New Fosi AI powered DAC

[Shotgun Rico]

Just got an email for this. Is this going to be a new thing in audio, calling it AI powered?

 

[respice finem]

At least the pic is AI generated
This is kind of inevitable IMHO, with any major "hype". Marketing.
OTOH, if it does a better job EQing than the average user, why not?

 

[Somafunk]

What next?, a.i. toilet paper that tell you how and where to wipe?

a.i. hype and LLM bullshit can find a short pier and take a long walk

 

[respice finem]

Like it or not, it won't disappear any time soon. I think we are going to see much more, until the population gets bored.

An old example: the radium hype

Radium fad - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[HalSF]

I've got several Fosi components that are great. But for me this is like "try our new tomato soup, now with added ground glass."

Or like "AI is how we spell MQA in 2026.*

Software and simple automation ≠ AI.

A huge turnoff.

 

[Soundproof]

If it isn't good before it is measured/tested, it isn't bad before it is measured/tested.

Beyond that, one can charge laptops via USB-C thus a USB Charger would power this like a breeze. Internal power supply, or external USB-C. For fresh products, that should be the options.

 

[Ruediger]

I don't think this new toy from Fosi will age well.

 

[amirm]

I asked them at the show if you could converse with AI and tell it you want less bass, more highs, etc. They said yes. If so, then it might be useful to masses who don't want to mess with or learn what PEQ is.

 

[Kremmen]

Not as annoying as the Oral-B 'AI' toothbrush. From their own marketing BS:

"ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE

Motion sensors recognise your brushing style and give you real-time feedback"

___________________

"NO INTELLIGENCE

The delusional Oral B-marketing people who came up with the above claptrap!"

 

[davmol]

"hey Fosi, I'm still not feeling that warmth"
..
...
....
"Understood. I've set your thermostat to 35c"

 

[respice finem]

I asked them at the show if you could converse with AI and tell it you want less bass, more highs, etc. They said yes. If so, then it might be useful to masses who don't want to mess with or learn what PEQ is.

My thought exactly - AI might probably do a better job than a beginner.
OTOH, this will make people even more lazy...

 

[AndyRoo]

I asked them at the show if you could converse with AI and tell it you want less bass, more highs, etc. They said yes. If so, then it might be useful to masses who don't want to mess with or learn what PEQ is.

The specs look ok so it’s probably a decent DAC with funky looks that’ll appeal to some based on looks alone.

Nothing wrong with having AI assisted EQ. Fosi says it links to an EQ database (AutoEq ?) so it might produce good results.

Of course AI has its issues. But I think pejorative terms like AI Slop are used too much and too dismissively. In my day to day work as a C++ programmer, AI is very useful when used carefully.

 

[Kremmen]

Although not on the same level as the Fosi AI powered DAC, I'm forever asking Alexa to adjust the volume on my man cave Echo 4 stereo pair, and the nine Echo Dot 5s dotted (pun intended) around the house:

"Alexa. Up 1." "Alexa. Down 2." I can also ask her to adjust the bass and treble in the same way.

For the volume adjustment of the man cave stereo pair, I could just extend my arm ever so slightly to the left and do it by hand, but where's the fun in that!

Incidentally, I thought I'd use AI to create a little cartoon based on the above use of Alexa with my Echo smart speakers. I fed CoPilot the following text:

Please draw me a funny cartoon image of a very lazy 60-year-old man wearing glasses lay on his bed. Next to him within arm's reach is his Amazon Echo 5 smart speaker on his wooden bedside cabinet which is as high as the bed. Rather than move his arm 12 inches to adjust the volume, he asks Alexa to do it: "Alexa. Up 10!" Meanwhile his wife is busy vacuuming next to the bed looking very annoyed.

The attached image is what it created in under 10 seconds.

 

[Soundproof]

The specs look ok so it’s probably a decent DAC with funky looks that’ll appeal to some based on looks alone.

