It's nice this channel is introducing and reviewing entry level products. For cables, I also like the ones made by World Best Cables on Amazon. They are a step up in isolating noise and making sure grounding is done correctly.
Yes, we are all about bang for buck besides having our own distinctive tastes, chaz being into car and pro audio, mine (Mike's) being hifi and such. We will have to check out those cables. Thanks for the comment!
Great video I’ve been looking for your review of those big speakers in the back. Polk audio I think. They look like polk audio. But I love all these videos
hey, I have 2 b&w cm1 s2 speakers, I am looking to change my current Yamaha r-n500 because it is to large to fit my new tv cabinet, is the Fosi hd a1 a viable option? if so what kind of dac and or pre amp should I get with it? or would it be fine just to run straight to the amp? it will be mostly used for watching tv and some streaming music through ps4. thanks for reading and the nice review!
@@braeve8514 you will want a preamp with a remote or go with something say like the new Topping E30 which is a DAC, (some say sounds even better than the Schiit modi 3) and a preamp for $129.
The thing you have to remember with Tubes is they were often measured as TRUE RMS power, not peak power. a 5Watt rated Tube amp can, and often will, out perfrom a 50watt peak rated modern solid state amp. A lot of Guitar amps still have tube output stages and they deliver plenty of sound output. Don't get too focused on watts, it all depends on the way they are measured.
Spikes directly couple the item in question to the floor, generally not a desirable effect. Isolation pads are almost always a better option, provided they are well-executed. Your speaker wire looks thinner than what they used to wind that toroidal transformer, rather undersized. That amp looks like a great build for the money.
Greetings! I'm running the Douk Audio Pro G3 with BT amp, pushing a couple of Boston CR75 speakers. Okay, here's my questions: I'm wondering how much better this amp will sound, and I'm especially concerned that it does not have bass or treble controls. It also does not have BT, but I can add that. I'm really interested in good, sweet sound, and so if you have a recommendation in the compact amp department, that would be great. Without bass and treble controls, I'm concerned I won't be able to tame the bass or highs if needed. Your thoughts?
This amp is fantastic to replace yours, the only thing like you stated is that you definitely would benefit from a solid pre amp with tone controls if you wanted. This amp has a warmer sound than typical solid state comparators. Kinda reminds me of the sound a GE 5654 tube. Warm mids. Soft highs. Full bass. But it is solid state after all so dont expect it to be as obvious of a sound change compared to tube rolling.
I was looking for this one on the fosi site , but i did a bit more of research and looked it up on Aliexpress and u can actualy can find it for 60$+60$ post tax but still it's 120$ in total instead of 199 the key words for search to find it is " Using American CMC 816 input termnal AMP A1 Imitation Marantz HDAM amplifier 50W+50W HIFI 2.0 channel Desktop digital amplifier" If you found this usefull give it a thumbs up! :)
Cladvik that's a different Amp by a different manufacturer on Ali express. There are several very similar Amps to the Fosi Audio HD-A1 in black or gold from other manufacturers based on the same design. But you don't know the quality as little to no reviews of them. Some of the components in them are different using cheaper capacitors, transformer etc. At least with the Fosi Audio HD-A1 it has has had quite a few reviews on Amazon, the Fosi Audio Web Store and this RUclips video. Most of the reviews very positive, a very good performing stereo amp for a reasonable price. You are better off paying a few pounds/bucks more knowing that you are getting a genuine Fosi Audio HD-A1. Rather than a cheaper Amp which looks almost the same but could likely be inferior sound bad with cheaper components used inside.
Dude those speaker wires are not shielded. I've not heard of anyone using shielded speaker wires. I've seen some sold that are twisted (making a twisted pair) which might help if the wires are near a leaky transformer or other AC magnetic field. You can twist your own but it's hard to keep a good twist. Otherwise, nice video!
I tried this amp with a couple of dacs, one using CS4398 and another AK4490. While it is warmer sounding than other amps, it tended to veil the sound and was far less resolving than an amp I compared and kept, an Aiyima A-04. So it affected the performance of the dacs in a negative way, IMO. For the price it's fine, well built and if you like the sound, great. I would have kept it if it were more resolving with midrange and highs but keeping smoothness rather than veiling the sound, smoothing over the layers within music which are there. The Aiyima sounded better overall "to me" and allowed the dacs to shine in comparison. So I guess the Fosi amp held the dacs back from their potential, IMO. Also the Fosi hummed a bit and got significantly warmer going from 8 to 6 ohm speakers. Not sure if it could really handle 2 to 4 ohm loads as it states.
