Doorway Amplifiers...
- Thread starter TubeHiFiNut
- Start date
I might have a new contender for doorway amplifier (I just bought one myself for driving my gaming rig speakers): the Fosi Audio V3
TPA3255-based chip amp. Decent cooling, good component choice, allows op-amp rolling, can use up to 48VDC power supply (comes with 32VDC), has a single input with line-level and speaker-level outputs (all the better for hooking up that powered subwoofer).
All for under $100.
Even ASR likes this amp.
TPA3255-based chip amp. Decent cooling, good component choice, allows op-amp rolling, can use up to 48VDC power supply (comes with 32VDC), has a single input with line-level and speaker-level outputs (all the better for hooking up that powered subwoofer).
All for under $100.
Even ASR likes this amp.
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Coming soon, public release in Q4:
All-in-one streaming amplifier with the front end of the WiiM Pro Plus, and "one of the industry's leading amplifier chips".
All-in-one streaming amplifier with the front end of the WiiM Pro Plus, and "one of the industry's leading amplifier chips".
- Aluminum case 190mm x 190mm x 64mm (7.5 x 7.5 x 2.5")
- HDMI ARC input
- USB input (disk storage device compatible)
- Price not finalized but targeted for < 50% of the Bluesound POWERNODE
So much stuff to break in one small box!
Sorry -- unless they're really, really cheap, the notion of [edit] irreparable, and thus disposable, electronics really rubs me the wrong way for reasons philosophical, environmental, and economic.
I also know that my views are mine alone. I am sure it'll be a fine product for its intended market.
While I agree from a personal standpoint and continue to mostly utilize separate boxes in my own systems, I can't help but note the irony of your observation as it relates to/contrasts with the viewpoints of others who have steadfastly lamented (trashed?) the use of separate boxes, even when said boxes are quite small and unobtrusive.
That "tidy and clean" yearn quickly morphs into some sort of OCD-like crusade to eliminate boxes and wires in true Konmari fashion, evidently they represent a harrowing example of unnecessary complexity and clutter even when they are roughly the size of a deck of playing cards, and can completely hide behind any standard sized component given a little shelf space to sit on.
This little WiiM amp would be good for a small apartment, or perhaps a bedroom system where the available real estate is very limited. My own bedroom system is a version of that with active monitor speakers that contain the amplifiers (one per channel), and a DAC that is also the preamp via digital inputs and volume control. Add the WiiM Pro (or HiFiBerry Digi+ Pro), and that entire system fits in a bay window, sharing that space with a 32" HDTV and cable TV set top box.
But yes, I too dislike the "too many things in one box" aspect of this type of design as heat is the enemy in such cases, and if that heat or close proximity of circuits causes one to fail, the entire device is often scrapped, or at best the entire system is now out of action while that one piece is taken offline and repaired. When system jobs/tasks are separated, if one aspect of that system fails or goes on the fritz it can easily be replaced with a stand-in, or temporarily rearranged to allow the show to go on while the offending unit is diagnosed and cured, or retired and replaced.
For what it's worth, WiiM have addressed this very question on their forum in terms of the heat aspect and indicated this forthcoming unit runs quite cool being a Class D amp design, and I guess time will tell with regard to ultimate reliability for a new brand like WiiM, and the various models of which they've already sold a seemingly substantial number of units into the field.
The less than hockey puck-sized WiiM Mini runs a little warmish, the WiiM Pro not even warm to the touch, but we'll have to wait and see with this new streaming amp. I thought it surprising this design has an integral power supply. With so little available internal real estate, I'd have thought the PSU would be a laptop style external brick. On that note, the pre-production rendering shows an incorrect labeling of the power jack which is described as a DC input, but that C7 inlet is decidedly an AC input and not DC.
Yeah vintage stuff never breaks or ends up in a landfillSo much stuff to break in one small box!
Sorry -- unless they're really, really cheap, the notion of [edit] irreparable, and thus disposable, electronics really rubs me the wrong way for reasons philosophical, environmental, and economic.
. Isn’t one of your haunts the county dump to sift through much larger and much more materials intensive old stuff to find the rare gem?Nobody fixes anything. I’m not saying it’s right but that’s just the world now. To take issue with this is to take issue with probably 95% of what’s in your home today.
I fix everything. Yes even those cheap LED wreathes they have at the dollar store, Linda loves those things but they have such poor soldering quality inside so it's usually such a simple fix.
I do agree some stuff just isn't worth the time to fix but when you live in the woods I can solder something faster than I can drive to the store and back. That and it's less junk in a landfill.
Growing up in a dirt poor family has molded me into the cheap bastard I am today.
I do agree some stuff just isn't worth the time to fix but when you live in the woods I can solder something faster than I can drive to the store and back. That and it's less junk in a landfill.
Growing up in a dirt poor family has molded me into the cheap bastard I am today.
If you can find an Onkyo A-9010, I recommend it. I've had one for some time and the inclusion of a DAC with TOSLINK and coaxial inputs adds to what is a great little 40-watt/side unit. The successor A-9110 is good as well; the difference is they added better components, mostly better capacitors, and axed the DAC.
WiiM now indicating their forthcoming streaming amplifier has an expected release date of early November, with a price point of around $300. A pre-production sample of the amp anodized in Space Gray:
WiiM have revealed the Class-D amplifier chip employed in the above is the Texas Instruments TPA3255.
That's an attractive price point.
It really is given the included streaming/DAC solution (onboard WiiM Pro Plus) itself retails for $219.
WiiM have specified this TPA3255-based amp as 60wpc @ 8 Ohms, and perfectly doubling as impedance is halved to 120wpc @ 4 Ohms.
Thats actually a somewhat conservative rating for the TPA3255, I'm sure power supply and heat considerations given the available chassis real estate governed that power output choice, adequate as Rolls-Royce might say.
Speaking of the chassis, while the cover/lid is anodized aluminum, it sits on a plastic base to allow the use of hidden/integral WiFi and Bluetooth antennae.
Thats actually a somewhat conservative rating for the TPA3255, I'm sure power supply and heat considerations given the available chassis real estate governed that power output choice, adequate as Rolls-Royce might say.
Speaking of the chassis, while the cover/lid is anodized aluminum, it sits on a plastic base to allow the use of hidden/integral WiFi and Bluetooth antennae.
How are you liking this amp? Did you upgrade the power supply to the 48v? Just curious.
Best,
Snade
I don't really need the 48v power supply for my purposes (driving Orb Audio 'eyeball' speakers + AudioEngine S8 sub via Grace SDAC USB connection to my gaming rig) - this gets plenty loud for nearfield. Barely gets warm and sounds good for both gaming or music.
Definitely still liking it. I may hook it up to my 604E's at some point for shits & giggles.
