I have the VU meters 1 little bear. The switch acts up if you use 100w or more. It will flicker the lights as you turn it up. Only use it with 80 watts or less. Also measuring the distortion, I found about 10DB degrade. The relays seem to be the culprit of the distortion. The banana plugs are very close together and hard to use with bare wire. The remote is pretty cheap and comes with no battery. I notice any stray button push from any remote control will make the meter light blink. Very annoying. The needles seem to adjust in a large sweep. Not very accurate. It’s a nice looking device and idea, they need to redo it. People are willing to pay $200 for a switch like this that checks all the boxes.
Maybe the issues you are pointing is because they are running this off the final amplified part of the sound chain. There are other solutions that work with the line level signal. I think there are also some Chinese manufacturers that do that.
So you can't run both sets if speakers at the same time? I run 4 speakers all the time. I guess it really doesn't matter since it's just a reference meter.
would this product work for my entire stereo setup? like if i wanted to switch between two receivers, could i switch all of my speakers at once [like sub and center] or just the two fronts?
Thank you for the tips and video... I have a question, can this device be used bypassing a real amp, with the computer as a source instead of an amp to compare 2 sets of powered speakers, like with the "Big Knob" from Mackie for example ? Or am I condemn to use the "Big Knob" for active and PC, just using the Little Bear for passive speakers with amps ? And how do I hook up one single audio source to 2 different amps to be compared in real time with the Little Bear ? So lost... I'll develop more thoroughly in my next question/comment following. Thank you for any insight though...
I'm glad you were able to power it up with the Cambridge as it calls for one amp on the instructions and I can clearly see that the cambridge says 500 mA, mine came the same just a cable and no battery for the remote. thanks for the vid!. is it still working ok for you after all this months? I just received mine.
so it would be amp out to little bear in ? thinking I might get 1 myself , I have a vintage Onkyo stacker but the only VU meters I have are the tapedeck one's , the amp doesn't have VU's , so I could install this on the amp right ?
Yep. That will add some cool meters to your set up and if you ever want to add another amp or set of speakers later on, you will have the ability to do so!
@@ForeverAnalog Cool thanks for the reply, I've got a reasonably good system but jeezus it's boring to look at, The little bear would add a little bit of bling to cheer up my stereo system.
what do you think, would it be possible to connect 1 phone preamplifier with turntable and one DAC with headphone apmf at the input and on the other side a small amplifier with speakers? need to switch by remote control between a gramophone with a preamplifier and a DAC where I have tidal and spotify. if it was possible, it would help us a lot and it would also visually evaluate the stereo setup Thanks for answer
If you had a streamer/dac/amp and you wanted to test its amp against another amp could this be done? So the preout from the all in one would go to the other amp. Would that make an explosion?
Hello ,i love vu meters , my question is, can add this little bear in home theatre set up? Can i hook it up directly to my AVR, i will just follow exactly what you did, will my other speaker ( surround setup) will still work knowing that the Front R and Front L is already plug in to the little bear?… thank you in advance
I didn’t run it through an AVR with front speakers so I’m not sure if those would work simultaneously while the other speakers are routing through the AVR. I think they would work but can’t say 100%.
@@ForeverAnalog thank you so much , I ordered this little bear from amazon will arrive tomorrow..i think it will work too! Thank you for your honest review about this product, more reviews to come🙏
Question, do the VU meters function regardless of what source you use? So, if you use your cd,turntable or streamer, do the VU meters still operate ? Thank you
Hi again, I would have another question about the connections with this device (Little Bear). How would I do it if my source is a computer, which I connect an amp to (say the T9) ? How would I connect a second amp (say SMSL DA-9), to my computer acting as a playing content source before adding it to the little bear ?? Any insight welcome, because how do you share a single audio source with two amps? I find it confusing as you only talk about the speakers and amp connections to the splitter, which doesn't seem complex, but what about the shared audio source for the two amps one would want want to compare in real time using the splitter (little bear) ? How can the two amps be connected to the same source to be compared to start with, be it a PC, CD transport, streamer-DAC, etc. ?. Something I don't get, since, apparently, you can't connect a common audio source to the little bear. Very lost here, but relatively new to the hobbie (and dumb, don't forget dumb, rock dumb)...
