Background
Full disclosure Fosi Audio was kind enough to send me the new GR40 DAC, Tube Preamp and Headphone amplifier free of charge as part of their Audio Produce Tester Program. Details can be found here for anyone interested in joining https://fosiaudio.com/pages/product-tester. I admittedly have very little experience with Fosi products outside of what I have heard online. The GR40 is slated to launch on Black Friday 11/29 for $119.99.
I tested with the following equipment.
* Streamers– WiiM Ultra & Chromecast Audio
* Amplifiers– Emotiva BasX A2M & the THX AAA 789 Headphone Amp
* Headphones– Audeze LCD-3’s, Sennheiser HD6XX, ZMF Classic (OG Fostex), Monolith M1060 Openbacks, Koss Porta Pro Classic, & TIN Audio T2 IEM’s
* Speakers: KEF Q150 & KEF Q350
First Impressions/Unboxing/Setup
Package was shipped from China and arrived much faster than I anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality. The amp itself is made of a sturdy full-aluminum alloy chassis. It comes with a 12V power supply, two 5654W vacuum tubes, two decorative rings to protect the tubes, and a Bluetooth (BT) antenna.
Initial setup was very simple, just make sure you are careful when lining up the tube pins, mine were a little crooked so make sure you look before trying to shove them in. If you have ever owned a tube amp there is nothing different about installing these. I would recommend putting the decorative rings in first as they are difficult to tighten once the tubes are in place. After that you just screw in your BT antenna and connect your power.
Notable Specs
* Four Inputs: BT, UCB-C, Optical and Coaxial.
* Two Outputs: RCA and a 3.5mm headphone jack
* Headphone Amplifier: 300mW@16 Ohm, 250mW@32 Ohm, 50mW@250 Ohm and 40mW@300 Ohm
* Bluetooth Version: 5.1
* DAC Chip:ESS9028Q2M
Configurations Tested
* BT Standalone
* Google Pixel Phone GR40 USB-C
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Optical In
* WiiM Ultra GR40 Optical In
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Optical In THX 789 Headphone Amp via RCA Out on GR40
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Emotiva BasX A2M KEF Q150
Tracks Tested with Tone Control in the Middle. All songs on Amazon Music HD
* Rage Against the Machine – Take the Power Back
* Daft Punk – Giorgio by Moroder
* 21 Savage – Red Rum
* Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
* Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke
* Stevie Ray Vaughn – Tin Pan Alley
* Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
* Beetles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
* OutKast – B.O.B.
* Childish Gambino – Redbone
Sound Quality
Sounded quality was very good overall and honestly better than I was expecting out of a cheap all in one device. Only complaints were the bass lacked punch on the 21 Savage and Outkast tracks and more dynamic tracks like Rage Against the Machine, Queen, and OutKast were a little more subdued than what I’m used to. Maybe a product of the tubes. Would have loved to have a second set to test with.
Highs were not sibilant at all which I enjoyed and musical instruments like the guitars on Hendrix and Beetles sounded great. I tried to use the tone control to introduce more bass and play with the treble and it worked well however you could only do so much before bass heavy tracks sounded muddy.
Comparisons
I will be upfront and say I’m not the biggest tube amp fan and honestly would have enjoyed this product even more without them. I did compare it to my DarkVoice 336SE Tube Amp which I had not used in years as it gives you that, it could burn your house down at any moment, kind of vibe. The GR40 was much cleaner and had less noise and distortion, but in my opinion, if I’m going to play with tubes, I kind of want the gooey distortion that it adds to certain music genres, otherwise give me a solid-state amp all day over tubes.
When compared to my usual WiiM Ultra, SMSL SU-8, THX789 and Emotiva BasX A2M desktop stack it performed as expected and did not sound as good. That is not a knock on the GR40 at all. I just feel more expensive separates typically perform better. As with the WiiM Ultra, the GR40 will check a lot of boxes for someone who wants an easier to manage stack at an even lower cost than the Ultra.
Out of the headphones/IEM’s I tried I felt the GR40’s had no issues powering Porta Pros, M1060 and the TIN T2 IEM’s. The LCD-3’s and HD6XX’s pushed the GR40 to or past its limit depending on the track and your volume preference. The GR40 could not properly power the ZMF Classics but let’s be honest most headphone amps can’t. I literally only keep them around to stress test headphone amps as they sound awful.
