T9 Pro and the vintage amp... with the Aiyima, it sounded kind of veiled as if the sound was coming from the end of the room, behind a thick curtain. Soundstage/imaging wasn't the best...
With the Philips amp soundstage was much more forward. There seemed to be better instrument separation too. Acoustic instruments sounded more "natural". Everything was more "alive".
I ended returning the Aiyima and kind of lost my faith in these tiny chi-fi amps...
In the meanwhile I got a Topping E30 II to use with the vintage amp and I've been happy, except for the fact the Philips amp is huge and I'd really like to get something smaller that would actually fit in my current furniture... (and make other half a bit more happy about the aesthetics...)
Fosi V3 has been released and after so many people raving about it, I decided to give it a try...
No high expectation and I'm actually a bit afraid it might be another big disappointment like the T9 Pro was... So I was wondering if replacing the op-amps could somehow improve soundstage (in case it needs to be improved) or other aspects... or if this op-amp rolling thing is just snake oil marketing...
No way I'm going to spend €80 or €170 for a pair of MUSES02 or Sparkos op-amps... I was thinking more about something like OPA2134, OPA2604 or AD712...
Any thoughts on this from someone who actually tried rolling the op-amps on the Fosi V3?
Did it impact soundstage or any other aspect?
TIA