NEOHIPO ET30 VU Meter Speaker Switcher Review

[gjetson]

What is the MiC on the front and back panel about?

If you switch to the MIC input, the VU meters show the ambient sound picked up instead of the amp speaker level input.

 

[mhardy6647]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NEOHIPO ET30 VU meter and 2 in, 2 out speaker selector. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $160 but is on sale for 20% less on Amazon.
View attachment 334398
Let me tell you: you are not a hifi nerd if your heart did not melt as mine did the moment I saw the gorgeous, large VU meters!!! What's more, they are lit via very uniform lighting RGB LEDs. Above is set to yellow-green but you can change them to almost any color with the middle knob. Each color was stunning in how intense and beautiful the shades were.

The good story doesn't end there. There is acceleration with damped return. You set the range for the VU meters with the left knob. The right knob programs how fast they act, from very slow on far left to quite nimble (for their size).

The case is made out of solid metal giving the unit a nice feel and ability to hold on to speaker wires without getting pulled. Switches feel very good as well. A microphone is also provided if you want to use that as the pick up instead of wires:
View attachment 334399

A USB-C cable is provided which I connected to my PC for testing. You can of course use any USB-C adapter.

For my testing, I used the unit parallel to my amplifier. In other words, I did not test it as a switcher but VU meter. Speaking of "VU," I tested it for accuracy. As you would guess, it is not very accurate. -3 dB for example would show -2 dB. So this is really for fun and visualization that there is a signal there, not as an instrument.

I did find one minor limitation. If you push more than 30 volts RMS (225 watts into 4 ohm), the meter pegs to max but may not always return to zero if you remove the signal. Power cycling fixes this. Something is saturating and latching.

Neohipo ET30 Measurements
For testing, I fired up the Purifi reference design amplifier so that we have a high-performance instrument to measure the impact of VU meter. This is how it performs by itself (one channel is a bit distorted due to loose speaker connection which I fixed for later tests):
View attachment 334400

Now the same but with both channels wired in parallel with speaker wires to ET30 (and rather long cables at that):
View attachment 334401

As you see, there is no impact at all. Same story is true for both frequency response and crosstalk:
View attachment 334402
View attachment 334404

To make sure it can handle high power, here is our sweep to clipping:
View attachment 334403

We can be sure that there is no impact on the amplifier.

Conclusions
We finally found it: a near perfect VU meter to warm our hearts and feed our eyes as we listen to our music! It has no impact on the connected device which is as it should be but has not in other VU meters we have tested. The build quality is excellent and looks are exquisite. Controls for such things as bandwidth are a great icing on the cake. Go ahead and order one for your holiday present. You will be happier for it!

I am happy to recommend the Neohipo ET30 VU meter.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

1) How did I miss this review until today?
2) This product has zero chance of diminishing the resale value of cheezy plastic Radio Shack "power" meters from the mid-1970s.

source: https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1977_radioshack_catalog.html pg. 25

 

[laetoli37]

Missing out on a lot of “actions” on the center channel. Especially when listening to upmixed stereo. Bought another one, covered one of the meters, and now I have fun a display for all three front channels

 

[leebergtally]

It sure would be nice if a member who has the know how and equipment to test this as an amp switcher. I would love to be able to switch between my older monster boat anchor amps (Bryston, adcom, pass lab) and some of my newer class d amps to see how much difference if any I could detect. Also test this for switching between speakers. I have some nice ones and would not want to take a chance on damaging anything, speakers or amps. Still my old nostalgic hippie in me loves dancing needles.

I'm using it to switch between a McIntosh MC2105 and Schiit Vidar 2. Amir doesn't recommend this, but I've had no problems so far. However, with Amir's caution in mind I think I'll do the switching prior to powering on either amp. I really don't need to do any live A/B switching. I just want to be able to enjoy either amp when it suits me.

 

[leebergtally]

1) How did I miss this review until today?
2) This product has zero chance of diminishing the resale value of cheezy plastic Radio Shack "power" meters from the mid-1970s.

View attachment 395715
source: https://www.radioshackcatalogs.com/flipbook/1977_radioshack_catalog.html pg. 25

Don't forget these classic devices. My friend had the one on the right back in 1977.

 

[mhardy6647]

Don't forget these classic devices. My friend had the one on the right back in 1977.

Full disclosure -- I would love to have a proper vintage color organ! Their cost as vintage ephemera, however, is prohibitive (and, to date, I've never found one at the dump).

 

[leebergtally]

Full disclosure -- I would love to have a proper vintage color organ! Their cost as vintage ephemera, however, is prohibitive (and, to date, I've never found one at the dump).