You are correct. This video never mentions splitting the source, say a preamp or other line level device between 2 amps. When I tried to connect my preamp to both amps using a splitter the sound level dropped dramatically.
No because you can only plug the one source into one amp if that makes sense. Unless you have a splitter cable earlier in the chain that could send the one source to two amps simultaneously?
G'day bud, thanks for your videos. I have one question on this item. All I want this for is to display the output of a pre-amp, no speaker connections or any other inputs, will this work for me?
A lot of places don't put bricks in their boxes anymore.Phones quit doing that too.And you're still a handful of nuts still do but most people have a ton of those little brakes floating around the house later u s b in the wall outlets
Yes, you would connect the speaker wires from each amp to the amp speaker inputs on the one little bear and then you connect your speakers to the speaker input on the one little bear as well. All of these connections are via speaker wire.
@@ForeverAnalog thank you both are on the way with new speaker wire .now looking at polk audio s20 .i have a set of jensens and sony towers but its time for a new pair maybe a set of the little sony when they go on sale hard choice so many good speakers the jbl looks ok too thanks man take care
Just set mine up but my voloume on both amps are now way to loud like on number 1 on both amps are like equivalent to 9 out of 10 can't figure out what I've done wrong
Since this is a video showing how to connect this device to your system why did you not explain the connections to each amp from the source? I tried using a Y connector to split my preamp output to both amps and when the second amp got it's RCAs plugged in the sound level dropped dramatically. Looks like you need to go back and explain how to connect the amps to the source device.
Thanks for the feedback. I only use this tool with integrated amps so cannot speak to your question. To me, using one preamp with two amps via a y connector is another entirely different subject and the quality of the result will depend on the output impedance of the preamp and the input impedance of the power amp. So it's kind of a different topic that wouldn't apply to most consumers purchasing the one little bear. Thanks again!
@@ForeverAnalog It shouldn't matter if you are connecting integrated amps or standard power amps. If you are comparing any 2 amps then both amps must be fed the same source. That means splitting the source output to 2 devices. You never mention this.
Very cool ….. I couldn’t wrap my brain around how to connect this thing ….. thank you ……
Glad it could help!
I have the VU meters 1 little bear. The switch acts up if you use 100w or more. It will flicker the lights as you turn it up. Only use it with 80 watts or less. Also measuring the distortion, I found about 10DB degrade. The relays seem to be the culprit of the distortion. The banana plugs are very close together and hard to use with bare wire. The remote is pretty cheap and comes with no battery. I notice any stray button push from any remote control will make the meter light blink. Very annoying. The needles seem to adjust in a large sweep. Not very accurate. It’s a nice looking device and idea, they need to redo it. People are willing to pay $200 for a switch like this that checks all the boxes.
Thank you for the further information!
Maybe the issues you are pointing is because they are running this off the final amplified part of the sound chain. There are other solutions that work with the line level signal. I think there are also some Chinese manufacturers that do that.
Thanks for the info. Coz my separate amp is 200wts per channel.
So you can't run both sets if speakers at the same time?
I run 4 speakers all the time.
I guess it really doesn't matter since it's just a reference meter.
I like the lamp cord for speaker cord. Old School, I get it
If you are using a separate subwoofer that you want to use with either amp what do you suggest?
would this product work for my entire stereo setup? like if i wanted to switch between two receivers, could i switch all of my speakers at once [like sub and center] or just the two fronts?
I built a 2 amp selector for one set of speakers. Pretty simple. I can pick either the Marantz 2230 or the 1060 into my KEF Coda III’s.
Awesome
@@ForeverAnalog Although I like the big VU meters!
They are fun!
Do the meters react more and more as the volume is raised like old vintage recievers do?
