FOSI S3 Balanced Streamer Review

[Gremlins]

No...
if for comparaison that s with the Wiin Pro Plus... not the Pro...
AKM AK4493S in "plus" and s3..
Do your research
;-)
(I'm inclined to think that the vast majority of users of these kinds of affordable streamers will use them in asymmetrical mode...don't you think? ;-)
I just regret this overemphasis on "symmetry connectic" (when the topic should be software, features, etc.)... and the lack of measures focused on asymmetrical... that's all.
)

And rest assured...
I won't be any more lenient with Wiim..
- Analog input not good...
- Could do better in terms of digital output quality...
-Headphone output is modest on the Ultra...

And the bad idea, given the well-known marketing impact , of the lack of symmetry, at least since the "plus" and then the ultra...
Fosi jumped on the bandwagon...
but it can't hide everything else.

Relax ... It's an exchange forum only ...

 

[morillon]

I m relax... ;-)

 

[Herbert Shooler]

Beats a Chord Dave!!! Terrific value great work Amir!!!!

 

[amarsicola]

Not sure why someone would choose this when RPi5/Moode supports more streaming options and offers the ability to plug in a USB stick and stream local music with a fantastic album interface while also supporting UPnP?
...

My reason would be Qobuz Connect, available in RPi only with a 60€/year Volumio subscription

 

[phoenixdogfan]

Amir. hankst for getting up out of your sick bed to give us this fine review.

Once again, another golden age product: streamer with a transparent dac, multiple outputs including XLR, sub, and spdif digital output. Too bad it's not quite Roon Ready. On a product like this being Room ready is the gold standard, but even so this guy deserves a silver medal for providing all that performance for the value price of $260. Just get a pair of Fosi V3's for another $218, and a pair of Asic C6bs for $1600, and for barely more than $2k have something that for most people, would be all the system they will ever need.

 

[Laserjock]

I have several Bluesound and like them, I have Wiim Pro Plus and like it as well.

Balance out and eARC are two wishes I had for those.

Thanks for reviewing, not a Roon user but understand the want if you do use it.

SINAD better than any amp I have so seems to be an excellent fit.
My only “worry” would be the software side.
Might wait until the “Pro” or “Ultra” is released…

 

[xanalog]

Thank you for the review, @amirm,

With the exception of a luminous indicator-ring, around its volume knob; I believe the FOSI S3 feature-set is all about what most of us have been asking for.
Promised streaming capabilities would not be a deal breaker for my needs.
But using its ETH for a NAS music-library and feeding a Dante 'stream' within the LAN would be well appreciated, along with a solid eARC implementation.
Although I gave it a HappyPanther vote, I think I am going to wait for the "Plus" version, when S3's kinks are fully ironed out!

...Airplay and UPnP is provided the latter of which I used for my testing...

May I ask what the input source of your UPnP testing was?

 

[amirm]

May I ask what the input source of your UPnP testing was?

Sure. I used an extension for foobar2000.

 

[Guddu]

Graphic:


And here's confirmation that it's indeed fixed frequency, fixed Q (click the arrow to see the full message):

I mentioned in the thread that the hardware doesn’t support PEQ as I read somewhere, does someone know for sure if its hardware limitations or just software implementation issue?
Somehow many were under impression that PEQ would be available on it later.

 

[Guddu]

Fosi S3 Streamer Measurements
As usual, we start with our dashboard, streaming UPnP from my desktop over Ethernet:
View attachment 527174
I tested Toslink input and got the same excellent results:

Thank you @amirm

Wondering if you tested eARC as well?
and any possibility of RCA input (ADC) measurements?

 

[amirm]

Wondering if you tested eARC as well?
and any possibility of RCA input (ADC) measurements?

Shameful to say, I didn't notice either until I was posting the review. I thought it had RCA in but then the fog of still being a bit sick me think it was just out. Will measure with S/PDIF In and report back.

 

[ralph]

And Chromecast in my testing truncated to 16 bits.

Is this a serious limitation? What about CDs, 16 bits?

I know that some people believe that they can reliably hear a difference with Bluetooth, but I am absolutely certain that with a well implemented BT, the vast majority of people will not hear any difference.

Fair point. But then again this site is about objective reviews backed up by measurements and measurements are showing differences.

And thanks @amirm for testing, hope you are getting well soon!

 

[Laserjock]

Bluetooth from phone limits your multitasking for audio as well..

 

[amirm]

Is this a serious limitation? What about CDs, 16 bits?

Confirming: this is just the way it renders Chromecast. I did not try to test with 16 bit but can....

 

[TheLavenderBaron]

I m relax... ;-)

I know that some people believe that they can reliably hear a difference with Bluetooth, but I am absolutely certain that with a well implemented BT, the vast majority of people will not hear any difference.

Blinded listening and level matching over multiple trials, I would be shocked if many people could differentiate BT 9 times out of 10 which would be required in my mind to demonstrate reliable discrimination. Just my opinion though.

There's no way I could tell the difference between LDAC 990kbps and higher quality content.

 

[daniboun]

There's no way I could tell the difference between LDAC 990kbps and higher quality content.

However, there is a notable difference between AAC, AptX, SBC and LDAC, and the measurements speak for themselves...

Topping BC3 Review (Bluetooth Receiver) & BT CODECs

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping BC3 Bluetooth receiver and headphone amplifier. It was sent to me by the online seller, Yaoyaotiger HIFI Audio Store and costs US $69. This is a follow up to our previous tests of Bluetooth receivers and investigating performance of...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[amirm]

Blinded listening and level matching over multiple trials, I would be shocked if many people could differentiate BT 9 times out of 10 which would be required in my mind to demonstrate reliable discrimination. Just my opinion though.

These broad claims better be based on facts, not opinions. At least try it yourself to see if it is true for you. Until then, here is published, controlled listening tests of SBC:

It only achieves transparency in one track, the easy classical one.

Here is AptX:

In my own ad-hoc listening tests, SBC is better than both AAC and Aptx. Only LDAC beats it which is not always supported at both ends.

 

[mglobe]

Once past a certain level of performance (which this is), I worry/care more about how I interface with a device like this than about technical performance.

 

[Laserjock]

Once past a certain level of performance (which this is), I worry/care more about how I interface with a device like this than about technical performance.

Only reason I haven’t purchased it

 

[kemmler3D]

Once past a certain level of performance (which this is), I worry/care more about how I interface with a device like this than about technical performance.

Bingo...

I am happy with the several WiiM units I have around the house despite somewhat lower technical performance - the app works well and they connect to my home network and everything pretty cleanly. To me that functionality is the prerequisite for a streamer. If I were getting into multi room streaming today, I'd have a close look at the S3, with a critical eye to app functionality above all. Transparent sound isn't worth much if the streamer won't actually play stuff the way you want it to. I assume it's good in that regard but I agree it's the top concern for anything in this category.

Glad to see Fosi going after this market - if nothing else it will keep WiiM honest.