Pretty new to the world of hi-fi and I have a question regarding cheap amps like the Fosi V3, and this question might be a bit short sighted or obvious to some of you who know more than me.
Essentially, what would be the benefit or how does an amp from a company like Cambridge Audio or Pro-Ject or even Schiit compete with amps from Fosi with lower power output, even when tested by resources like ASR?
To add to this, I understand that power is not everything, but even when it comes to signal to noise ratio and other measurements, it seems that some of these cheap chinese amps are still outperforming claimed measurements by other brands. And so with that being said, what reason would someone have for going for an AXA25 over the Fosi V3 or similar amp.
(I wish I could phrase this question better, but it’s hard to put this into words as a noob).
Comparing amps based on “objective measurements” is difficult. Be mindful that they can only really measure for a limited number of things and many are only tangentially related to the quality of the sound. The measurements that are made, while perhaps accurate, are only a proxy for good sound. They measure the proxy, they are not measuring the sound. You can measure total harmonic distortion, jitter, impedance, wattage, and many more variables, but what you want is an amp that sounds great, where great music sounds like it is being played in the room and brings tears of joy. They have yet to devise a measurement for the ability to bring tears of joy. There are a number of amps that only put out 5 watts, have relatively high measured distortion and sound absolutely amazing with well recorded music. The numbers simply don’t tell the whole story.
Moreover, some amps are designed to sound OK and measure well while being cheap to produce.
For me, good music is an emotional thing. That is what I am looking for. Measurements are only a small part of finding that experience.