Please recommend an inexpensive small desktop amp to drive 120W 8 Ohm speakers (if such exists)

[crx]

I recently acquired a Fosi V3 for my Auratones which I'm happy with.

I also have a pair of Yamaha NS10 speakers which are rated at 120W max 8 Ohm. General consensus in the studio world is that one should never underpower these, they're not throw away hifi speakers but an investment, so I don't want to go against that.

I would however prefer a small(ish) amp that I can tuck away somewhere between my speakers or under the screen like I do with Fosi to keep it out of the way and not mess with it. I do have a full size full power amp that I used with NS10s before and I don't want it on my desk. I need space for other stuff. I have a monitor controller which I use for volume control and to switch between the 3 pairs of speakers, so I don't need to even touch the amp. Hence the small factor/tuck away preference.

So something with 120-150W of clean power per channel at 8 Ohm. I'm open to all these new Amazon small brands like Fosi. Must be new, I'd rather not deal with used stuff unless easily available in large quantities on ebay and is easy to get.

 

[ppataki]

Sabaj A30A

 

[DVDdoug]

General consensus in the studio world is that one should never underpower these,

Overpowering speakers is even worse.

 

[Zek]

General consensus in the studio world is that one should never underpower these

Where did you find it and what does it actually mean?

 

[crx]

There's a lengthy discussions at gear space about it.

If the amp is too weak something happens to tweeters, they bite the dust. Not sure if this is NS10 specific or not or if this only happens when pushed to the max.

 

[crx]

Overpowering speakers is even worse.

I don't plan to. Loudest they will ever go is normal listening level at arms reach (small room).

Sabaj A30A

Uhm... $500. I was hoping for... $100-150, $1 per watt? Is this unrealistic?

 

[Timcognito]

The Yamaha NS10 Story

https://www.soundonsound.com/reviews/yamaha-ns10-story

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[Timcognito]

Loxjie A30 Amplifier Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the multifunction Loxjie A30 power (speaker and headphone) amplifier with integrated USB DAC and Bluetooth input. It was kindly sent to me by a member and costs US $159 plus $7 shipping on Amazon. The A30 sports a high resolution and high contrast...

www.audiosciencereview.com

 

[ModDIY]

Uhm... $500. I was hoping for... $100-150, $1 per watt? Is this unrealistic?

Yes

 

[MAB]

I recently acquired a Fosi V3 for my Auratones which I'm happy with.

I also have a pair of Yamaha NS10 speakers which are rated at 120W max 8 Ohm. General consensus in the studio world is that one should never underpower these, they're not throw away hifi speakers but an investment, so I don't want to go against that.

I would however prefer a small(ish) amp that I can tuck away somewhere between my speakers or under the screen like I do with Fosi to keep it out of the way and not mess with it. I do have a full size full power amp that I used with NS10s before and I don't want it on my desk. I need space for other stuff. I have a monitor controller which I use for volume control and to switch between the 3 pairs of speakers, so I don't need to even touch the amp. Hence the small factor/tuck away preference.

So something with 120-150W of clean power per channel at 8 Ohm. I'm open to all these new Amazon small brands like Fosi. Must be new, I'd rather not deal with used stuff unless easily available in large quantities on ebay and is easy to get.

How powerful is the amp you already have? It's unrealistic to get 120W per channel into 8 Ohms for that little. The Loxjie linked about only does 40 Watt into 4 Ohms. Can you place the amp you already have away? If your system is balanced, you can do long runs without issue.
I'm not sure about your concerns about underpower. Agree that in general underpowering speakers is bad, since clipping is really bad. But so is running 120W of program material through these little speakers, they do not like party-mode! Do you really plan on listening to these at power levels more than a few watts? That isn't their strength, their one advantage of low distortion goes away rapidly with power. And they really sound horrible at high volume. And apparently thermally compress quite badly (I never drove mine hard enough), see here:

The Yamaha NS10 Story

Love or hate the Yamaha NS10, this unassuming little speaker has found a place in the studios of many of the world's top producers. We trace its history, and investigate why a monitor whose sound has been described as "horrible" became an industry standard.

www.soundonsound.com

FWIW, I have had several pairs over the years, ran them with everything from a Bryston 2BLP (60 Watt/Ch) to Bryston 4B (300 Watt/Ch) and never had a problem, but then I never fed them much power. They are interesting speakers, not exactly hifi for sure...

