Fosi Audio V3 Mono Amplifier Review

[mike70]

Might as well link the video review here too

Erin's review is very ... weird. Like he doesn't want to review it.
The burned one, was abused or he suspects thermal management/ USPS isn't enough/etc?
120 watts with 8 ohms is low? I'm very (very) happy with 70 watts in 8 ohms.

What I want in an amplifier is transparency to the source ... in that way is a good amplifier and you can prove it with measurements. Then add other facets, like construction, features, power, ... I saw many reviews from Erin and that kind of stuff was stated clearly, but this one is messy, sometimes with near incoherent or "blurred" concepts.

Maybe I'm wrong (I'm open to that, of course) but this is the worst Erin review ever.

 

[DSJR]

I saw almost all his reviews and cant remember as bad as this one. It seems that even a review based on measurements can be covered with subjective, irrational gibberish if for some reason someone feels the need to do so:

This is small amp, i don't need small amps, so this is completely useless device, look at me throw it to the trash can, haha.


We know that, but most people probably doesn't know that, so his review is very very misleading.

I think that fried amp should be sent back for repair - a little less to junk and maybe Fosi can see where the fry-up happened. Incredible what can be done in a tiny box (with external power brick) and in fairness, so many 'enthusiast high end' amps don't like being stressed either - does anyone remember the D'Agostino mega-bocks mono that went awol during a Stereophile test to the point that LA (I think it was) aborted the continuous third?-power test on the other?

I agree that in this case, Erin was a bit dismissive to put it politely and as said above, not seemingly too keen on reviewing it maybe, but there does seem to be a mentailty with these tiny chip amps that they're landfill in the making a few years down the line as they'll be totally uneconomic to service if they go wrong. Just treat them with some care and you/we may be fine longer term.



I'm reminded of the days when 'pocket rocket' sporty GTI type cars were the in thing in late 80's - early 90's UK motoring. Point-n-squirt the requirement of any aspiring yuppie type of the period. Sure they had spectacular on-road abilities compared to sprty small saloons of eralier times, but the limits on-road were very tightly defined and if you pushed too far, you'd be in a hedge or spinning to face the other way on a lightly damp road (as happened to two Peugeot 2-5GTI 1.9 owners I once knew - the 1.6 was okay but not the 1.9 which traded a more supple suspension for a straight-line performance and some dry-road handling)

 

[SMen]

Erin's review is very ... weird. Like he doesn't want to review it.
The burned one, was abused or he suspects thermal management/ USPS isn't enough/etc?
120 watts with 8 ohms is low? I'm very (very) happy with 70 watts in 8 ohms.

What I want in an amplifier is transparency to the source ... in that way is a good amplifier and you can prove it with measurements. Then add other facets, like construction, features, power, ... I saw many reviews from Erin and that kind of stuff was stated clearly, but this one is messy, sometimes with near incoherent or "blurred" concepts.

Maybe I'm wrong (I'm open to that, of course) but this is the worst Erin review ever.

I think the key is in his reference to 'big boy amplifiers' he uses in the very last section - his 500 watt into 4 ohm's he uses in his main rig. A more telling comparison would have been a/b'ing with those. This is where it gets weird - like - do those not sound 'just like amplifiers' too when he talks about the sound.

So yes mixed up, but frying one solves the problem.

 

[Rafaille]

@Fosi Audio 's silence these days and the new measurements have convinced me to change reward from single 48V 10(?)a to double 48v 5a

Same here, for the same reasons

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

The burned one, was abused or he suspects thermal management/ USPS isn't enough/etc?

He was running 48v 10amp test tones into one amp. While the chip is rated for that power level, we all know test tones are a lot harder on equipment than music. I would guess it was not the chip that let out the magic smoke, but some other component. And I doubt there would be issues with running 2 amps off that power supply in terms of things going "poof".

If I were to get a pair, I would go with two separate 48v 5amp power supplies. I really don't get the single power supply approach on monoblocks.

 

[Cardone]

I also changed from 1x10A to 2x5A..

 

[Negatywny]

I think the key is in his reference to 'big boy amplifiers' he uses in the very last section - his 500 watt into 4 ohm's he uses in his main rig. A more telling comparison would have been a/b'ing with those. This is where it gets weird - like - do those not sound 'just like amplifiers' too when he talks about the sound.

Exactly. He starts the review with pejorative constatation that fosi v3 mono sounds like an amp and thus the review is pointles but he will with heavy heart do it anyway. Isn't that the most possible positive conclusion about amp reviewing and the whole reason they exist - checking if they in fact sound like an amp and not something else? Also the manufacturer somehow hurt him sending him amps for testing - so i understand he's agains that and is only about testing products he bought or was sent by customers? It doesnt look like it as he normaly reviews equpment he gets from manufacturers. Also he is negatively suprised that after he posted not so positive review about previous fosi amp they send him another? Like it's a bad thing to send products to rewiewers that don't only say positive things? Then he's offended that they let him keep the amps, almost implying they try to bribe him. Jesus. Then he goes he sadly couldn't hear difference with other Fosi amp so on this he concludes the whole making of v3 monos was pointless xD. Like why ever do another amp review then? Maby if ther's no hearable distortion other things would play some role, like the W/$ ratio - he doesn't care. But then he almost prises another amp that he could in fact hear it sound "different" - so making that amp was more justified? xD And then big boy amps he likes, 500W, thats the way to go, so from now on no amp will ever get his positive rewiew if it's under 500W? Seroiusly i'm not a snowflake but this review is just offensive

He's like, i'm an american driving a monster truck, so sheer existence of this toyotas offend me. Oh, you can plow a field with this toyota? My monstar truck could two, see, there is no reason for them to exist or review them.

