Fosi have released the Box X4 now, that has the upgraded tubes (JAN version of 5654w) . This is a bit better at a similar price. Fosi tend to listen to feedback and improve for the next models. The line in bypasses the amplification stage and just goes through the tube buffer then directly out to maintain a line level output. Apparently it is to just add the tube characteristics to the sound. Just as a note, the Fosi X2 (and X4) are MOVING MAGNET only. They are not designed for moving coil at all. They are a fixed 47k 20pF loading.
Well, it was an unboxing. I hadn't even used it yet when I put up the video. A review would cover how it sounds. I just wanted to show everything in the box. I have used it now for a few months and it sounds amazing!
Note: Avoid touching vacuum tube without wearing gloves. Touching them with bare fingers leaves behind oil residue, which can damage the glass over time.
Yeah, I thought about that while I was touching them but unfortunately could not untouch them. Lol. But, you are correct. It's just been so long since I dealt with tubes. Thanx for the correction and comment
You're OK in touching tubes with your bare hands. I think you may be confusing the "finger oils" problem with halogen lamps. When you see a glove-wearing roadie swapping out tubes at a gig, it is so their hands won't get burned.
Yes, powered speakers would be the amp. This is only a pre-amp which brings the signal to line-level. So, you can use powered speakers instead of a stand alone amp with passive speakers.
I have this preamp. When its connected without any input to my sonos five, the sonos system has a large humming sound. I tried to connect the ground manually to earth but the issue still persisted. anyone with any ideas whats causing this? very irritating
I got my Fosi Box X2 today. The unit has no buzz or crackling noise unlike the DJPre-II it replaces. However the highs are very flat and lack definition. It the sound supposed to be like that or do I have faulty unit? DJPre-II sounded much better but the buzz and crackling persisted and I could not get rid of it so I sent it back. BTW, I tried two copies of the DJPre and they both had the same problem. Any help would be appreciated.
@@ThatVinylChannel Thank you for your reply. The issue seems to be related to the connection point of the power supply to the box. When you wiggle the connection the level of the buzz goes up and down but never eliminated. It is a crackling and poping sound as apposed to a consistent buzz. I am disappointed as the DJPre II does an excellent job of providing very good signal to my receiver. The sound is fuller and more defined compared to the Fosi Box X2. As I mentioned both DJPre II units have/had the same issue. I did not want to spend so much on a record player set up but I am slowly being stirred in the direction of higher end units such as the Mani 2 and the iFi Zen.
@@ThatVinylChannel You are probably right. It is a bummer as the unit sounds really good. I still have one unit that I have not returned yet. I am going to fiddle with it some more to see if I can get rid of the problem. I really prefer it over the Fosi Box X2 for sound quality. Fosi X2 is totally silent, I wish the DJPre was too.
I have no doubt this will sound good. I am a little surprised it doesn’t have a separate bass and treble control. I have a small cheaper tube preamp and I love it. Nice unboxing video.
Given it is a Phono Pre Amp, I would not expect tone controls. The output is a line level output that will go into your usual preamp. This review did confuse that a bit as a Phono Preamp is different to a Preamp.
@@odinswolf1969 I noticed that too, though I don't see why you'd want them on a Phono Preamp, given the output of this preamp is designed to go into a line level preamp stage, which would have your tone manipulation in it.
I first bought the X4, which have tone control but the ops amp are soldered/fixed on the board (SMD) and if I knew this, I would not have bought it..When I try to desolder and replace with the DIP 8 Pin ops amp mount, I spoil the board (my Bad). So, I bought the X2 which do not have tone control but the ops amp are DIP8 Pin which can be easily removed and replaced by the ops amp of your choice. The gain (volume) in X2 is louder too. I use 2 Muses 8920 ops amp and 1 Oracle II ops amp, and it sound very good (as compared to the stock as it came with ops amp 2068). If I am in US, I would try use the Sparkos ops amp, which have very good reviews. Even without the tone (bass, treble) control, the X2 is way better than the X4, at least in my opinion. Before this, I was using the DJPreII which was solid and pretty good too. X2, with the option of replacing with better ops amp and tubes, at a lower price than the DJPREII, allows you the opportunity, the flexibility and extra money to play around changing ops amp and tubes to experiment to achieve the sound that you like. For X4 and DJPREII, you cannot do that..Hope this helps, Cheers from Malaysia.
This is a great unit as is the X4 as I have both of them. But i cannot understand what the purpose of a so called "unboxing video" is. Enlighten me please.
Some people want to see what is in the box of one of these. I know if I am going to buy some piece of tech, I will sometimes look at unboxing videos so I know what to expect, what comes with it, etc.
Fosi have released the Box X4 now, that has the upgraded tubes (JAN version of 5654w) . This is a bit better at a similar price. Fosi tend to listen to feedback and improve for the next models. The line in bypasses the amplification stage and just goes through the tube buffer then directly out to maintain a line level output. Apparently it is to just add the tube characteristics to the sound. Just as a note, the Fosi X2 (and X4) are MOVING MAGNET only. They are not designed for moving coil at all. They are a fixed 47k 20pF loading.
You didn’t even talk about how it sounded. Thanks for the video.
Well, it was an unboxing. I hadn't even used it yet when I put up the video. A review would cover how it sounds. I just wanted to show everything in the box. I have used it now for a few months and it sounds amazing!
