Hey Fosi, how about a "VU Meter (ONLY) with RCA inputs" version without Speaker/Amp selector features in same design? It'll be much cheaper and more affordable... Black background looks nice but it'll be PERFECT with a "White Needle" btw.
Or why not simply down scale it for the Xmas market would look really cool popping out of a Christmas cracker 🤗 In fact just confine the electrics to a single AAA battery and your good to go.
You've a big mistake with the meters. They should be just straight input. It sucks that you can't see the meters moving under low volume. I've tried different amps and each one needs to be a very loud volume to have them moving. It sounds good, which is why I wish you had a better meter setup.
Please excuse my limited knowledge on technical issues, I will try to explain this in a simple basic way. The VU meters on the Douk VU3 aren't measuring the loudness of music in decibels. This must be a fact because the unit would need to be switched between different RMS power settings. The meters range would need to be re calibrated each time an amp with a different power output is connected. The amp that you have plugged into the VU3 is you claim, producing only about10 watts of power, I take it that you mean this to be it's maximum . You have set the volume control on the amp to about halfway. Typically this means that on this setting, your amp is only producing about 5 watts. Look at the readings on the meters, if you understand what meters are normally used for, typically they measure line level gain or alternately for line level output signals. They aren't usually used for measuring high wattage speaker output levels. At line level, 0db represents the ideal or a mean level setting, and not of course is it just for looking cool. 0db is an industry standard setting that is used for recording , to reach a true 0db level, the meters range will be between -3db and +3db By having the volume output level on you amp set at halfway should also mean that your amp is now reproducing this ideal or it's medium listening level. Note, that when setting your amp at the 50% level, the meters were just about touching -3db, this is one notch under the 0db mark. As you increased the volume level, the meters responded accordingly and then quickly measured above 0db staying in the red. This I think, is a fairly good and accurate response. Hang on a minute though, so what happens if I hook up an amp that can reproduce a genuine 100 watts RMS of power. Setting the amp at halfway would then mean that the needles would be blasted off into space wouldn't it? No, the result should be the same when using any power amp regardless of the power rating because I think you will find that the meters are measuring load resistance between the amp and the speaker, not just the loudness and volume as measured in terms of RMS wattage. (I suspect that there is a maximum wattage that this little bear can handle.)The measured resistance could differ between any combination of amps and speakers being connected. This could be very useful for identifying a mismatch of components. Looking at your demo has shown that the VU3 functioned really quite well. The meters responded when you turned the volume knob up over the halfway point by only a fraction. I was once told that if you want a 1000w p/a system , then you really need to buy a 2000w system. This is because once you start driving the system past the halfway mark, distortion starts to develop. As demonstrated in your demo, when you turned up the volume the meters are quickly up in the red. This will give the listener an indication that their system is possibly being overdriven As for the Fosi LC30 audio unit, doesn't it look nice!
the meters did not work for me. but the amp switching did. I was able to compare the fosi vs with the aymia A07 upgraded with sparkos. the upgraded aymia A07 sounded better.
You REALLY need a light color switch to select between yellow to red to green. I will gladly buy at least 3 of these for my TV room which has 8 speakers, 2 700 watt, 1 500 watt and 2 150 watt bridged amps.
Oh, and I really want a VU meter only option that can't introduce distortion into my audio pipeline if this is possible. Your product addresses the question I've had for 40 years of "Why doesn't someone put out sweet signal meters in the spirit of McIntosh and the '70s, '80s meters we all loved. Now, do a 10 band LED Graphic EQ with a signal hold and the option of blue LEDs or green, yellow and red.
I dont get the way running it in so called paralell for just vu meters. Having all the output wires coming off of the amp and not utilizing the speaker outputs on the lc30 does not make a bit of sence to me.
It would be great if we can use speaker output 1and 2at the same time. In my case.I am running 1pair of biwiring speakers from amplifier A or B alternatively
How to calibrate the meters to have somewhat accurate readout of power? For example McIntosh MC611 produces 600W, so its meter has 0db at 600W, and it uses 3 pairs of binding posts for 2,4 and 8 ohm speakers. While Advance Paris amps have their meters calibrated only for 8 ohms I guess. Here we have scale where 0db=100W so of course for amps with different nominal peak power than 100W only one of the scales can be calibrated, but is there any way to find a knob position without oscilloscope and dummy load to make it little more useful than just windshield wiper simulator?
Really strange Vintage aberration/concept mini and fashioned out of plastic combined with the other completely non matching components will have your friends and family really concerned about your judgement.
Aesthetics youve never seen??? Looks exactly like vintage amplifiers that have been being built for over 30 years plus! Youve never seen output meters before? Knobs, buttons? Lol wow
@@vegaslimoguy2376 I think you'll find VU meters went out of style on amps in the late '70s - over 40 years ago. I restore vintage amps as a hobby, and wouldn't touch these amps with a long barge pole (I did buy one of the Aiyima "vintage style" amps about a year ago to find out what all the fuss was about; what a POS that was).
