NEOHIPO ET30 VU Meter Speaker Switcher Review

[djb]

Touche, should have specified the VU function. No one is arguing about the functionality of the switcher, just the accuracy of VU measurements.

 

[dmilller]

I bought it and I love it. It's big, it's metal, and the worthless meters are pretty. Not one of my stupider purchases of recent times.

 

[Redver]

Just got mine wired, works a treat, bought after reading your review Amir, Thanks.

 

[djb]

The came back in stock, so I ordered one too.

Can someone please explain the parallel wiring? If not, I’ll just use the mic input.

 

[djb]

Thanks GPJ. This was my guess; thank you for the diagram.

I should be in VU nirvana in about 2 weeks.

 

[Megaken]

Can this be used as just a VU meter with one amp and one set of speakers? No switching.

 

[Deleted member 48726]

Can this be used as just a VU meter with one amp and one set of speakers? No switching.

I think it has been mentioned many times, and also in the review, that you can parallel wire the thing.

 

[ironhorse128]

I bought this NC252MP based amp from audiophonics, which is widthwise a great match for the neohipo.
audiophonics-ap300-s250nc

The amp costs 549€ and has a great feature set (XLR, RCA, adjustable gain). Amps from audiophonics have been reviewed positively by amir, so the implementation of the amp should be solid.

Never heard highs this clear and base this deep ;-)

EDIT: I forgot. The amp also has trigger in functionality.

 

[djb]

I have had this for a couple weeks and love it. It's bling, but I think even my wife thinks it is pretty cool.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

I ordered these three amplifier/speaker switchers w/VU meters to test them out:

Fosi Audio LC30:

Erisu Audio:

And the NEOHIPO ET30 reviewed here:

It'll be interesting to test out all three models, but I may already be biased towards the Neohipo ET30 with it's adjustable RGB LED colored VU meters, McIntosh blue will look great!

I think all of the makers of these amplifier/speaker switchers are missing the mark to a degree, first it would be nice to have the ability to have more than two amps to select. Second, in this day and age, they should all come with adjustable RGB LED colored VU meters, kudos to Neohipo for taking the lead there. Now how about more inputs, or even assignable ones so if say you had three amps, and one pair of speakers you could mix and match the four inputs/outputs as needed. The main reason I purchased three of these, one just wasn't going to cut the mustard!

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Nice test Amir. Cool gadget.

I assume the NEOHIPO ET30 is the same as the Fosi Audio ET30 Dual Analog VU Meter? Especially when it says Neohipo on the remote control that is sold together with the Fosi Audio ET30.They look the same anyway.

NEOHIPO ET30 Dual Analog VU Meter, 2-Way Amplifier/Speaker Audio Switcher Box | eBay

The VU strap has m ultiple color backlights and also has an automatic color changing mode. Amplifier Boards. Support single-channel 300W output power amplifier. Maximum amplifier output power supported: 300W Max X 2 (2 ohms).

www.ebay.com

The Fosi does not have adjustable RGP LED colors on the VU meters, they're a static color. I'll have both soon and can post side by side shots of them.

 

[Cal_Cobra]

How is this different from the Douk Audio VU-3?

Douk VU3 VU Meter Review (Updated Version)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Updated Douk Audio (Little Bear) VU3 VU meter and amplifier/speaker selector. It was kindly drop shipped to me by a member and costs US $139. Both the case and the VU meters are top class. The metal box is heavy as to help keep it in place and...

www.audiosciencereview.com

I bought and then returned two of these because when you switched inputs or changed volume the meters dimmed along with the action.

Physically it's about twice as large, and the physical build is better (beefier, uses larger sized 5-way speaker binding posts vs the almost miniature ones used on the Douk Audio Little Bear unit, etc.)

 

[Cal_Cobra]

Thank you all for your support. The first batch of 300 units sold out not long ago, and over half of the second batch of 200 units on our Amazon store has already been sold. It may take until February for new stock to arrive. If you have a demand, it's recommended to expedite your purchase. Thank you all for your support.

Thanks for joining ASR and participating. I just ordered one of your VU metered amplifier switchers. I love that you have adjustable RGB LED colored VU meters, no idea why everyone else thinks we all want orange (hint we don't).

It's curious that all of the current VU metered amplifier switchers available are a 2 in 2 out design. I would love to see either the ability to reconfigure the 2 in 2 out to say a 1 in 3 out, or better yet a 3 amplifier in 1 speaker out. Is there any chance you would offer a model in the future that could switch more than 2 amplifiers?

Thanks and I look forward to receiving my NEOHIPO ET30, which looks like it'll probably be delivered this week.

 

[dualazmak]

Or, how about physically inter-connectable IEC 60268-17 compatible (especially the ballistic behaviors, ref. #60) pure VU-Meter module with RCA/XLR line-level and SP-High-level input capabilities? (ref. my suggestion #185)...

 

[NEOHIPO]

We firmly believe that the voice of our customers is a key force driving us forward. Our core mission is to create products and services that meet and exceed customer satisfaction. To achieve this, we are always open and value every piece of feedback and suggestion from our customers. We are convinced that by listening to and actively responding to customer opinions, we can continually improve and create an exceptional user experience. Therefore, we encourage you to share your insights with us, so we can work together towards a better future.

 

[djb]

I really like mine. Fun product and actually useful. I adjust the gain so the arm swing goes into the RED at 80db. Helps me keep the volume at safe levels. It is also interesting to see the dynamics between good recordings and highly compressed recordings where there is little 'bounce'.

Set it to blue color to match my Emotiva amp for a poor man's Macintosh.

 

[Ze Frog]

Nice. I am a sucker for VU meters but always worried one of these would degrade the sound. Reassuring to see otherwise.

 

[Gregss]

We firmly believe that the voice of our customers is a key force driving us forward. Our core mission is to create products and services that meet and exceed customer satisfaction. To achieve this, we are always open and value every piece of feedback and suggestion from our customers. We are convinced that by listening to and actively responding to customer opinions, we can continually improve and create an exceptional user experience. Therefore, we encourage you to share your insights with us, so we can work together towards a better future.

Hello,

Purchased one of these and seems that while the ad says that they work with pretty much all amps, doesn't work well with my Hypex NC400 amp. Not enough sensitivity. Guessing the extremely low output resistance of this amp may have something to do with it. Tried two of these and same results.
Any suggestions? Tried wiring them in series with the speakers as well as directrly accross the wire going to the speakers, per the instructions. Not much difference.

Also, a suggestion. While love the idea of the changing colors available, would be great if could get the deep dark Marantz VU meter blue. Gets somewhat near, but nowhere as deep or nice a blue.

Regards,
Greg

 

[Cal_Cobra]

... Also, a suggestion. While love the idea of the changing colors available, would be great if could get the deep dark Marantz VU meter blue. Gets somewhat near, but nowhere as deep or nice a blue.

Regards,
Greg

I've yet to hook mine up to amps yet as I'm still working out some amp logistics, but I have it setup just for effect with the MIC and I agree that the VU meter blue is okay, but not quite what folks are after in regards to a blue lit VU meter.

 

[Gregss]

Morning,

Yep, unit is pretty, nicely well built, and good eye candy. But shouldn't have take much more to make it work better. IMHO.
Still like it, just not as good as it could have been.