BOX X2

Fantastic quality little pre-amp. Sounds way better than what it cost

Having recently setup a Pro-Ject T1 SB turntable to go alongside some of my Sonos speakers, which includes an in-built pre-amp, I noticed a lack of depth to the sound output and in particular, a lack of volume available through the speakers. Having done some research on external 3rd party MM preamps, including Pro-Ject's own products, I found some good reviews of the Fosi Audio X2 Phono Preamp, so ordered it yesterday and it arrived by 10:00 this morning (Amazon at their finest! lol). Anyway, it was completely straight forward to setup using my existing phono cables between the turntable and the preamp, plus a new set from the preamp to the speaker, which I bought separately to ensure I had good quality cables with gold-plated contacts. The sound improvement is fantastic, with each of the three gain settings making a noticeable difference to the depth and quality of the output from the vinyl. I may look into different valves in future, to see how they further affect and/or improve the sound of the music, as suggested in some of the other product reviews on here, however my immediate feedback on this products is that it has been a great buy.

Replaced existing cheaper pre amp, what a difference it made, brought my vinyls back to life ,well worth the cost and excellent delivery

I had a Pro-Ject Phono Box Bluetooth but I wanted to switch to wired only (and there is no way to turn off the Bluetooth signal on that model), so I did a search and this little Fosi box got good reviews and I took a punt. Couldn't really tell much difference sound wise to the Pro-ject but that's no bad thing as it sounded good anyway. The little glow from the tubes is quite nice to look at and overall the build is reasonable for the price point. On the highest gain setting there was a little hiss noticeable when my amp was at higher volumes but this went away at middle gain setting, so overall it's good value for money and as long as it stays in working order I doubt I'll want for anything else.

Bought this because it was cheap and I had heard a few reviews saying how good it was so I thought I would buy one and see how it compares up against a ifi phono stage. Well it actually shocked me just how good this little phono stage is. The lovely warm sound of valves but surprising real detail and a wide soundstage. That was from the outset and of course as it’s run in the sound changes and it’s got even better. Fosi audio…. Never heard of them it’s not real hifi was what I was thinking…… well it’s blown the socks off the ifi and project phono box that’s for sure. If you’re looking for a phono stage without spending a fortune or just looking to upgrade from the built in phono stage in your amp just buy one of these. Anyone who is upgrading from the built in phono stage in there amp is going to be in for a real treat. The soundstage alone is impressive but that extra detail topped off with that lovely warm tone of the valves this little phono stage is made to impress 10/10

Looking for a second phono pre amp but didnt want to pay £200 plus for another project s2 I did what any reasonable person would do and undertook some research.Typically I googled"any suggestions for a reasonably priced phono amp".It is here I encountered the audiophile snob.These entities sneer at anything that sniffs of budget and try to outdo each other by coming up with the most obscure contraption found on gods earth.A typical suggestion might be say the"Van Den Widerbeest XR46TT"which when you naively try and google find it is either out of stock or there is just one left at only £1250. Which finally brings me to the Fosi Audio Box X2 at £68.Is it as good as my Project S2?No,but the difference is not that great and may be even less if I change the tubes from the default ones supplied.It is easy to setup,just gently line up the tube pins with the holes inside the machine and gently push in.It is atiny bit fiddly but patience will always prevail.Attach the Rca connectors in the appropriate places,turn on,adjust the gain settings and voila.Basically it increases the volume and gives your vinyl a kick in the arse (audiophile technical term,sorry).Its probably not as good as the aforementioned "Wilderbeest" but it does a great job.

I have an Audio Technica ATLP60 turntable with a built-in preamp, which I'm hoping to upgrade in the future. But like most people I'm on a budget. So a simple preamp update in the mean time seemed attractive. Now I didn't expect miracles at this price point. But the setup was simple enough. No extra noise or hum were noticeable, which was great, and the extra warmth and depth of sound was clear to hear. Really happy with my purchase. Can't find any negatives to be honest!

Sounds amazing. Love the control of gain. Superb quality. Matches my Rega Planar 1 and Cambridge Audio amp

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This Preamplifier is amazingly good for the price and compares favourably when compared to my €1,500 Preamplifier. Appears too good to be true for the price, but it delivers clean smooth musical sound with zero gain noise.

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not as attractive as some of Fosi's other products but works very well ... - i use mine with my SL1210 turntable and it does the job of a preamp perfectly well

Let's jump right to the most glaring bit of misinformation floating around the reviews here. Several reviewers here are stating this pre-amp is for moving magnet type phono cartridges only. NOW I can't speak for ALL "moving coil" carts, but my, Denon DL 103, moving coil, has no apparent (audible) issues with this amp. None. Sounds perfect. I've been transferring my Vinyl to bits and my disk recorder (records like a tape deck but to a CD) was getting really low levels. I could correct this after the fact with SW with no quality issues, but it was awkward. This amp was just the boost I needed. (no gain control on the recorder) SO the selectable output level switch is nice. I'm ok at the lowest, better at the middle, and just a showing a flicker of red on the highest. This was first time I'd ever seen level-leds show any red. Bottom line, Great little amp for the $. Works with any modern, quality cartridge/turntable. You'll notice the instructions don't say jack about "only moving magnet", but the input is labeled "MM". perhaps that's where the confusion sprang from. Fosi may have done that simply because moving magnet are typically less expensive and hence are likely to be what most people will have. The other thing the instructions don't say what input on your main amp/receiver to plug the output from the fosi into. It's just says "connect to your amp" for the record it's Line In or Aux, NOT phono. I plugged mine direct into the line in on my recorder and returned to the amp from the recorder. Lastly Packing. Several guys groused loudly about packing. Mine too was shipped in plain thin, bubble wrap-type bag. But that's fine the way the tubes are packed inside the Fosi box, you could drop the box from 5 feet(ish) over and over and not damage anything but the outside of the box. Final tip. Installing the tubes. They go in pretty tight. So once your sure you're lined up correctly don't be afraid to lean into it a bit. UPDATE MM V MC cartridge compatibility. To be clear, at first listen, THIS particular amp, SEEMS to be fine with at least one particular MC cartg, my Denon DL-103 MC-type cart. No distortion, no hum. Output level perfect, (best on the middle gain setting of 3). But after applying a more critical "ear" I'm not convinced I'm getting all of the clarity and or fullness this legendary DL-103 is famous for. NOW there are a couple possible explanations for this that don't involve this "amp v MC cartridge compatibility" issue. Age of the cartridge being first. While it's well under the life-span limit in hours played, it IS 10 years old. Also, I have never checked, let alone adjusted, the turntable vs tone-arm for level, so there's every reason to assume this (aka "VTA") setting is not optimum. I was shocked to learn how big a SOUND difference this, the angle of the stylus to the groove (VTA) can make. (follow up on that to come) What I can say for now is that the combination of this MC cart and this amp 'sounds' correct, if not "super'. and after playing it last night for about 6 or 7 hours it doesn't appear that either the amp nor the cart is being damaged by the other. If you're wondering if your MC cart will be similarly content with this amp, be advised the "Recommended Load Resistance" on my Denon DL-103 is "100 ohm or more, (except when a transformer is provided)" I believe transformer is what some MC type carts refer to a pre-amp as. The manual for the Fosi X2 doesn't give any ohm rating, load/capacitance, resistance rating number of any kind, input or output. Bottom line this could be a viable "budget option" amp for at least some, MC type carts. Since "proper" MC pre-amp/transformers, start about double what this one costs and run as much as 4 or 5 times more expensive.