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).
Firstly I would determine the actual power (low distortion, 20-20kHz, both channels driven) into my speaker load and that the speaker load could be handled. Budget amplifiers usually have problems with low impedances which draw high currents requiring beefy (expensive) circuitry to handle. Unfortunately it can be difficult to obtain given many budget amplifier specs tend to be misleading quoting peak/dynamic power at very high distortion into what load gives the largest number with some simply lying. Unfortunately the nature of the home audio press means one can rarely look to them for independent checks in the way one can in most other technical consumer sectors.
A value on the spec sheet that can be useful is the maximum power delivered by the power supply. Divide by the number of channels, multiply by the typical efficiency for the type of power amplifier (class AB, D or whatever) minus a bit for other things and this should give an idea of maximum sustained power per channel. It could still be at high distortion and most music tends to be peaky in nature but it often helps interpret the quoted power specs.
Apart from power delivery at low distortion amplifiers also have to support all the required connections some of which may not be present in budget models. They need adequate support when they develop issues which can be a significant problem with some online outlets selling remote brands whereas it tends to be much less of one with local shops supplied by local manufacturers. Looks, resale value, plus no doubt a number of other things also have value when choosing an amplifier.
Specs are relatively unimportant in mid-priced or higher modern amplifiers that are competently designed and manufactured for technical performance (i.e. most solid state but not necessarily valve which tend to prioritize other objectives). This is less the case with budget amplifiers where corners have to be cut to get the manufacturing costs down. Choosing a good reliable one is not straightforward but it is unlikely to be among the very cheapest but a bit higher in price where less corners have been cut.