Fosi V4 & V5 Mono - Fosi goes Hypex

[Transistor]

WAT

Buckeye NC252MP Stereo Amplifier Review

Every time I read a comment about its ugliness or that the top of the case bows up, my heart swells with antiaudiophillic pride.

www.audiosciencereview.com

What is that black thing you have there? A shoebox?

 

[Soundproof]

Researching for a setup along these lines, Topping/Fosi amps would be more than good enough for what I'm after, the showstopper for yours truly are the power bricks. I simply don't want that clutter regardless of potential advantages. There are and will be enough cables and units as it is. In lieu of that, great Fosi!

However, I am a bit surprised of the shift in design language, as they have been hard at work establishing a very identifiable brand design which I at least believe is quite good whether their design is a purchase trigger for me or not. Not to the taste of everyone of course (what is), but quite palatable and immediate brand identification. That's an achievement.

Then, there is the competitive question. If the prices mentioned here - say 600/1.000 dolares per unit - are correct, the questions would be A: What performance/quality can I get for 1.200/2.000 USD, or B: what do I get away with for similar performance/quality?

Mind you, I don't own any of these, I am just doing my homework to figure out what I actually will purchase. Surely, I will be fine with even more modest amps, but in the toxic coctail of what I like, budget and actually need, the "rational"(yeah, right!) alternative would be the Apollon stereo ET6525SA. Could always drewl upwards on the dual mono or mono blocks in the series, then the nicer boxes, but it would not translate to whatever my brain conclude is good/great sound for my preferences. Sure, I could apply a tad more common sense, save a few bucks and visit Audiophonics and be just as fine. Or I could drop the idea of Purifi and settle for Audiophonics' Ncore (and get mono blocks) - I like the concept of monoblocks and dual mono, but if I argued that has advantages beyond shorter speaker cable I am pretty sure I would be proven wrong. With ease. And it would be expected.

I could turn and twist this any and every way, but I have a hard time picturing these Fosis entering the consideratons I play with to figure out what ends up in my livingroom. Just can't picture it. Doesn't mean they aren't great, they just don't fit within my amateur perspective.

On a sidenote: Was already leaning towards the Apollon stereo version when Amir published his review:

Apollon 1ET6525SA ST Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Apollon 1ET6525SA ST Purifi based class D stereo power amplifier. It was kindly loaned to me by a member and costs 1,190.00€ (USD $1,348). Apollon designs are unique a step up from some of its competitors. Even the power switch feels nice and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[beeface]

Not sure Fosi did themselves a favour hiring this guy.

That's a bit harsh IMO. It sounds like he's Fosi's industrial designer, and I think he's done a great job with their product design.

I think he spoke well explaining his designs, but I think Fosi should have briefed him better on other talking points if he's being asked to be a rep at an audio show. Not his fault.

 

[Ropeburn]

That's a bit harsh IMO. It sounds like he's Fosi's industrial designer, and I think he's done a great job with their product design.

I think he spoke well explaining his designs, but I think Fosi should have briefed him better on other talking points if he's being asked to be a rep at an audio show. Not his fault.

We don't have the same idea about harshness if you think that mild expression is. In direct words, I think he's a clueless technobabbler with no taste and totally out of his league.

 

[Soundproof]

That's a bit harsh IMO. It sounds like he's Fosi's industrial designer, and I think he's done a great job with their product design.

Agree, mostly. Certainly, Fosi knows their customers better than we ever will, and these may very well be a hit within their targeted audience. I am clearly not the target for these, and those who are sharing my perspective could easily be outnumbered by a landslide.

As mentioned earlier, I believe the designs they have released in the last couple of years constitute very very good industrial design covering a lot of usage scenarios. Hopefully, those designs are carried on and extended.

 

[Elgrosso]

...In direct words, I think he's a clueless technobabbler with no taste and totally out of his league.

That's a bit harsh IMO. It sounds like he's Fosi's industrial designer, and I think he's done a great job with their product design.

I think he spoke well explaining his designs, but I think Fosi should have briefed him better on other talking points if he's being asked to be a rep at an audio show. Not his fault.

Clearly he’s overselling with a conscious buzzword salad.
He said himself he’s not a designer, and certainly not an industrial one based on the result.
At best few doodles on a napkin giving directions to the engineer(s) who made sure everything checks.

In fact I’m not even sure Fosi had a designer before, the products they built didn’t need one.
An owner’s vision or some good engineer with some sense of taste/market feeling was enough.
And I think it was reflected in the honest result, coherent with price and performance.