Nothing wrong with having AI assisted EQ. Fosi says it links to an EQ database (AutoEq ?) so it might produce good results.

Of course AI has its issues. But I think pejorative terms like AI Slop are used too much and too dismissively. In my day to day work as a C++ programmer, AI is very useful when used carefully.

AI is like everything else. Crap in crap out. It all boils down the input, their definitions, and how the massage is. In general, I don't really appreciate external access to pherperials, thus it all depends upon how they approach that.

...but I'm not willing to rule out anything just because it's AI. AI has enormous advantages, I like the on device concept way more than an external approach, but that would add zeroes to the price tag. Processing power and storage/memory.

The very good thing about this is (thanks to Topping?) every Tom, Dick and Harry trading own made audio devices for cash will deliver PEQ. If they don't 2 year from now, they are enroute to the undertaker.

 

[AndyRoo]

The very good thing about this is thanks to Topping?) every Tom, Dick and Harry trading own made audio devices for cash will deliver PEQ. If they don't 2 year from now, they are enroute to the undertaker.

You’re probably right.

I have DACs with built in PEQ but still tend to use software such as JRiver or Neutron player that have full DSP that I can adjust on screen, usually with instant results.

But that’s just my personal preference.

Manufacturers will put features into products if it keeps them competitive, even if they don’t add a ton of value.

 

[Soundproof]

You’re probably right.

I have DACs with built in PEQ but still tend to use software such as JRiver or Neutron player that have full DSP that I can adjust on screen, usually with instant results.

But that’s just my personal preference.

Manufacturers will put features into products if it keeps them competitive, even if they don’t add a ton of value.

Not sure if I'll be pleased with what's on order, if contrary to belief I am, I'll just leave it at that. If not, I'll be considering IKM Studio Arc, and see where that takes me. For the desktop, I use software aswell, but I have a couple of profiles on the dac. Low budget, nothing fancy at all.

 

[HalSF]

I find the bland milquetoast “don’t be mean to AI” and “don’t say AI slop” and “AI has enormous advantages” and “this is fine” and “conversing with a powered-by-AI agent about simplifying your DAC’s mind-bogglingly complex PEQ settings seems like perfectly benign appropriate technology and product innovation to me here at Audio Science Review” responses to this small symptom of the times, to be utterly maddening, because they seem willfully blind and oblivious or just callously indifferent to all of the dire economic, political, environmental, and moral externalities of consumer AI.

At a site that’s passionate about reality-based eyes-wide-open objective rigor, this seems like self-complacent subjective madness with blinders on.

 

[MatrixS2000]

to be utterly maddening, because they seem willfully blind and oblivious or just callously indifferent to all of the dire economic, political, environmental, and moral externalities of consumer AI.

Not to mention the further decline in critical thinking skills...

 

[respice finem]

With age comes certainty, there are things you can change and there are things you cannot.

 

[Soundproof]

I find the bland milquetoast “don’t be mean to AI” and “don’t say AI slop” and “AI has enormous advantages” and “this is fine” and “conversing with a powered-by-AI agent about simplifying your DAC’s mind-bogglingly complex PEQ settings seems like perfectly benign appropriate technology and product innovation to me here at Audio Science Review” responses to this small symptom of the times, to be utterly maddening, because they seem willfully blind and oblivious or just callously indifferent to all of the dire economic, political, environmental, and moral externalities of consumer AI.

At a site that’s passionate about reality-based eyes-wide-open objective rigor, this seems like self-complacent subjective madness with blinders on.

You can always measure before and after, and that will caretake the ASR aspect for you. For sure, it bypasses the user requirement of competence. That's what happens when tech drizzle down. Nothing new in the music industry, tons of music would never have happened without cheap plastic Macs. Cher got sh*tloads of ridicule when she chose to use Autotune, and it annoyed me when I recognized the usage. I used to be into Stones, and I heard a recording or was it concert where Jagger's voice was just about useless. A year later, a fresh release with perfect voice.

Tech development is a part of the industry from artist to ears.