I am massively disappointed at the moment. I have connected everything correctly, but the VU meters only move very little at high volume and full sensitivity. I bought it mainly because of the VU meters.
I believe it states that the idle amp will hold a load while the selected amp has the load going to the speakers. That said, it is important for me to make sure this is accurate information as I want to A/b tube amps. As we all know, tube amps need a load at all times. Can you confirm?
@@timman3712 Just got the Douk Audio T3 Plus phono pre in today! It is awesome! Anything I throw at it sounds incredible! I know China made but daggon it sounds excellent!
@@timman3712 Running the T3 Plus with my AR XA turntable and a Shure V15 III cartridge. I am even running my system flat! No anything and it sounds heavenly.
I do not want to introduce any electronic switching, or any powered circuits, into my audio path. I ONLY do analog music, i need a passive switch. If it were true audiophile it would not add or take away anything from the music.
by the look of it, you can attach the Fosi in parallel (for example, to the speaker B outputs of your amp, if it has them). That way it isn't in the primary audio path (series).
@@theaudiosenseinl My standards are not dependent on anybody else's approval. If good is good enough for you then i am happy for you. If Fosi wants my money then it will have to meet my standards or i will find a company that does, what others think is irrelevant.
![Get VU meters in your system and in your life [Fosi Audio LC30]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/eKH0QT0FqvA/mqdefault.jpg)
Hey Fosi, how about a "VU Meter (ONLY) with RCA inputs" version without Speaker/Amp selector features in same design?
It'll be much cheaper and more affordable... Black background looks nice but it'll be PERFECT with a "White Needle" btw.
Such good advice!
Or why not simply down scale it for the Xmas market would look really cool popping out of a Christmas cracker 🤗 In fact just confine the electrics to a single AAA battery and your good to go.
This I want with a light color selector of green, yellow or red.
You've a big mistake with the meters. They should be just straight input. It sucks that you can't see the meters moving under low volume. I've tried different amps and each one needs to be a very loud volume to have them moving. It sounds good, which is why I wish you had a better meter setup.
But no buffered input for the meters !? It will add distortion.
But Amir from audiosciencereview can´t find any extra distortions. He likes the device very much!
I don't see on Fosi website where you can order the black meters.
Please excuse my limited knowledge on technical issues, I will try to explain this in a simple basic way. The VU meters on the Douk VU3 aren't measuring the loudness of music in decibels. This must be a fact because the unit would need to be switched between different RMS power settings. The meters range would need to be re calibrated each time an amp with a different power output is connected. The amp that you have plugged into the VU3 is you claim, producing only about10 watts of power, I take it that you mean this to be it's maximum . You have set the volume control on the amp to about halfway. Typically this means that on this setting, your amp is only producing about 5 watts. Look at the readings on the meters, if you understand what meters are normally used for, typically they measure line level gain or alternately for line level output signals. They aren't usually used for measuring high wattage speaker output levels. At line level, 0db represents the ideal or a mean level setting, and not of course is it just for looking cool. 0db is an industry standard setting that is used for recording , to reach a true 0db level, the meters range will be between -3db and +3db By having the volume output level on you amp set at halfway should also mean that your amp is now reproducing this ideal or it's medium listening level. Note, that when setting your amp at the 50% level, the meters were just about touching -3db, this is one notch under the 0db mark. As you increased the volume level, the meters responded accordingly and then quickly measured above 0db staying in the red. This I think, is a fairly good and accurate response. Hang on a minute though, so what happens if I hook up an amp that can reproduce a genuine 100 watts RMS of power. Setting the amp at halfway would then mean that the needles would be blasted off into space wouldn't it? No, the result should be the same when using any power amp regardless of the power rating because I think you will find that the meters are measuring load resistance between the amp and the speaker, not just the loudness and volume as measured in terms of RMS wattage. (I suspect that there is a maximum wattage that this little bear can handle.)The measured resistance could differ between any combination of amps and speakers being connected. This could be very useful for identifying a mismatch of components. Looking at your demo has shown that the VU3 functioned really quite well. The meters responded when you turned the volume knob up over the halfway point by only a fraction. I was once told that if you want a 1000w p/a system , then you really need to buy a 2000w system. This is because once you start driving the system past the halfway mark, distortion starts to develop. As demonstrated in your demo, when you turned up the volume the meters are quickly up in the red. This will give the listener an indication that their system is possibly being overdriven As for the Fosi LC30 audio unit, doesn't it look nice!
This product has bad reviews on insensitive VU meters
how would you connect a powered subwoofer plus L/R passive speakers
Acting hands, wow.
could it play 2 pairs of speakers once at a time ?
Wish I had this 25 years ago
We all do.
the meters did not work for me. but the amp switching did. I was able to compare the fosi vs with the aymia A07 upgraded with sparkos. the upgraded aymia A07 sounded better.
