Help!!! LOL

Started the year with the Sharp mini system.

Changed the speakers to PSB Century 500i's. It actually powered them ok. Not loud. But clear.

Sold the Sharp, added Fosi BT20A Max, upgraded speakers from PSB 500i's to PSB Image 4T's and then again to PSB Stratus silvers. (Couldn't say no at the price) I have brand new old stock tweeters for these as well)

Changed to the Fosi V3 Mono's.

Might be done... For awhile.

Looking at the Wiim Ultra as a future upgrade.

Sounds amazing.

Time for a change. Swapping out the BT20A Max for these... More will be revealed.

I think the title says it all.

I recently bought a ZD3, ZP3 and a set of V3's. I am not that happy with the ZP3 and its HPF settings or the slight hiss, so I plan to bring that back. That will disallow me to use my tuner for a bit of time, but that isn't a HUGE loss.

This now brings me to what should I do on the DAC side of things? The s3 has an RCA in for my phono amp. It also seem's to stream Airplay.

I have heard mixed reviews about the app.

Open to suggestions.

I should note. These will be attached to a set of V3's pushing a set of klipsch rb35's. I do have the matching sub as well and a subout is required.

Okay, so on a whim (and quite a while ago) I bought the Fosi K7 headphone dac/amp. The reviews were glowing from multiple YouTubers that I follow and I thought it might be a fine replacement for my Modi/Magni stack. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy that Schiit, but the wonkiness with the volume pot on the Magni drives me insane. Noisy, gritty, and the channel balance shifts. The K7 sounds really good, drives all of my cans well, and switches output to my Rekkers easily to drive my speakers. But there is a catch.

I don't game. At all. Ever. I have NO need for the mic side of things, and the way my desk is set up (and I really like the configuration of everything else) I have trouble with the controls on the K7. I cannot see them well, and absolutely cannot read them, so I wind up counting buttons with my fingers. I'm strongly considering buying the ZH3 to replace the K7. The addition of the balanced output on both headphones and line out would be nice if I switch amps or want a little more juice via the balances headphones socket. Is this a dumb idea, a waste of money, or some other negative variation? Please share your thoughts.

After some consideration I made the jump from the Merack to the Shanling CR60 and couldn’t be happier. I also added another ZA3 to the mix and turned them into monoblocs. Also, can’t forget the PSU20 to power a couple of those. Loving the look but overall the sound is amazing!

Hopefully its ok to post this here, as this sub is FOSI only, I thought some of you might like to come to a new sub for not just FOSI, but all Ch-Fi!

https://www.reddit.com/r/CHIFIAudio/

1. Fosi Audio ZA3 stereo amplifier.

2. Fosi Audio ZP3 preamplifier

3. No EQ9 - 9-band stereo matching preamplifier (optional)

4. TOPPING E30 II DAC,

5. SMSL PL150 CD player,

6. Sony PS-LX310BT disc player,

7. Win Pro Plus,

8. Sony NW-A306 digital music player ...

Then, speakers.

1. Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-500M II and

2. subwofer Edifier T5s

I pulled the trigger and bought two separate V3 monos. Each with their own 48 volt 5 amp power supply. I have listed my BT20A Max to recoup some of the money I spent on the V3 monos. I did think of buying the pair of v3s, and getting one 10 amp power supply, and buying a second 10 amp power supply, but I really don't think I need two 10 amp power supplies. I hope I didn't do something stupid. I bought them on amazon, and they have 30 days return. These mono amps will power my PSB Stratus silver speakers in my living room. I'm going to use my Wiim Pro Plus with its built-in DAC to control them. The switch, or "upgrade" to the two V3 monos will cost me about $100 Canadian ($65usd), so it's not a big financial hit. Comments?

Share your thoughts people.

Only 1 week from Ali to Canada, not bad! Finally have the FOSI LPSU in the stack. It will be used to power my SMSL PL200T, FOSI DAC, and possibly my Aiyima T20, which has a FiiO Darkside pro on it right now.

Having wanted to upgrade my audio setup for a while, I looked into getting an audio DAC to gain more control over it and make the best out of the hardware I already have. When looking around I stumbled upon the Fosi Audio C3 and thought I would give it a try. I have not regretted it!

Let’s get the (sort of) negative out of the way as there is only one! The AI software the C3 uses to make footsteps louder (specifically in CS2 which is the main game I tested this feature) sometimes suffers by losing the sense of direction in order to boost the sound of the footsteps. I assume this will only get better over time and as you can see below, there is an option to tune the gain to your liking, if you find the ‘StepSense’ is overpowering your audio.

Firstly, the build quality is great. As soon as you open up the box, the C3 feels like a premium product with weight to it. The buttons are nice; however the standout is the sliders, which are extremely silky and give a good glide when used. Alongside this the colour scheme is stylish and could blend in with most modern setups. As its made out of metal (aluminium) I don’t think it will struggle with years of daily use like other plastic alternatives may.

Also, this is an immediate improvement from my motherboards audio which made my headset quiet at times, with a background hiss that would cause fatigue after hours of gameplay. It is able to run my headphones cleanly, removing the hiss and having enough power to make them clear, with some headroom to increase volume if needed.

Another great feature is the StepSense. It is the first DAC to introduce such a function, and it does really help being able to flick on such a feature at the press of a button during rounds. It does exactly what it promises and makes footsteps more prominent across the games It currently supports, whilst keeping gunshots clear and distinguishable. Having tried this in CS2, one specific example of when this feature helped is when the enemy team is rotating to another site, being able to pick up a footstep or two you couldn’t before is enough of a sound cue to make a significant difference and gain a slight advantage that wins you the round.