The Aiyima A-04 is a cheap class D amp with average specs and high THD. The Fosi Audio HD-A1 is class AB and has good specs and quite low THD. Its a much better Amplifier spec wise and sound quality wise. The online reviews and two RUclips reviews back this up.
@@C--A No argument. IT has the better specs as it should at triple the price and according to the manufacturer and if people are happy, fine. I was surprised at what an inexpensive amp could do for desktop at low or even moderate volumes. Wished the Fosi could give me what I wanted, but it didn't.
@@nc3419 everyone's ears are different some people's idea of good is another persons idea of bad. Did you use the cheap stock power lead supplied with the Fosi Audio HD-A1? Or did you use a different better good quality power lead. As I suspect that is one of the areas Fosi cut corners with the power lead supplied.
@@nc3419 you might have gotten a factory lemon. It happens sometimes. I get no hum other than the unit power transformer if I press my ear to chassis lol. Sounds like you have a cold solder joint or just a defective unit.
@@2DudesAudio I don't think I did as I tried three, I wanted two for myself and I am not saying they were bad units although one got quite hot in comparison to the other two so sent back for that reason. I could hear the hum which FOSI said was normal and from 4 to 5 feet away which I would have to accept if used on desktop. BTW, I did rate the unit a 4 out of 5 as it is well built and decent while leaving room for FOSI to improve...maybe they did. I was surprised however that an inexpensive class D could be more transparent with sources, dacs, cds...the only way to find out is to get one and review it if you care to do that. I chose the Aiyima A04 which also received good feedback from users. As one or two others stated, there is room to improve. But for a couple of hundred, you can't argue with the price which makes it very competitive in the class AB market. Although if you purchase these in quantity overseas, you can get them for half the price unit wise. So, every product from every brand has to have a good degree of markup...there it is. How about a comparison with a similarly priced Emotiva? As a reviewer, you are going to get people's opinions, experiences and such and hopefully everyone stays civil. It's part of the hobby and part of reviewing. Invite people to leave opinions on their own experiences. It makes it more useful rather than appearing to be a fan club. Nothing against FOSI, I think what they are doing is great and should be encouraged to continue. The Chinese manufacturers are producing quality at an affordable price...keep it up. Cheers.
Anybody know if FOSI makes a matching preamp for the HD-A1? You know, same form factor, aesthetics, build quality etc. I don't see anything on their website.
I wish, we have been in contact with fosi and when I asked if the HD-A1 was their flagship they basically agreed saying that there wasnt really anything else they offer that matches it in quality or in terms of a similar form factor dac/preamp.
The topping pa3 doesnt come close in quality, also this is a class A/B amplifier, its build quality is far superior, it weighs alot more than the topping or smsl. It's a whole different beast.
@@2DudesAudio Do you think my I or my Spouse can hear a difference :) I trying to find a compact amplifier for a pair of KEF R300 for our living room. Match? I know I probably should spend 1K on amp and 500 on DAC, but this could be a good first buy..? Upgrading from powered JBL 308s , so we have no excising place for a huge amplifier....
@@oscarjung5405 you will 100 percent notice a difference I run a wonderfully cheap yet effective setup for 2 channel listening. Smsl m100 dac into the fosi audio HD-A1
@@2DudesAudio could you articulate what about the sound would be different by switching from a cheaper class D amp that has similar power? I'm running the fosi TDA7498E 160w class d amp and am considering upgrading to the HD-A1 but am not sure what to expect.
@@chrisnunez854 I was planning to get the FX Audio fx1002 TDA7498E WITH the DIP switches for the gain level, before I saw this video. How does the fosi sound?
The SMSL M100 is a great little DAC under $100 but don't buy it based on the high sample rates they tout, its mostly marketing BS. Most mainstream music at best is 16bit/44.1khz and a lot of it because of the loudness wars is much less. Very little music is actually recorded with audiophile playback in mind. A lot of 24bit audio is just remastered or upsampled 16bit and 32bit audio is pure nonsense. On the other hand great video, I got a Fosi HD-A1 on the way.
