Could Class D really be that good?


I've heard statements praising modern class D amplifiers all the time but was sort of hesitant to try. Lately, one particular model caught my eye, the Fosi V3, which costs sub $100 but is praised for having refined sound like class A/B. To fulfill my curiosity, I quickly ordered one and tried it with my Burchardt S400II and Wharfedale Linton speakers. Basically, this is a neutral sounding amp but, to my surprise, the sound is clean, open, airy, with full mids, wide soundstage, good imaging/separation, with nearly null traces of the edginess, dryness, or lean sound that traditional class D amplifiers have. The background is just as quiet as my current systems. The core is the TPA 3255 chip from TI and comes with a 32v, 5A power block, which is supposed to deliver approximately 65 watts per channel (into 8 ohms). It drives the S400II/Linton without any hesitation, as well as my 130-watt-per-channel high-current Parasound A23. Very impressive.

Measurement is not everything. However, according to the lab test results, when operated under 10-60 watts, the distortion level (THD) is below 0.003%, better than a lot of high-end (price) gears. I am going to build around it for my fourth system with upgraded op-amp and LPS. I believe it will outperform my current mid-end (price) amplifiers.

I know, I know, quite a few Audiogoners' systems are above $100k, and mentioning this kind of little giant that costs a fraction could be rather embarrassing. But I thought this is just like gold digging with a lot of surprises and fun. Don't you think?

lanx0003

$90??!

And it comes with German and Japanese caps??!!!

I...I think I'm going to faint...

Yep, I forgot to mention the quality parts it uses, which sounds too good to be true.  I think that make it sound much better than its neck-to-neck competitor Aiyima A07, which sounds grainy especially with more complicated music. 

I have one in my desktop system and will use it as a spare on my bigger systems as well if ever needed. I have another older Fosi amp in a small system that drives kef ls50s no problem. Many “audiophile” amps especially higher output impedance tube amps will fail miserably with ls50s.

 

A lot of bang for the buck (practically nothing by audiophile standards) and as compact as can be.

Try it. You may like it. Little to lose. Makes a great spare at minimum.