I was cheering for this guy when he got court threats from manufacturer, but seeing this super manipulative review i'd also understend the need for manufacturers to defend against such practices.

 

[Jeromeof]

Yes I agree this is both a strange review and probably the worst review by Erin - I am not sure his really cares about amplifiers the way he does about speakers - IMO he should review this amplifier like he might a cheaper bookshelf speaker - i.e. does it measure well given its contraints

 

[Pareto Pragmatic]

Yes I agree this is both a strange review and probably the worst review by Erin - I am not sure his really cares about amplifiers the way he does about speakers - IMO he should review this amplifier like he might a cheaper bookshelf speaker - i.e. does it measure well given its contraints

I think one of his strengths is that he is very much himself in these reviews. The downside of that is what we see in this case, his lack of enthusiasm came through. Were he more slick and polished, more about the performance of review, he would not be what he is as a reviewer. I'd rather have someone be clear about their biases than hide them, which I do appreciate. He was pretty clear.

I do wish he had cracked that case open to see what exactly fried inside, that would be good information for consumers and Fosi. I doubt he would be able to tell if it was a component failure or a construction failure though. But the location of the burn, that would be good to know.

 

[mike70]

... and ... he put "thumbs up" for the Dayton hybrid amplifier with 100 watts in 4 ohms. More weird.
the Fosi is a "desktop" amp with 240 watts in 4 omhs? that´s more than 3dB difference!!!

the comparation with the other Fosi amp it's not what i want, surely the big big question is: this amp is a "giant killer" or not?.
And Amir review shows that the V3 mono can be that.

 

[Talisman]

... and ... he put "thumbs up" for the Dayton hybrid amplifier with 100 watts in 4 ohms. More weird.
the Fosi is a "desktop" amp with 240 watts in 4 omhs? that´s more than 3dB difference!!!

the comparation with the other Fosi amp it's not what i want, surely the big big question is: this amp is a "giant killer" or not?.
And Amir review shows that the V3 mono can be that.

I wouldn't call it a giant killer, the most valuable products maintain an advantage both in measured performance and in power, but at this price, with the performance achieved, I consider this product a small jewel of audio engineering, quite powerful, noise and distortion reduced , frequency response finally independent of the load and the price is still that of a small economical class D. It is not a giant slayer but a "little giant" capable of absolutely brilliant and transparent performance at modest prices.
It's true progress, good sound for every budget

 

[mike70]

I wouldn't call it a giant killer, the most valuable products maintain an advantage both in measured performance and in power, but at this price, with the performance achieved, I consider this product a small jewel of audio engineering, quite powerful, noise and distortion reduced , frequency response finally independent of the load and the price is still that of a small economical class D. It is not a giant slayer but a "little giant" capable of absolutely brilliant and transparent performance at modest prices.
It's true progress, good sound for every budget

well, for me a "giant killer" is something with an order of magnitude lower in price with inaudible difference.
otherwise, what it would be?

 

[Joe Smith]

I continue to feel that, overall, these amps from Fosi/SMSL/Aiyima are good solutions for low to mid volume setups and "average use" setups. Pushing them to the top limit of power just seems like asking for trouble... And if I were to get the V3 monoblocks, I would use them with separate power bricks for sure. For people who want to play loud and long, there are still better products out there...

 

[SMen]

I wouldn't call it a giant killer, the most valuable products maintain an advantage both in measured performance and in power, but at this price, with the performance achieved, I consider this product a small jewel of audio engineering, quite powerful, noise and distortion reduced , frequency response finally independent of the load and the price is still that of a small economical class D. It is not a giant slayer but a "little giant" capable of absolutely brilliant and transparent performance at modest prices.
It's true progress, good sound for every budget

We mustn't forget that with the right power supply it is also pretty load intolerant 'full stop', 2 ohms and up (assuming correct power supply), and in real world use should run cooler than stereo units which might have to try harder. I like the sense of clarity at low cost.

 

[bboris77]

I like Erin in general, but it did rub me the wrong way how he kept saying that the damaged amp is going to go into the trash. It kind of implies that this is where it belongs and creates an impression that these amps are disposable. To be fair, I felt similar about Amir’s old review of the Sony STR-DH190 which he smoked during his testing.

I agree that in an ideal world, no product would ever get destroyed during torture testing. On the other hand, it makes no sense to not offer to send the affected unit back to the manufacturer so they can improve the protection mechanism to ensure it does not happen again.

 

[EddNog]

I continue to feel that, overall, these amps from Fosi/SMSL/Aiyima are good solutions for low to mid volume setups and "average use" setups. Pushing them to the top limit of power just seems like asking for trouble... And if I were to get the V3 monoblocks, I would use them with separate power bricks for sure. For people who want to play loud and long, there are still better products out there...

Hence my point about his test being quite, “extra.”

-Ed

 

[sl1982]

This is what Fosi sent to Erin. Its on the facebook group. It seems they are trying to find the root cause of the issue at least.

 

[tomtoo]

I have seen Erins video and i miss information about details of the test. Its like i testet it burned.

Ok how this exactly happend?

I realy like Erins tests.But thats far away from being usefull information.

 

[tomtoo]

View attachment 367354This is what Fosi sent to Erin. Its on the facebook group. It seems they are trying to find the root cause of the issue at least.

Great, exactly this is how it should be. Sh++ happens, find the couse, change it.

 

[EddNog]

I have seen Erins video and i miss information about details of the test. Its like i testet it burned.

Ok how this exactly happend?

I realy like Erins tests.But thats far away from being usefull information.

I thought this occurred when he was running the variable load test and that one amp kept going into safety, so he just kept ramming that test up that amp’s (peach emoji) until it could take no more and went into actual thermal overload/thermal failure.

-Ed