Also you should look into Tidal. Full MQA support up to 32 bit 318khz. So it's very useful. Just cause you havent heard it or seen it doesnt mean it's not out there.
@@2DudesAudio - I had Tidal for a while year or so ago but rarely used it, I have Spotifiy now and really don't use it either, just keep it for some reviews I have planned. I have hundreds of gigs of WAV & FLAC music at home on my music PC so that gives me plenty of selection. I have plans to try some MQA content in the future, but right now the premium DAC cost and only source being Tidal doesn't work for me. I've done a good bit of reading about MQA and many agree its supposedly better sound mostly has to do with its remastering process than high sample rate. I lot of MQA is just upsampled and remastered from original analog sources like studio tape which is less than CD quality. But like anything else if someone likes it that much then go ahead and enjoy. The standard redbook 16bit/44.1 with dithering is capable of 120db of dynamic range and 20khz which means with a good audio system it should be completely transparent to any human deliving nearly perfect audio playback. The answer isn't hi sample rates its just better recording, mixing, and mastering.
It's nice this channel is introducing and reviewing entry level products.
For cables, I also like the ones made by World Best Cables on Amazon. They are a step up in isolating noise and making sure grounding is done correctly.
Yes, we are all about bang for buck besides having our own distinctive tastes, chaz being into car and pro audio, mine (Mike's) being hifi and such. We will have to check out those cables. Thanks for the comment!
Blue Jeans Co. makes great inexpensive cables as well.
Fosi Audio HD-A1 is giving me great satisfaction paired with the Audio Cambridge s30 speakers. It is an excellent amplifier!
It's one of Mike's personal favorites! Thanks for the comment!
@@2DudesAudio another question, can one run 2 x in monoblocks?
Great video I’ve been looking for your review of those big speakers in the back. Polk audio I think. They look like polk audio. But I love all these videos
Great job! I would add that you may want to move those speakers out from the wall onto stands (it will make a huge difference).
Sorry for only the one test track we had more but everytime we uploaded it got flagged. Enjoy otherwise!
hey, I have 2 b&w cm1 s2 speakers, I am looking to change my current Yamaha r-n500 because it is to large to fit my new tv cabinet, is the Fosi hd a1 a viable option? if so what kind of dac and or pre amp should I get with it? or would it be fine just to run straight to the amp? it will be mostly used for watching tv and some streaming music through ps4. thanks for reading and the nice review!
@@mikelachendro488 no need for a pre amp?
@@braeve8514 you will want a preamp with a remote or go with something say like the new Topping E30 which is a DAC, (some say sounds even better than the Schiit modi 3) and a preamp for $129.
Thanks for your great channel and reviews
How you compare this to some entry-level amps from Marantz and Yamaha or sony?
Kind regards and best wishes
The thing you have to remember with Tubes is they were often measured as TRUE RMS power, not peak power.
a 5Watt rated Tube amp can, and often will, out perfrom a 50watt peak rated modern solid state amp. A lot of Guitar amps still have tube output stages and they deliver plenty of sound output. Don't get too focused on watts, it all depends on the way they are measured.
Spikes directly couple the item in question to the floor, generally not a desirable effect. Isolation pads are almost always a better option, provided they are well-executed.
Your speaker wire looks thinner than what they used to wind that toroidal transformer, rather undersized.
That amp looks like a great build for the money.
Have you had any experience with the Topping E30 DAC? If so, how does it compare to the the SMSL M100?
Greetings! I'm running the Douk Audio Pro G3 with BT amp, pushing a couple of Boston CR75 speakers. Okay, here's my questions: I'm wondering how much better this amp will sound, and I'm especially concerned that it does not have bass or treble controls. It also does not have BT, but I can add that. I'm really interested in good, sweet sound, and so if you have a recommendation in the compact amp department, that would be great. Without bass and treble controls, I'm concerned I won't be able to tame the bass or highs if needed. Your thoughts?
This amp is fantastic to replace yours, the only thing like you stated is that you definitely would benefit from a solid pre amp with tone controls if you wanted. This amp has a warmer sound than typical solid state comparators. Kinda reminds me of the sound a GE 5654 tube. Warm mids. Soft highs. Full bass. But it is solid state after all so dont expect it to be as obvious of a sound change compared to tube rolling.
you can always put in a Loki equalizer.. they are highly rated... google it.
can i use this amp with the klipsch r51m?