Note: Avoid touching vacuum tube without wearing gloves. Touching them with bare fingers leaves behind oil residue, which can damage the glass over time.
Yeah, I thought about that while I was touching them but unfortunately could not untouch them. Lol. But, you are correct. It's just been so long since I dealt with tubes. Thanx for the correction and comment
@@ThatVinylChannel Using 70% Isopropyl alcohol on a cotton ball will remove the fingerprint oils.
@@TBNTX Thanx. Will do.
You're OK in touching tubes with your bare hands. I think you may be confusing the "finger oils" problem with halogen lamps. When you see a glove-wearing roadie swapping out tubes at a gig, it is so their hands won't get burned.
@@theguitaramptech Thanx for letting me know!
How does it compare to Art DJ Pre II?
Good day sir...can this be used with powered speakers? Thanks for the unboxing video
Yes, powered speakers would be the amp. This is only a pre-amp which brings the signal to line-level. So, you can use powered speakers instead of a stand alone amp with passive speakers.
Love seeing the Needle Drop slip mat in the vid! Represent!!! Great video bud.
Thank you sir! :) Glad you liked it..
I have this preamp. When its connected without any input to my sonos five, the sonos system has a large humming sound. I tried to connect the ground manually to earth but the issue still persisted. anyone with any ideas whats causing this? very irritating
There are so many things that can cause humming. Here is an article that might help. hometheateracademy.com/preamp-hum-fix/
I got my Fosi Box X2 today. The unit has no buzz or crackling noise unlike the DJPre-II it replaces. However the highs are very flat and lack definition. It the sound supposed to be like that or do I have faulty unit? DJPre-II sounded much better but the buzz and crackling persisted and I could not get rid of it so I sent it back. BTW, I tried two copies of the DJPre and they both had the same problem. Any help would be appreciated.
I have used two DJ Pre IIs and neither one had any issues with buzzing or crackling. So, I'm at a loss why yours would have performed that way.
@@ThatVinylChannel Thank you for your reply.
The issue seems to be related to the connection point of the power supply to the box. When you wiggle the connection the level of the buzz goes up and down but never eliminated. It is a crackling and poping sound as apposed to a consistent buzz. I am disappointed as the DJPre II does an excellent job of providing very good signal to my receiver. The sound is fuller and more defined compared to the Fosi Box X2. As I mentioned both DJPre II units have/had the same issue. I did not want to spend so much on a record player set up but I am slowly being stirred in the direction of higher end units such as the Mani 2 and the iFi Zen.
@@boristahmasian9604 The two DJs I own I purchased roughly 10 years ago so if yours are newer maybe its some different manufacturing problem.
@@ThatVinylChannel You are probably right. It is a bummer as the unit sounds really good. I still have one unit that I have not returned yet. I am going to fiddle with it some more to see if I can get rid of the problem. I really prefer it over the Fosi Box X2 for sound quality. Fosi X2 is totally silent, I wish the DJPre was too.
How did it compare to the Art DJ?
I think it sounded better. It had a much fuller sound.
@@ThatVinylChannel Have you compared the Fosi to the Project tube box S2?
@@klepp19 Sorry, I have not.
I have no doubt this will sound good. I am a little surprised it doesn’t have a separate bass and treble control. I have a small cheaper tube preamp and I love it. Nice unboxing video.
Thanx. I've been using for the last two days and it definitely has a more robust sound over the Art DJ II. I really like it. Glad I picked it up.
The new fosi x4 has treble and bass dials
Given it is a Phono Pre Amp, I would not expect tone controls. The output is a line level output that will go into your usual preamp.
This review did confuse that a bit as a Phono Preamp is different to a Preamp.
@@odinswolf1969 I noticed that too, though I don't see why you'd want them on a Phono Preamp, given the output of this preamp is designed to go into a line level preamp stage, which would have your tone manipulation in it.
Which is better x2 or x4?
I have not used the x4 so I cannot speak about it.
I first bought the X4, which have tone control but the ops amp are soldered/fixed on the board (SMD) and if I knew this, I would not have bought it..When I try to desolder and replace with the DIP 8 Pin ops amp mount, I spoil the board (my Bad). So, I bought the X2 which do not have tone control but the ops amp are DIP8 Pin which can be easily removed and replaced by the ops amp of your choice. The gain (volume) in X2 is louder too. I use 2 Muses 8920 ops amp and 1 Oracle II ops amp, and it sound very good (as compared to the stock as it came with ops amp 2068). If I am in US, I would try use the Sparkos ops amp, which have very good reviews. Even without the tone (bass, treble) control, the X2 is way better than the X4, at least in my opinion. Before this, I was using the DJPreII which was solid and pretty good too. X2, with the option of replacing with better ops amp and tubes, at a lower price than the DJPREII, allows you the opportunity, the flexibility and extra money to play around changing ops amp and tubes to experiment to achieve the sound that you like. For X4 and DJPREII, you cannot do that..Hope this helps,
Cheers from Malaysia.
The x2 has a higher rating on Amazon the last I checked.
This is a great unit as is the X4 as I have both of them. But i cannot understand what the purpose of a so called "unboxing video" is. Enlighten me please.
Some people want to see what is in the box of one of these. I know if I am going to buy some piece of tech, I will sometimes look at unboxing videos so I know what to expect, what comes with it, etc.
I’m torn between this and the x4 I have read the x4 isn’t as good