Yes it does
Thank you for the tips and video... I have a question, can this device be used bypassing a real amp, with the computer as a source instead of an amp to compare 2 sets of powered speakers, like with the "Big Knob" from Mackie for example ? Or am I condemn to use the "Big Knob" for active and PC, just using the Little Bear for passive speakers with amps ? And how do I hook up one single audio source to 2 different amps to be compared in real time with the Little Bear ? So lost... I'll develop more thoroughly in my next question/comment following.
Thank you for any insight though...
I'm glad you were able to power it up with the Cambridge as it calls for one amp on the instructions and I can clearly see that the cambridge says 500 mA, mine came the same just a cable and no battery for the remote. thanks for the vid!. is it still working ok for you after all this months? I just received mine.
Yep still works fine!
Great clarity on the install Thank you! 👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
Thank you for watching!
So counter-intuitive! Thanks so much for explaining this. Why are you not using banana plugs? And why do you only have one channel going to Amp A?
I have banana plugs but sometimes that confuses folks lol
so it would be amp out to little bear in ? thinking I might get 1 myself , I have a vintage Onkyo stacker but the only VU meters I have are the tapedeck one's , the amp doesn't have VU's , so I could install this on the amp right ?
Great vid. Explained everything. I bought this and the VU2. Thank you! 🙏
Thanks for watching!
Can I bi-amp through it and a normal 2-channel amp also ?
Can I connect just one 1⃣ amp to one 1⃣ pair of speakers to the the little bear, basically put the little bear in the middle of the amp speaker chain.
Yep. That will add some cool meters to your set up and if you ever want to add another amp or set of speakers later on, you will have the ability to do so!
@@ForeverAnalog Cool thanks for the reply, I've got a reasonably good system but jeezus it's boring to look at, The little bear would add a little bit of bling to cheer up my stereo system.
Love that idea!
what do you think, would it be possible to connect 1 phone preamplifier with turntable and one DAC with headphone apmf at the input and on the other side a small amplifier with speakers?
need to switch by remote control between a gramophone with a preamplifier and a DAC where I have tidal and spotify. if it was possible, it would help us a lot and it would also visually evaluate the stereo setup
Thanks for answer
Can this be used as an A/B switch for turntables?
No I would look for a cheap two channel mixer from Numark instead
If you had a streamer/dac/amp and you wanted to test its amp against another amp could this be done? So the preout from the all in one would go to the other amp. Would that make an explosion?
I wonder if effect the sound when your going thru a VACUM TUBE AMP ? what do you think ?
Hard to know for sure without testing. My tube amp is loaned out to a friend right now
Hello ,i love vu meters , my question is, can add this little bear in home theatre set up? Can i hook it up directly to my AVR, i will just follow exactly what you did, will my other speaker ( surround setup) will still work knowing that the Front R and Front L is already plug in to the little bear?… thank you in advance
I didn’t run it through an AVR with front speakers so I’m not sure if those would work simultaneously while the other speakers are routing through the AVR. I think they would work but can’t say 100%.
@@ForeverAnalog thank you so much , I ordered this little bear from amazon will arrive tomorrow..i think it will work too! Thank you for your honest review about this product, more reviews to come🙏
Thank you for watching!
@@rm23cssddis it work? Coz im planning to split my sony Az5000es front speakers with monolith 200wts per channel. With cambridge cxa81.
Question, do the VU meters function regardless of what source you use? So, if you use your cd,turntable or streamer, do the VU meters still operate ? Thank you
Yep!
Thanks bro I was wondering how to do it great video
Awesome!
Is this the one you can use to hook up two turntables?
Only if both turntables have built in preamps. There is no phono input on this device
@@ForeverAnalog yes they do. They are both Audio Technica. A LP60 and a LP3
What wall plug can you use for the Little Bear USB cable ?
At first I used an old cell phone block but I bought an extension cord with usb connectors and now use that instead.
Thanks .
Could I just a USB plug from Amazon ? Would it overheat?
Should be fine but just double check the specs online.