Yes it will be a very good match.
Thank's
I agree, it will go very well with the Klipsch.
I was looking for this one on the fosi site , but i did a bit more of research and looked it up on Aliexpress and u can actualy can find it for 60$+60$ post tax but still it's 120$ in total instead of 199 the key words for search to find it is "
Using American CMC 816 input termnal AMP A1 Imitation Marantz HDAM amplifier 50W+50W HIFI 2.0 channel Desktop digital amplifier"
If you found this usefull give it a thumbs up! :)
Cladvik that's a different Amp by a different manufacturer on Ali express. There are several very similar Amps to the Fosi Audio HD-A1 in black or gold from other manufacturers based on the same design. But you don't know the quality as little to no reviews of them. Some of the components in them are different using cheaper capacitors, transformer etc.
At least with the Fosi Audio HD-A1 it has has had quite a few reviews on Amazon, the Fosi Audio Web Store and this RUclips video. Most of the reviews very positive, a very good performing stereo amp for a reasonable price.
You are better off paying a few pounds/bucks more knowing that you are getting a genuine Fosi Audio HD-A1. Rather than a cheaper Amp which looks almost the same but could likely be inferior sound bad with cheaper components used inside.
Dude those speaker wires are not shielded. I've not heard of anyone using shielded speaker wires. I've seen some sold that are twisted (making a twisted pair) which might help if the wires are near a leaky transformer or other AC magnetic field. You can twist your own but it's hard to keep a good twist. Otherwise, nice video!
On what device are you setting the EQ to ""flat" if the amp doesn't have bass or treble controls?
We are using a preamp from computer to feed the HD-A1. We were merely saying that we weren't adding anything to signal before amplification.
Hey... I'm wondering about this amp... With no bass and treble... Not an issue?
No you can easily solve that issue with a pre amp.
I tried this amp with a couple of dacs, one using CS4398 and another AK4490. While it is warmer sounding than other amps, it tended to veil the sound and was far less resolving than an amp I compared and kept, an Aiyima A-04. So it affected the performance of the dacs in a negative way, IMO. For the price it's fine, well built and if you like the sound, great. I would have kept it if it were more resolving with midrange and highs but keeping smoothness rather than veiling the sound, smoothing over the layers within music which are there. The Aiyima sounded better overall "to me" and allowed the dacs to shine in comparison. So I guess the Fosi amp held the dacs back from their potential, IMO.
Also the Fosi hummed a bit and got significantly warmer going from 8 to 6 ohm speakers. Not sure if it could really handle 2 to 4 ohm loads as it states.
The Aiyima A-04 is a cheap class D amp with average specs and high THD. The Fosi Audio HD-A1 is class AB and has good specs and quite low THD.
Its a much better Amplifier spec wise and sound quality wise. The online reviews and two RUclips reviews back this up.
@@C--A No argument. IT has the better specs as it should at triple the price and according to the manufacturer and if people are happy, fine. I was surprised at what an inexpensive amp could do for desktop at low or even moderate volumes. Wished the Fosi could give me what I wanted, but it didn't.
@@nc3419 everyone's ears are different some people's idea of good is another persons idea of bad. Did you use the cheap stock power lead supplied with the Fosi Audio HD-A1?
Or did you use a different better good quality power lead. As I suspect that is one of the areas Fosi cut corners with the power lead supplied.
@@nc3419 you might have gotten a factory lemon. It happens sometimes. I get no hum other than the unit power transformer if I press my ear to chassis lol. Sounds like you have a cold solder joint or just a defective unit.
@@2DudesAudio I don't think I did as I tried three, I wanted two for myself and I am not saying they were bad units although one got quite hot in comparison to the other two so sent back for that reason.
I could hear the hum which FOSI said was normal and from 4 to 5 feet away which I would have to accept if used on desktop. BTW, I did rate the unit a 4 out of 5 as it is well built and decent while leaving room for FOSI to improve...maybe they did. I was surprised however that an inexpensive class D could be more transparent with sources, dacs, cds...the only way to find out is to get one and review it if you care to do that. I chose the Aiyima A04 which also received good feedback from users.