You REALLY need a light color switch to select between yellow to red to green. I will gladly buy at least 3 of these for my TV room which has 8 speakers, 2 700 watt, 1 500 watt and 2 150 watt bridged amps.
Oh, and I really want a VU meter only option that can't introduce distortion into my audio pipeline if this is possible.
Your product addresses the question I've had for 40 years of "Why doesn't someone put out sweet signal meters in the spirit of McIntosh and the '70s, '80s meters we all loved.
Now, do a 10 band LED Graphic EQ with a signal hold and the option of blue LEDs or green, yellow and red.
I dont get the way running it in so called paralell for just vu meters. Having all the output wires coming off of the amp and not utilizing the speaker outputs on the lc30 does not make a bit of sence to me.
It would be great if we can use speaker output 1and 2at the same time.
In my case.I am running 1pair of biwiring speakers from amplifier A or B alternatively
VU meters are not moving unless we crank up the volume way our of the comfortable listening zone, Fosi!
Well there you have it if anyone ever had any doubts about Fosi's credibility you've definitely confirmed them ...like all of them 🤭
It should have a higher sensitivity adjustment, much ppl saying that the needles moves just a bit
Looks much better than the QED speaker switch box that I am using at the moment and I simply love those power meters. One for my shopping list.
Can this be used with powered speakers?
No
Faaaar too expensive.
I have the older model. It picks up everything.And it doesn’t need input plugs.
How to calibrate the meters to have somewhat accurate readout of power?
For example McIntosh MC611 produces 600W, so its meter has 0db at 600W, and it uses 3 pairs of binding posts for 2,4 and 8 ohm speakers. While Advance Paris amps have their meters calibrated only for 8 ohms I guess.
Here we have scale where 0db=100W so of course for amps with different nominal peak power than 100W only one of the scales can be calibrated, but is there any way to find a knob position without oscilloscope and dummy load to make it little more useful than just windshield wiper simulator?
Watch the video...🙄
If you build a design like this Preamp you will earn millions
Does this have an auto on\off? it should if it doesn't.
I love what you've done, my only request is that it will be good if you made another version that used RCA instead
It's for speaker connections not line level connections!
Quite novel product👌👍
Really strange Vintage aberration/concept mini and fashioned out of plastic combined with the other completely non matching components will have your friends and family really concerned about your judgement.
pretty cool. meters are like sugar, you gotta have it
Who gives a crap if it sounds good
When will it be available in India ?
Works with 8 ohms ?
Yes, sure.
Would this allow you to play two sets of speakers from one input?
That was the idea actually
Be ready to return it
I love this! I restore vintage amplifiers and the aesthetics and functionality are unlike anything I have seen.
Aesthetics youve never seen??? Looks exactly like vintage amplifiers that have been being built for over 30 years plus! Youve never seen output meters before? Knobs, buttons? Lol wow
@@vegaslimoguy2376 I think you'll find VU meters went out of style on amps in the late '70s - over 40 years ago. I restore vintage amps as a hobby, and wouldn't touch these amps with a long barge pole (I did buy one of the Aiyima "vintage style" amps about a year ago to find out what all the fuss was about; what a POS that was).
Хочу!!!
I am massively disappointed at the moment. I have connected everything correctly, but the VU meters only move very little at high volume and full sensitivity. I bought it mainly because of the VU meters.
I believe it states that the idle amp will hold a load while the selected amp has the load going to the speakers. That said, it is important for me to make sure this is accurate information as I want to A/b tube amps. As we all know, tube amps need a load at all times. Can you confirm?
I as well like to know this myself. Same on this end. Want to use 2 different tube amps. We need to know, agreed.
@@VintageGearMan Confirmed it will not work on two tube amps with one being idle. It does not have a load on the idle amp.
BEWARE!!
@@timman3712 This is ground breaking information! Thank you greatly!
@@timman3712 Just got the Douk Audio T3 Plus phono pre in today! It is awesome! Anything I throw at it sounds incredible! I know China made but daggon it sounds excellent!
@@timman3712 Running the T3 Plus with my AR XA turntable and a Shure V15 III cartridge. I am even running my system flat! No anything and it sounds heavenly.
Why do you need 3 amplifiers to listen to a pair of bookshelf speakers?
It's a fancy switch box, not an amplifier.
I do not want to introduce any electronic switching, or any powered circuits, into my audio path. I ONLY do analog music, i need a passive switch. If it were true audiophile it would not add or take away anything from the music.
by the look of it, you can attach the Fosi in parallel (for example, to the speaker B outputs of your amp, if it has them). That way it isn't in the primary audio path (series).
LC30 can work as a pure vu meter which takes no impact on the sound quality
@@fosiaudio i am talking about switching not meters. i want passive switching, no electronics involved.
Oh, God. We have an ‘audiophile’ critic. 🙄
@@theaudiosenseinl My standards are not dependent on anybody else's approval. If good is good enough for you then i am happy for you.
If Fosi wants my money then it will have to meet my standards or i will find a company that does, what others think is irrelevant.