Many thanks
Hi again, I would have another question about the connections with this device (Little Bear). How would I do it if my source is a computer, which I connect an amp to (say the T9) ? How would I connect a second amp (say SMSL DA-9), to my computer acting as a playing content source before adding it to the little bear ?? Any insight welcome, because how do you share a single audio source with two amps? I find it confusing as you only talk about the speakers and amp connections to the splitter, which doesn't seem complex, but what about the shared audio source for the two amps one would want want to compare in real time using the splitter (little bear) ? How can the two amps be connected to the same source to be compared to start with, be it a PC, CD transport, streamer-DAC, etc. ?. Something I don't get, since, apparently, you can't connect a common audio source to the little bear. Very lost here, but relatively new to the hobbie (and dumb, don't forget dumb, rock dumb)...
You are correct. This video never mentions splitting the source, say a preamp or other line level device between 2 amps. When I tried to connect my preamp to both amps using a splitter the sound level dropped dramatically.
It needs 5VDC 1A so is it still working on the 5VDC .5A from the Cambridge? Bet you had problems with it you could not track down.
can the little bear be connected to an audio mixer I want to buy one but I just want it for my 4 speakers
Can you use 1 source (like phono) to test both amps without plugging and unplugging?
No because you can only plug the one source into one amp if that makes sense. Unless you have a splitter cable earlier in the chain that could send the one source to two amps simultaneously?
G'day bud, thanks for your videos. I have one question on this item. All I want this for is to display the output of a pre-amp, no speaker connections or any other inputs, will this work for me?
This would not work with a preamp, sorry.
A lot of places don't put bricks in their boxes anymore.Phones quit doing that too.And you're still a handful of nuts still do but most people have a ton of those little brakes floating around the house later u s b in the wall outlets
so i can hook up a old pionner sx 680 to this??and a t9 pro both??only using speaker wires no need to have output on reciever? thanks
Yes, you would connect the speaker wires from each amp to the amp speaker inputs on the one little bear and then you connect your speakers to the speaker input on the one little bear as well. All of these connections are via speaker wire.
@@ForeverAnalog thank you both are on the way with new speaker wire .now looking at polk audio s20 .i have a set of jensens and sony towers but its time for a new pair maybe a set of the little sony when they go on sale hard choice so many good speakers the jbl looks ok too thanks man take care
Just set mine up but my voloume on both amps are now way to loud like on number 1 on both amps are like equivalent to 9 out of 10 can't figure out what I've done wrong
Hmmm. Not sure why that would be happening.
Thanks for the video. I thought the connection was rca to be split.
No problem 👍
What gauge speaker wire would you suggest ?
I usually go with 14 - 16!
@@ForeverAnalog thanks
Is it possible to hook up 2 amps to the Little Bear Switcher when you already have an ADC Sound Shaper Equalizer ?
Good question. I’m not an equalizer guy so I don’t have any on hand to test, sorry!
como faço para comprar um PRE DESSE ,?
Since this is a video showing how to connect this device to your system why did you not explain the connections to each amp from the source? I tried using a Y connector to split my preamp output to both amps and when the second amp got it's RCAs plugged in the sound level dropped dramatically. Looks like you need to go back and explain how to connect the amps to the source device.
Thanks for the feedback. I only use this tool with integrated amps so cannot speak to your question. To me, using one preamp with two amps via a y connector is another entirely different subject and the quality of the result will depend on the output impedance of the preamp and the input impedance of the power amp. So it's kind of a different topic that wouldn't apply to most consumers purchasing the one little bear. Thanks again!
@@ForeverAnalog It shouldn't matter if you are connecting integrated amps or standard power amps. If you are comparing any 2 amps then both amps must be fed the same source. That means splitting the source output to 2 devices. You never mention this.
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Why aren't you using banana plugs to hook this all up?
I do now but a lot of new folks don’t use banana plugs so I decided to show how with bare wire just in case.
They never include the plug
That's so overpriced in my opinion. I made one by myself using scrap pieces and teac vumeters taken from an old amplifier
How long did it take you to make that?
So you have to run one set of speakers or the other?? No way to run both at one time?
Correct. It only plays one set of speakers at a time.