 

[crx]

Sabaj A30A

 

[crx]

Yeah, seems like there's no good choices for this that doesn't involve too much $ and desk space for questionable benefit, so I went ahead and ordered another Fosi V3 with 48v supply. Really like this little thing.

 

[Foxy Roxlund]

Yeah, seems like there's no good choices for this that doesn't involve too much $ and desk space for questionable benefit, so I went ahead and ordered another Fosi V3 with 48v supply. Really like this little thing.

Hi, looking at a similar solution myself. Do you have any experience to share regarding fosi amp with ns 10?

 

[Multicore]

Choose something from Aiyima on Amazon. Should have change from $100.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

I recently acquired a Fosi V3 for my Auratones which I'm happy with.

I also have a pair of Yamaha NS10 speakers which are rated at 120W max 8 Ohm. General consensus in the studio world is that one should never underpower these, they're not throw away hifi speakers but an investment, so I don't want to go against that.

I would however prefer a small(ish) amp that I can tuck away somewhere between my speakers or under the screen like I do with Fosi to keep it out of the way and not mess with it. I do have a full size full power amp that I used with NS10s before and I don't want it on my desk. I need space for other stuff. I have a monitor controller which I use for volume control and to switch between the 3 pairs of speakers, so I don't need to even touch the amp. Hence the small factor/tuck away preference.

So something with 120-150W of clean power per channel at 8 Ohm. I'm open to all these new Amazon small brands like Fosi. Must be new, I'd rather not deal with used stuff unless easily available in large quantities on ebay and is easy to get.

If this is for use on a desktop, you'll never, ever need anywhere near 100 watts to destroy your hearing with almost any speakers. You already have a suitable amp to drive the Yamahas. Just use the V3 or grab another one if needed. It makes an honest 90wpc at 8ohms, far more than you'll ever need in a desktop environment and more than most will ever use even in a larger room.

The 'MORE POWER' brigade is always lurking, waiting to tell everyone out there that we all need massive wattage to drive speakers in domestic environments. Check any SPL calculator online and you'll see that in most set ups very few watts are ever needed or used.

 

[ZolaIII]

Try to find second hand not much used Yamaha A-S700 or R-S700 which are AB class and far from small. Put it +2 bass & - 4 highs and don't push it much do the SPL measurement and adjust loudness. That's about it regarding those speakers. Don't use cheap porely autended in highs class D with such very bright speakers especially something which will clip violently (voltage collapse) into the tweeters like that. They still can be EQ-ed good but with a pair of sub's in multichannel digital crossover setup (8.2 score with perfect sub's).

 

[crx]

I got another Fosi V3. Work great!

 

[ZolaIII]

Uh huh you botht load dependent cheap class D with distortion and noise rising in highs (typically). Quite opposite to what I told you.
Insane part is that supposedly never used original tweeter for it or M variant (best and least bright) goes for 100$ each and CLA one is horrible.

 

[audio_tony]

If the amp is too weak something happens to tweeters, they bite the dust. Not sure if this is NS10 specific or not or if this only happens when pushed to the max.

If the amp is underpowered, then trying to get the sound loud enough can result in clipping.

Clipping happens when the amp is overdriven, and the sine wave becomes clipped, which makes it like a square wave.

It is this square wave that causes tweeter damage (but can damage other drivers too).

Basically, instead of the tweeter diaphragm moving in a smooth in and out motion, a square causes it to push out, stop momentarily, pull in and do the same again, which causes the voice coil to overheat and ultimately burn out.

When used with care, a higher powered amp won't do this as you won't need to drive it into clipping to get the sound loud enough (within reason).

So in summary, underpowered amps overdriven can and do blow tweeters. Overpowered (for the speaker) when used with care don't, providing you don't exceed the maximum power rating of the speaker.

 

[NoMoFoNo]

I got another Fosi V3. Work great!

Great call.