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NEOHIPO ET30 VU Meter Speaker Switcher Review
- Thread starter amirm
- Start date
What is better, bigger and dearer?
If you would be seriously interested in DIY of large-glass-face VU-meter array which has absolutely no effect on sound quality, please refer to my efforts and enjoyment on the DIY-ed 12-VU-Meter Array of IEC 60268-17 ballistic-behavior compatibility. The glass face size of the IEC 60268-17 compatible VU meter NISHIZAWA R-65 I use in the 12-VU-Meter Array is W100 mm x H41 mm, which is larger than 80 x 45 mm of NEOHIPO ET30 VU and 60 x 35 mm of Duok VU3.
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My headphone amp (Icon Audio HP8) has a 'loop out' which is totally passive. I hooked it up to an old cheap little class D amp and then fed it into this and it seems to work, no speakers connected - albeit it's the volume on the power amp affecting the VUs and not the HP8 (which is ok as all I want is moving VU meters for eye candy) . Is this daft ? Maybe there is a better way ?
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:
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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:
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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.
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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/
As it’s called- is - an “Amplifier Speaker Switcher, 2-in-2; with Dual Analog VU Meters” …
the function that comes first in its title is as a switching device for comparisons – why didn’t you test it used doing its primary function?
Just an update. I reached out to the company as the meter was still under the 2 year warranty. At first it seemed like they were willing to offer a replacement as they provided it as an option. As soon as I requested the replacement and provided my purchase information from Amazon they ghosted me. I have sent them a few follow up emails but have received no response in over three weeks of trying.
Guess I wasn't patient enough. Got my response today and they are shipping me another one from Amazon. They did honor their warranty so good on the company.
I bought this after seeing Amirm's review. ASR is my default source of audio reviews these days.
Not sure if Amir is reading this, or if someone else knows.
In his original testing, he said he hooked this up in parallel so he was using this a VU meter not a pass-through.
I am wondering how he did that and how one can practically speaking hook up this VU meter in paralle. The input is an amplied signal, the output is speaker. So to use this in parallel, you will need one of those old school amps that essentially outputs to two sets of Speakers A-B simultaneously? Don't most amps, especially valve amps, say you shouldn't even turn on the amp with no speaker attached?
Not sure if Amir is reading this, or if someone else knows.
In his original testing, he said he hooked this up in parallel so he was using this a VU meter not a pass-through.
I am wondering how he did that and how one can practically speaking hook up this VU meter in paralle. The input is an amplied signal, the output is speaker. So to use this in parallel, you will need one of those old school amps that essentially outputs to two sets of Speakers A-B simultaneously? Don't most amps, especially valve amps, say you shouldn't even turn on the amp with no speaker attached?
I was going to order the VU NEOHIPO ET30, but I don't know if I could switch the speakers to the classic A+B mode, that is, simultaneously 1+2 (2 pairs of speakers) on the device with every amp.
Do you know if this is possible?
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No, It is A or B.
Bob101
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Got one second hand (barely used) a few weeks ago@ half price. I'd been missing VU-meters since replacing the Yamaha AS-1100 with the Audiophonics Purify E**400*** (you know the one). The remote is awesome. Lights are dimmable anyway, but if you you don't want the (permanent) two red LED's in between the meters: just switch the thing off. It holds speaker and amp selection, just goes dark, and the VU meters of course (but sadly) stop working too. The mic-function, which on paper seems like something you'd never use, is actually useful to me. Only downside: it adds a thirde red LED permananently lit on the front panel. Somehow there should be a possibility to to dim those, without dimming the VU's. Nitpicking, but still...
If you've got two amps, two sets of speakers that you rotate between on a regular basis and you want to switch between them from you couch without adding any distortion, but just two huge VU-meters: this is your device. It is mine now. I wouldn't have paid full price for it (thoug it is still well wtihin reasonable), but when one showed up not far from where I lived, I jumped on it. There are an array of RGB colours, but, nitpicking again: the specific kind of blue you might be looking for is reasonably close, but not really one of them
If you've got two amps, two sets of speakers that you rotate between on a regular basis and you want to switch between them from you couch without adding any distortion, but just two huge VU-meters: this is your device. It is mine now. I wouldn't have paid full price for it (thoug it is still well wtihin reasonable), but when one showed up not far from where I lived, I jumped on it. There are an array of RGB colours, but, nitpicking again: the specific kind of blue you might be looking for is reasonably close, but not really one of them
jonmichael
Member
My replacement unit has worked fine for several months. I still have a mechanical switch that could be put back into my system, switching from 2.1 to 5.1. At this price point, this device is a fun toy, not an essential component.
But It is fun, while it lasts!
But It is fun, while it lasts!
Bob101
Active Member
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It does offer switchability between two amps and two sets of stereo speakers, and iff anyone can hear the added distortion in in a double blind test: I got a big prize waiting for you... And it has a remote: another reason to not leave your couch. All switched with relays, thus added distortion neglegible, and IT HAS TWO BIG VU-METERS. That can have any dimmable color from blood reed to deep green and all in between. Plus a remote (I said that alraedy, but it's worth mentioning
. Of cousrse it's not an essential component, but it's a HQ switch and a darn fun toy. Certainly second hand @ half priceSimilar threads
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