 

[keith_h]

Right, and the Shenzhen manufacturers haven't exactly covered themselves with glory when it comes to customer service.

I had a V3 mono stop working recently. Raised a ticket with Fosi and had a new one inside a week.

Fosi were excellent from the moment I raised the ticket to fulfilment.

 

[OldTimer]

Hypex-amps are protesting to the $65 Fosi V3 so they begin to push the price of Fosi up up up.

 

[keith_h]

Hypex-amps are protesting to the $65 Fosi V3 so they begin to push the price of Fosi up up up.

Really?? How do you know this??

 

[OldTimer]

Really?? How do you know this??

It’s my instinct that always running in my head.

 

[keith_h]

It’s my instinct that always running in my head.

I had a conversation with Fosi about the new equipment recently. They said it's early days, even though there is some mention of it. It seems this is to be branded to go into a new market niche for them above the current range of equipment and for which they can charge more.

I think the styling is being talked up to ensure the pricing can be justified against similar products in the market which may be less glamorous looking but offer the same sorts of performance. I don't think they intend to cannibalise sales of the V3 with the V4 and 5 and so it makes no sense to drive the V3 price up. That is just my personal assessment.

For me it makes no sense to pay a lot more for similar audio quality to V3 even though the V4 and V5 are more powerful than V3. That's what I'll be interested in since I prefer V3 to the nCore amplification in my NAD M10.

 

[OldTimer]

I had a conversation with Fosi about the new equipment recently. They said it's early days, even though there is some mention of it. It seems this is to be branded to go into a new market niche for them above the current range of equipment and for which they can charge more.

I think the styling is being talked up to ensure the pricing can be justified against similar products in the market which may be less glamorous looking but offer the same sorts of performance. I don't think they intend to cannibalise sales of the V3 with the V4 and 5 and so it makes no sense to drive the V3 price up. That is just my personal assessment.

For me it makes no sense to pay a lot more for similar audio quality to V3 even though the V4 and V5 are more powerful than V3. That's what I'll be interested in since I prefer V3 to the nCore amplification in my NAD M10.

That’s good.

 

[stuartkohl]

What is that black thing you have there? A shoebox?

Beauty is in music, not amplifiers.

Another way of saying is this is that I buy an amplifier to play my music. I do not buy music to be able to have something to play on my amplifier. Also, form follows function for me in this instance. I value an amplifier that is good at its task. I am less concerned with how it looks.

Tastes differ though, so it's good that different products exist for different tastes.

 

[Sweefu]

Has anyone seen any updated info for timing and launch plans?

Hopefully these will be easier to access in Australia like the other Fosi amps. Options like Buckeye end up being quite expensive once landed here

 

[AgarWave]

In my day-to-day use, I've found that endlessly debating the aesthetics of affordable Class-D amps distracts from the bigger picture. As long as the V4 and V5 are audibly transparent and drive difficult loads without breaking a sweat, they've done their job perfectly. I'd much rather save money on a utilitarian amp design and invest those savings into a capable streamer with a rock-solid PEQ implementation—like the WiiM ecosystem—to actually correct the room acoustics. That’s where the real audible improvements are made.

 

[audioje]

Price should be much cheaper. I would rather go with Buckeyes at these prices.

 

[delta76]

So, I learned it's so beautiful and they both have Hypex inside and it's beautiful design and the power button feels nice and sounds nice and is sturdy, and the power supply is inside and that's groundbreaking, oh and it's so beautiful.

Not sure Fosi did themselves a favour hiring this guy.

If you want to keep the job you publicly say what company wants you to say. Privately and internally does not matter.
I always hold people who speak about their company's products with honesty in high regard. But I will give people like him a pass. Not everyone can flatly say no to marketing bullshit. I cannot. We all have a pricetag and will bend our knees especially if it is not illegal nor immoral.

 

[Sweefu]

Price should be much cheaper. I would rather go with Buckeyes at these prices.

Why should they be cheaper?

 

[audioje]

Why should they be cheaper?

Because Buckeye is cheaper. Would you pay more for Fosi?

 

[SoySalsaPicante]

We haven't seen the official pricing yet, arguing something that isn't even known yet is just stress nobody needs. Let's wait and see on the actual, final pricing.

I don't disagree, by the way, that Fosi needs to be price competitive if they're not otherwise going to be competitive in terms of features or functionality with the V4 Monos.

As for the V5 Monos, it looks like they're including some degree of bass management (potentially), which would at least be added value for some potential buyers. When you start adding functionality (assuming said functionality is well-implemented and not mere gimicks), you stop having to compete on price alone.