In this review, I will get into the details of the Fosi Audio new AB speaker switcher the LC30, with it’s gorgeous VU meters providing a very nice retro look, lets see if you have room for a “switcher” in your home setup.
Once opened you get a manual a nice remote a usb cable to power the LC30 and of course the LC30 itself:
The front of the LC30 features a few useful buttons:
So on the left you can switch between speakers and on the left you can switch between amplifiers. These work as expected and a little indicator shows with speaker and amplifiers is currently active.
The On/Off switch also doubles as a toggle for different levels of brightness in the lights behind the VU meters, allowing 3 different levels of brightness. I found during the day the highest level was fine but at nighttime I lowered it down to the minimum level. This can be controlled with the supplied remote. I thought different levels of lighting were a nice feature.
The other button which looks like a Volume control is actually the control over the sensitivity of the VU Meters, you turn it ‘down’ i.e. to the left if you pushing lots of power through to your speakers and you turn it ‘up’ when you have easy to drive speakers that do not need much power. But as you will read later in the review I do wish it was a little more sensitivity range.
For example, I was do some A/B testing between the Fosi Audio ZA3 and another similar class D amplifier. I simple volume matched both amplifiers and then covered up the light indicator on the front of the unit (so I could not see which amplifier was ‘active’), and then I pressed the Amp button a random amount of times and then sit back and listen to both amplifiers with the same music playing on both (via 2 WiiM Streamers with their audio ‘synced’ ). Then toggling between each amplifier but not knowing which one was feeding my speakers. When I was satisfied that one sounded different than the other I would ‘reveal’ was It either Amp A or Amp B by removing my cover. Repeat this a few times and you have a reasonable good AB Test.
Here is what level of movement when just playing music at a normal volume:
My ultimate plan for the LC30 is my larger listening space (as I have multiple Amplifiers and Speakers in that space) and this will an issue with those speakers as I briefly test this already and they need more power to get to a 'normal' volume and therefore the dials move considerable more.
Note: I purchased this via the Kickstarter campaign:
Fosi Audio LC30 - A bit of Retro nostaglia
Fosi Audio new kickstarter project the LC30 is a distinctively stylish and functional device. This review delves into the LC30, a unit that not only caters to the pragmatic needs of audio enthusiasts who might want to do a bit of A/B switching but also appeals to the retro aesthetic with its visually captivating VU meters.Build quality
The LC30 comes in the typical Fosi Audio box:Once opened you get a manual a nice remote a usb cable to power the LC30 and of course the LC30 itself:
Features
Key features include the innovative A/B switching capability, allowing seamless transitions between amplifiers and speakers.The front of the LC30 features a few useful buttons:
So on the left you can switch between speakers and on the left you can switch between amplifiers. These work as expected and a little indicator shows with speaker and amplifiers is currently active.
The On/Off switch also doubles as a toggle for different levels of brightness in the lights behind the VU meters, allowing 3 different levels of brightness. I found during the day the highest level was fine but at nighttime I lowered it down to the minimum level. This can be controlled with the supplied remote. I thought different levels of lighting were a nice feature.
The other button which looks like a Volume control is actually the control over the sensitivity of the VU Meters, you turn it ‘down’ i.e. to the left if you pushing lots of power through to your speakers and you turn it ‘up’ when you have easy to drive speakers that do not need much power. But as you will read later in the review I do wish it was a little more sensitivity range.
Remote
I found the provided remote to be excellent, with a sensible button layout:Blind testing with the LC30
With the Remote I especially liked the (SPK) and especially the (AMP) buttons - as these are "toggles" which are crucial for some blind testing.For example, I was do some A/B testing between the Fosi Audio ZA3 and another similar class D amplifier. I simple volume matched both amplifiers and then covered up the light indicator on the front of the unit (so I could not see which amplifier was ‘active’), and then I pressed the Amp button a random amount of times and then sit back and listen to both amplifiers with the same music playing on both (via 2 WiiM Streamers with their audio ‘synced’ ). Then toggling between each amplifier but not knowing which one was feeding my speakers. When I was satisfied that one sounded different than the other I would ‘reveal’ was It either Amp A or Amp B by removing my cover. Repeat this a few times and you have a reasonable good AB Test.
Issues
While in the past few weeks I have been really enjoying the LC30, I did notice 2 minor issues:The limited range of the sensitivity dial
In my experience, with some of the speakers I tried with the LC30 (such as my very easy to drive Q Acoustics 3020i speakers) in my small listening room, I found that even at the highest sensitivity level I could hardly get the dials to move without turning the volume up considerable.Here is what level of movement when just playing music at a normal volume:
My ultimate plan for the LC30 is my larger listening space (as I have multiple Amplifiers and Speakers in that space) and this will an issue with those speakers as I briefly test this already and they need more power to get to a 'normal' volume and therefore the dials move considerable more.