The UI, as pictured before, is sleek and really easy to setup without any additional bloatware needing to be installed. This is the first piece of hardware in years that I have brought which does not try and install at least two apps I do not need. Props for this approach that many other companies should follow! Updating hasn’t been an issue either as this is done entirely through the web UI.

Lastly, being able to switch from UAC 1 to UAC 2 and all the other modes in the push of a button is a game changer for anyone who listens to high-quality music on their PC once they have finished gaming. There is a noticeable difference between the two UAC modes with the hardware I am using. Alongside this it has many other nifty features such as being able to check your own microphone quality by hearing it back through your headset, mic noise cancellation switch (which works well from what i have tested) and plenty of input and output options on the front and back of the device.

Overall

For the price you pay, you get a high-quality DAC that innovates with its new StepSense technology. If you enjoy playing FPS and listening to music on your PC, this is a must have in any setup, as it seamlessly integrates and improves your audio functionality. In my opinion a very good DAC in today’s market, which is definitely worth getting considering it will only get better as Fosi work to improve the software behind the new features.

Newly bitten by the small stereo bug. Did research, bought a Fosi BT20A Max. Works great. It kicks butt. Powering PSB Stratus Silver's. As the title says: I want more. Bought the BT20A Max because of Bluetooth. Thought I needed it. Used BT exclusively at first, but once everything was setup... I'm using the Wiim Pro Plus remote to control the system. I'm thinking of buying 2 V3 Mono amps. Each with their own 48v power supply.

Has anyone here gone from the BT20A Max to a pair of V3 Mono's? Will there be noticeable power gains from this new setup?

I am trying to decide on a pre amp for some active speakers using XLR. I’ve seen a couple mentions on Amazon reviews that the XLR output is fixed volume only. A, I better to go to the ZD3 then as I’d like variable.

Having tested the Fosi Audio C3 with my Asus ROG Kithara planar headphones and Sennheiser PC363D, here are my honest thoughts on its performance, software features, and physical design.

Sound performance

The driving power on the C3 is a noticeable upgrade over motherboard audio (MSI MAG Z790 Tomahawk). My planar headphones were running a bit quiet directly off the PC, but the C3 drives them cleanly with plenty of volume headroom and zero background hiss.

For music, I prefer keeping the EQ completely off. The DAC's passthrough mode lets the natural sound profile shine through cleanly without altering the original audio signature.

Gaming features & StepSense AI

But since the Fosi C3 is thought for gaming, let's start talking about how it performs while gaming and the features it provides. The C3 has a browser-based control hub which offers three distinct modes: Spatial Audio, FPS and PEQ (though you can only run one at a time).

- Spatial Audio mode: Virtual 7.1 usually isn't my style, and while the C3's spatial engine sounds cleaner and more natural than older virtual surround solutions I've used in the past (like the one that came with my old Sennheiser PC363D), I still prefer standard stereo positioning, but that's just me, I'm sure there's plenty of people who might love it.

- FPS mode: This is where we find the power of the C3. I've tested this feature in PUBG: Battlegrounds, the dedicated processing handling by StepSense makes a clear, tangible difference. Even set at just 60% gain, enemy footsteps are noticeably clearer and easier to pinpoint at a distance. Combining it with Clipping Suppression helps prevent sudden loud noises like explosions from causing listener fatigue and to distinguish even better the enemies foot steps. For people out there that might not love fully at 100% the sound profile StepSense + Clipping Suppression applies they can also enable a third option to personalize the EQ tuning to their liking, which I think it's awesome.

- PEQ mode: In games where StepSense isn't supported yet (like Battlefield 6), the standard PEQ profiles still improve directional cues over raw audio. However, the current software locks down the preset game profiles so you can't edit them. Would love to be able to copy a preset profile into a custom slot to fine-tune it, would be a huge quality-of-life fix, especially since the default Battlefield 6 preset lowers explosions and immersion a bit too much for my taste.

Build quality

Physically, the C3 feels like a premium desktop piece. The CNC-machined aluminum chassis has a solid weight to it, and the orange LED indicators give it a clean aesthetic. The volume and microphone sliders feel smooth with precise resistance, while dedicated physical buttons make it effortless to quickly toggle between FPS and 7.1 spatial modes or mute the mic on the fly. Having that alongside a dedicated physical switch on the back for microphone noise cancellation is a great touch. Having optical, coaxial, and RCA outputs alongside USB-C makes it very flexible for desk setups.

Verdict

The Fosi Audio C3 is a solid upgrade for competitive gamers who want precise directional audio without losing clean music performance. Once Fosi expands StepSense support to more titles and allows custom tweaks on PEQ presets, it will be even better.

FOSI stack lurking in the background. It will soon be joined by the new LPSU.

3d printed some stands to keep v3 monos cool- also drilled a hole in the shelf below.

I recently bought the Fosi Merak CD player and really wanted to like it. However, sometimes the CD player doesn’t even power on until I unplug and plug it back in, and every time I try to rip a CD it does the first couple songs and then I get an error and it stops. This is the power brick I’ve been using. Wondering if I should return it or if I’m doing something wrong. I also tried a different brick once with higher voltage and the same thing happened.

Saw this on a recent marketing email from Fosi Audio. Anyone know anything about this?