This Mini Amp Sold OUT in 24 Hours and Here's Why

#AmpDyno #Amplifier #FosiAudio
This $150 mini amp has audiophiles rushing to buy
Fosi Audio ZA3 TPA3255 Based Mini Amp

RELATED VIDEOS:

VIDEO AND AUDIO GEAR

TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT

DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases

[wal]

_Note: Amp is SOLD OUT as of December 24, 2023 due to incredible demand. It should be in stock again in a few weeks_



*RELATED VIDEOS*

*TEST BENCH EQUIPMENT*

_DISCLAIMER: This video and description contains affiliate links, which means that if you purchase from one of the product links, I may receive a small commission. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases_

[LVeAV]

Love my Fosi Audio BT30D Pro they at least addressed the bluetooth priority by going into connect mode when power cycled, ie it kicks off anyone who stole the bluetooth on the amp. Cheap bluetooth Chinese amps have instant reconnect and no override so if the bluetooth is stolen by another device it won't log off until the offending device either goes out of range or is turned off.

I actually checked the BT30D Pro and it has 50V input caps so up to 48V could be used but the overheating problem will pop up. Looks like they finally addressed that too AND balanced inputs for pro audio use. Awesome, only way to make it better would be to add 2.1 amp capability with adjustable low and high pass crossovers, you know like a car amplifier.

Also wanted to post because I'm giving Williston Audio Labs a shout out on my channel. Your channel is basically my inspiration for starting my own electronics repair business and youtube channel. My first project is a customizable party tower speaker that people can build themselves. Your channel's testing inspired me to take my 20+ years of pro audio repair experience and show people with amps like you test you can build a party speaker that performs better, costs less, and is repairable and upgradeable rather than say a JBL Partybox 1000 in terms of both power output and sound quality.

So thank you Williston Audio Labs. You're truly keeping the big boys honest.

[Zeck]

I got 2 of these. Instead of using mono for each speaker, I set it up as bi Amp. Using left channel for low and right channel for mid and high to power my tower speakers. Sound is amazing!

[Douglas_Blake_]

The Fosi site and the TPA3255 data sheet both describe the mono mode as PBTL ... Parallel Bridge Tied Load. This is not a power increasing mode it is a mode that parallels the output channels and lets the chip work on lower impedance loads (2 and 3 ohms, per the data sheet) without destroying itself.

The one that wouldn't turn on is worrying.... Wazzup wi' dat? Did it work in stereo mode?

Also I'm still waiting to see someone flip that Stereo/Mono switch with music playing... The chip is not designed for "on the fly" reconfiguration so there is a doubt that it's safe to do and that switch is right out in "Daddy what does this do?" territory.

[scofab]

Update: I just added a second one, mono config and both Sparkos chipped. The results are simply amazing... more power yes, but increased dynamics throughout the volume range and the sound-stage and mid-bass are really fantastic.
How many watts total...? Mucho. No, you're not gonna host a rave but in a decent sized room you'll be jamming.
Full disclosure: PCM input from computer @384, (Fosi SK02) speakers DALI Zensor 3s.
Wow.
Cheers all and thanks.

[Fdmartinez]

I’ve been watching your context for a few years now and I really like your mini amp content. I use mini amps for vinyl and other two channel stuff like streaming. I would love to see much more content like this more from fosi, aiyima, and douk!

[herrtrigger]

Pin 2 is hot for our western audio standard, as shown by the Fosi. That Sony CD player uses the Japanese standard of having pin 3 hot. Using mixed XLR units reverses the phase and hurts bass response unless you have a special XLR cable made for this issue.

[Random_]

The MONO mode doesn't bridge the amplifier it puts it into PBTL mode (Parallel bridge tied load) basically putting all the available channels in parallel, this way the amplifier can achieve higher power outputs at lower impedances but it only works under 4 ohms due to ohm's law, if you are using a 4 or 8 ohm load it's basically doing nothing extra vs the normal mode as the resistance is simply not low enough to pass the extra current.

So basically, you are better off having 2 channels than one at anything 4 ohms or higher

[blieznis]

Love that 7ES player, I have it's little brother 5ES and it still blows minds. What ever you do.. don't sell it ;)

[n]

Those last few seconds! That’s one of my favorite CDs of all time. Cool to know that you enjoy it as well! Cheers and Merry Christmas!

[Douglas_Blake_]

Based on features and bench testing, the best deal from Fosi is still the TB10D.

With a 48 volt 10 amp supply I easily got 220w/ch 0.1% distortion at 4 ohms out of mine. I generally run it at 36 volts where it's got good power but doesn't heat up much. With a couple of simple mods, that distortion figure can be gotten down to 0.03%.

[marcparsons]

Even a cheap remote would be nice. Pretty nice Fosi product.

[jimbreakall]

I am curious why you didn't show any results for mono into 2 ohms. That is where there really should be some advantage since things are in parallel. Thanks for all that you do. Even though this is not bridged to get twice the power, there are some real advantages with two separate power supplies and the isolation between channels using separate monoblocks.

[csdstudio]

In case anyone cares, TRS is also balanced. Tip/ring/sleeve. Standard 1/4 connector, TS, tip/sleeve is unbalanced. Most XLR inputs are both XLR and TRS...the hole in the middle is for TRS . :)

[myaudioquest]

@myaudioquest
0 seconds ago
I bought the Fosi ZA-3 (with 48V power supply) thinking it might be a keeper. What I discovered was a mixed bag...thin in the mid-range and bass. I also did not care for the volume control, cheap like in build and function. On the plus side is exceptional clarity in the treble but requires a sub-woofer to add body and weight to the music. Best used with a bass centric loudspeaker or possibly use two amplifiers. My two cents!

[McTroyd]

Just a note: they _did_ have two op-amps on the XLRs. The NE5532 is two op-amps in one package. The better question is why they needed 10 total in that amp. Guessing they're doing lots of buffering internally? Maybe input impedance control? 🤷 Still, pretty cool, and good to see a TI TPA at the core.

[chipg]

Good ole Bachbusters at the end! Tocata and Fugue in D Minor! Gotta love Don Dorsey!

[scofab]

Here in Japan Amazon still has a few in stock... gonna give one a whirl. Bonus coupon, yay.
Thanks as always and Merry Christmas, and all the best to you.

Edit/update: This arrived a while ago, I finally fired it up yesterday as my usual main amp needs service. I'm very impressed with both the build and the sound, especially at this price point. Quite pleased and thanks again for the heads-up.

[rsn]

The on/off cycling of the amp at 2 ohms is no doubt the power supply. The power supply would likely get bogged down a bit even at 4 ohm. A 198 watt 2 ohm load would load the power supply to about 9.9 amps and the voltage would probably droop to about 19.9 volts on the power supply due to current limiting. At almost 10 amps on a 5 amp power supply it would certainly put itself into short circuit protection but I would have thought it would reach full protection before that. The TPA3255 also has over current protection but it is hard to tell which would trigger first without knowing what the circuit set the TPA3255 over current protection to.

[lisar]

the tests are gold - thank you! But to sum it up, it appears there is not much (power) advantage to running these in dual mono mode, right? So why buy/use two? I've seen some comparisons of this amp running in stereo vs dual mono mode, and the latter does sound different - more open and differentiated. But yeah, this is just sampled over youtube with whatever mic's the host usesd, then running through my own less than perfect system. I feel like I have looked into this amp deeply but still know nothing :D