I enjoyed looking at that Radio Shack catalog archive. Earlier on they sold many different brands including McIntosh and Dynaco to name a few. Interesting to see them progress to RS branded components in the 70’s and onward.

 

[laetoli37]

There are plenty of “actions” in the LFE channel too!

I connect the RCA line out from my SVS SB3000 sub to a $20 mono amp to drive one of the VU meters. Works great!

 

[Balle Clorin]

I already got VU meters, but I need some for my head-fi corner

 

[Si.be717]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the NEOHIPO ET30 VU meter and 2 in, 2 out speaker selector. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $160 but is on sale for 20% less on Amazon.
View attachment 334398
Let me tell you: you are not a hifi nerd if your heart did not melt as mine did the moment I saw the gorgeous, large VU meters!!! What's more, they are lit via very uniform lighting RGB LEDs. Above is set to yellow-green but you can change them to almost any color with the middle knob. Each color was stunning in how intense and beautiful the shades were.

The good story doesn't end there. There is acceleration with damped return. You set the range for the VU meters with the left knob. The right knob programs how fast they act, from very slow on far left to quite nimble (for their size).

The case is made out of solid metal giving the unit a nice feel and ability to hold on to speaker wires without getting pulled. Switches feel very good as well. A microphone is also provided if you want to use that as the pick up instead of wires:
View attachment 334399

A USB-C cable is provided which I connected to my PC for testing. You can of course use any USB-C adapter.

For my testing, I used the unit parallel to my amplifier. In other words, I did not test it as a switcher but VU meter. Speaking of "VU," I tested it for accuracy. As you would guess, it is not very accurate. -3 dB for example would show -2 dB. So this is really for fun and visualization that there is a signal there, not as an instrument.

I did find one minor limitation. If you push more than 30 volts RMS (225 watts into 4 ohm), the meter pegs to max but may not always return to zero if you remove the signal. Power cycling fixes this. Something is saturating and latching.

Neohipo ET30 Measurements
For testing, I fired up the Purifi reference design amplifier so that we have a high-performance instrument to measure the impact of VU meter. This is how it performs by itself (one channel is a bit distorted due to loose speaker connection which I fixed for later tests):
View attachment 334400

Now the same but with both channels wired in parallel with speaker wires to ET30 (and rather long cables at that):
View attachment 334401

As you see, there is no impact at all. Same story is true for both frequency response and crosstalk:
View attachment 334402
View attachment 334404

To make sure it can handle high power, here is our sweep to clipping:
View attachment 334403

We can be sure that there is no impact on the amplifier.

Conclusions
We finally found it: a near perfect VU meter to warm our hearts and feed our eyes as we listen to our music! It has no impact on the connected device which is as it should be but has not in other VU meters we have tested. The build quality is excellent and looks are exquisite. Controls for such things as bandwidth are a great icing on the cake. Go ahead and order one for your holiday present. You will be happier for it!

I am happy to recommend the Neohipo ET30 VU meter.

----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Wondering if this will handle my Rogue Audio DragoN (500wpc/4ohms) as one if the amp sources?

 

[dualazmak]

Just for your possible interest and reference...

I recently shared six new dancing video clips of my DIY-built 12-VU-Meter Array (IEC60268-17 compatible) together with all the on-screen Peak Meters of audio software tools while playing reference/sampler music tracks by JRiver MC, ADOBE Audition 3.0.1 and MusicScope 2.1.0;

New video clips of dancing 12-VU-Meter Array (IEC60268-17 compatible) together with all the on-screen Peak Meters of audio software tools while playing reference/sampler music tracks by JRiver MC, ADOBE Audition 3.0.1 and MusicScope 2.1.0:
____Part-1: using a typical reference/sampler music track suitable for high-Fq (treble) transient music sound
post #974 on my project thread
____Part-2: using a typical reference/sampler music track suitable for mainly checking and tuning of low Fq (bass) transient music sound as well as total tonality Fq-SPL balance all over 15 Hz to 22 kHz
post #975 on my project thread

Spoiler

 

[cesjr02]

Older thread, so my apologies if this has been answered already.

If I don't need the amp/speaker switching capability or if I prefer to not add this into the signal path, is there a way to send a signal to this unit not using my main speaker cables? I just want those beautiful vintage-looking VU meters. (Not interested in the mic input, by the way.)

If so, what gauge hookup wire should I use? Would this cause any issues doing it this way?

Thanks!

 

[Jukka]

You need a special panther just for this kind of devices