Bittybo Tootkins
New member
Having received the Fosi Audio GR70 only very recently, I'd like to share my first impressions with you. I'll compare its sound character to my ZD3 and share my findings another time.
Accidentally, the price of the GR70 was strongly reduced. I don't know why. Probably some Black Friday deal. A nice surprise!
The main unit and all detachable parts are packed carefully. Everything is protected by foam. Assembly is pretty straightforward. Carefully place the tubes into their sockets, screw the glass protectors into the GR70, connect the signal cables and connect the power supply. To prevent stains on the tubes, I used the plastic bag from the main unit to carefully seat the tubes.
The build quality is really nice. A sturdy, practical and well designed casing. Some minor complaints; I think the bass and treble should have been turned around. Also, both center detents aren't centered at the top.
The GR70 worked fine straight out of the box. A perfect match with the Fosi Audio V3 Mono's. No audible hiss or other unwanted effects. Anticipating the birth of the Fosi S3 streamer, I used my WiiM Pro as a source. I set its line out level to 2Vrms. It gives the GR70 a strong and clean signal to work with.
The warm glow from the small tubes is subtle, but nice. Maybe it's a bit gimmicky and it's certainly not something I miss, but it might have been nice to have adjustable colored LEDs at the base of the tubes. Just for fun, to spice up things a little.
Just like the V3 Mono, the GR70 runs warm. That's totally normal, especially for a tube amp. If needed I can add a Fosi fan.
I like the sound from this preamplifier (tone controls flat). There's no lack of detail in the highs. Mids sound full. Bass is full and round. The soundstage is really nice. I can easily listen to it for extended periods. All very unscientific, I know. Just my personal impression. It just sounds good to me.
I'm afraid I'm not 'audiophile' enough to immediately hear a significant difference between the ZD3 and the GR70 (by memory), but I'd like to do an A/B comparison once I have the correct length optical cable. My first impression is that the soundstage is a bit wider/deeper and the bass a bit fuller and rounder. A more organic presentation overall. Could be my imagination though. After all, we music lovers often hear what we want to hear.
So far, this is another positive 'plug and play' experience with a fun and high quality Fosi Audio product.
Accidentally, the price of the GR70 was strongly reduced. I don't know why. Probably some Black Friday deal. A nice surprise!
The main unit and all detachable parts are packed carefully. Everything is protected by foam. Assembly is pretty straightforward. Carefully place the tubes into their sockets, screw the glass protectors into the GR70, connect the signal cables and connect the power supply. To prevent stains on the tubes, I used the plastic bag from the main unit to carefully seat the tubes.
The build quality is really nice. A sturdy, practical and well designed casing. Some minor complaints; I think the bass and treble should have been turned around. Also, both center detents aren't centered at the top.
The GR70 worked fine straight out of the box. A perfect match with the Fosi Audio V3 Mono's. No audible hiss or other unwanted effects. Anticipating the birth of the Fosi S3 streamer, I used my WiiM Pro as a source. I set its line out level to 2Vrms. It gives the GR70 a strong and clean signal to work with.
The warm glow from the small tubes is subtle, but nice. Maybe it's a bit gimmicky and it's certainly not something I miss, but it might have been nice to have adjustable colored LEDs at the base of the tubes. Just for fun, to spice up things a little.
Just like the V3 Mono, the GR70 runs warm. That's totally normal, especially for a tube amp. If needed I can add a Fosi fan.
I like the sound from this preamplifier (tone controls flat). There's no lack of detail in the highs. Mids sound full. Bass is full and round. The soundstage is really nice. I can easily listen to it for extended periods. All very unscientific, I know. Just my personal impression. It just sounds good to me.
I'm afraid I'm not 'audiophile' enough to immediately hear a significant difference between the ZD3 and the GR70 (by memory), but I'd like to do an A/B comparison once I have the correct length optical cable. My first impression is that the soundstage is a bit wider/deeper and the bass a bit fuller and rounder. A more organic presentation overall. Could be my imagination though. After all, we music lovers often hear what we want to hear.
So far, this is another positive 'plug and play' experience with a fun and high quality Fosi Audio product.
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