As one or two others stated, there is room to improve. But for a couple of hundred, you can't argue with the price which makes it very competitive in the class AB market. Although if you purchase these in quantity overseas, you can get them for half the price unit wise. So, every product from every brand has to have a good degree of markup...there it is.
How about a comparison with a similarly priced Emotiva? As a reviewer, you are going to get people's opinions, experiences and such and hopefully everyone stays civil. It's part of the hobby and part of reviewing. Invite people to leave opinions on their own experiences. It makes it more useful rather than appearing to be a fan club. Nothing against FOSI, I think what they are doing is great and should be encouraged to continue. The Chinese manufacturers are producing quality at an affordable price...keep it up. Cheers.
Anybody know if FOSI makes a matching preamp for the HD-A1? You know, same form factor, aesthetics, build quality etc. I don't see anything on their website.
I wish, we have been in contact with fosi and when I asked if the HD-A1 was their flagship they basically agreed saying that there wasnt really anything else they offer that matches it in quality or in terms of a similar form factor dac/preamp.
It would be cool to hear how to fares compared to Class D competition such as Topping PA3 or a SMLS equivalent.
The topping pa3 doesnt come close in quality, also this is a class A/B amplifier, its build quality is far superior, it weighs alot more than the topping or smsl. It's a whole different beast.
@@2DudesAudio Do you think my I or my Spouse can hear a difference :) I trying to find a compact amplifier for a pair of KEF R300 for our living room. Match? I know I probably should spend 1K on amp and 500 on DAC, but this could be a good first buy..? Upgrading from powered JBL 308s , so we have no excising place for a huge amplifier....
@@oscarjung5405 you will 100 percent notice a difference I run a wonderfully cheap yet effective setup for 2 channel listening. Smsl m100 dac into the fosi audio HD-A1
@@2DudesAudio could you articulate what about the sound would be different by switching from a cheaper class D amp that has similar power? I'm running the fosi TDA7498E 160w class d amp and am considering upgrading to the HD-A1 but am not sure what to expect.
@@chrisnunez854 I was planning to get the FX Audio fx1002 TDA7498E WITH the DIP switches for the gain level, before I saw this video. How does the fosi sound?
The SMSL M100 is a great little DAC under $100 but don't buy it based on the high sample rates they tout, its mostly marketing BS. Most mainstream music at best is 16bit/44.1khz and a lot of it because of the loudness wars is much less. Very little music is actually recorded with audiophile playback in mind. A lot of 24bit audio is just remastered or upsampled 16bit and 32bit audio is pure nonsense. On the other hand great video, I got a Fosi HD-A1 on the way.
Nope I own it and it truly does support what it says. Incredible little dac.
Also you should look into Tidal. Full MQA support up to 32 bit 318khz. So it's very useful. Just cause you havent heard it or seen it doesnt mean it's not out there.
@@2DudesAudio - I had Tidal for a while year or so ago but rarely used it, I have Spotifiy now and really don't use it either, just keep it for some reviews I have planned. I have hundreds of gigs of WAV & FLAC music at home on my music PC so that gives me plenty of selection. I have plans to try some MQA content in the future, but right now the premium DAC cost and only source being Tidal doesn't work for me. I've done a good bit of reading about MQA and many agree its supposedly better sound mostly has to do with its remastering process than high sample rate. I lot of MQA is just upsampled and remastered from original analog sources like studio tape which is less than CD quality. But like anything else if someone likes it that much then go ahead and enjoy. The standard redbook 16bit/44.1 with dithering is capable of 120db of dynamic range and 20khz which means with a good audio system it should be completely transparent to any human deliving nearly perfect audio playback. The answer isn't hi sample rates its just better recording, mixing, and mastering.
Recs for best 2.0 stereo amp up to ~$350?
Pass labs diy build. Hands down.
How can I use this amp with a subwoofer?
Preamp would be needed
Also what song was that at then end?
it was a NCS royalty free song, I unfortunately can never remember the names of the songs we use. we will try in the future to do so.
Does the smsl stream Bluetooth ?
The M100 Dac does not, but I do know a lot of their stuff supports bluetooth 5.0. Check out the SMSL m200 or m300.
MADE IN INDONESIA?