The KEF Q150 and Q350 sounded fine through the GR40’s and my Emotiva BasX Speaker amp. Of the two speakers I prefer the Q150’s but that is my overall opinion of the two speakers and not influenced by the GR40.
Who is the GRR40 for?
The GR40 is an awesome standalone desktop set-up if you understand its limitations and who the target audience is. I would happily use this on my desk if I did not already have my current setup.
Out of all the configurations I tried, I really enjoyed the Chromecast Audio to the GR40. However, since the Chromecast Audio is no longer available, I would recommend the WiiM Mini which adds a wireless audio streamer and AirPlay in favor of BT. That is not to say you can get by with just the BT as my experience was great on the GR40. I had zero issues with it in my testing.
For the perfect setup I would add the Fosi Audio V3 to the mix as it has a perfectly matched form factor to the GR40 and from the reviews I have read it is a fantastic device. Next best option would be to purchase some powered speakers and bypass a speaker amp all together by plugging directly into the audio out on the GR40.
Pros
* All in one solution if you use BT and either headphones or powered speakers.
* Very respectable sound quality especially considering the price.
* Tone control for bass and treble lets you adjust sound to your liking.
* The GR40 never got hot, even after hours of continuous use.
* Option to tube role should change the sound and the EF95, 6AK5, 403A/B, 6J1, 6J1P, 6J2, 6J3, 6J4, 6J5 tubes can be found for cheap even on Amazon.
Cons
* Remote would have been nice. Not a deal breaker as I sat close to the GR40.
* Heavy bass and dynamic tracks were not the GR40’s strong suit.
* Headphone amp is solid but can be under powered depending on what you try to power
* Wish I had some other tubes to test to see if tube rolling impacted the sound.
Final Thoughts
In this hobby once you get to a certain point where there are diminishing returns. Like the WiiM Ultra, the GR40 checks a ton of boxes and allows people without disposable incomes to dip their toes in the hobby. I applaud Fosi Audio for making possible. Slap on a Fosi V3 speaker amp or some powered speakers and you have a solid small form factor system at a very low cost. Add a streamer and it gets even better.
From the specs I read online the GR40 is a step up from the Fosi P3 with the inclusion of a DAC and additional inputs. You can tell Fosi is listening to its customers and adding features when it makes sense. I would love to see a remote and phono input on the next version. It would really set this device over the top.
Thanks to Jerry at Fosi for giving me the opportunity to test my first piece of equipment from Fosi.
Happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks!
Full disclosure Fosi Audio was kind enough to send me the new GR40 DAC, Tube Preamp and Headphone amplifier free of charge as part of their Audio Produce Tester Program. Details can be found here for anyone interested in joining https://fosiaudio.com/pages/product-tester. I admittedly have very little experience with Fosi products outside of what I have heard online. The GR40 is slated to launch on Black Friday 11/29 for $119.99.
I tested with the following equipment.
* Streamers– WiiM Ultra & Chromecast Audio
* Amplifiers– Emotiva BasX A2M & the THX AAA 789 Headphone Amp
* Headphones– Audeze LCD-3’s, Sennheiser HD6XX, ZMF Classic (OG Fostex), Monolith M1060 Openbacks, Koss Porta Pro Classic, & TIN Audio T2 IEM’s
* Speakers: KEF Q150 & KEF Q350
First Impressions/Unboxing/Setup
Package was shipped from China and arrived much faster than I anticipated. I was pleasantly surprised by the build quality. The amp itself is made of a sturdy full-aluminum alloy chassis. It comes with a 12V power supply, two 5654W vacuum tubes, two decorative rings to protect the tubes, and a Bluetooth (BT) antenna.
Initial setup was very simple, just make sure you are careful when lining up the tube pins, mine were a little crooked so make sure you look before trying to shove them in. If you have ever owned a tube amp there is nothing different about installing these. I would recommend putting the decorative rings in first as they are difficult to tighten once the tubes are in place. After that you just screw in your BT antenna and connect your power.
Notable Specs
* Four Inputs: BT, UCB-C, Optical and Coaxial.
* Two Outputs: RCA and a 3.5mm headphone jack
* Headphone Amplifier: 300mW@16 Ohm, 250mW@32 Ohm, 50mW@250 Ohm and 40mW@300 Ohm
* Bluetooth Version: 5.1
* DAC Chip:ESS9028Q2M
Configurations Tested
* BT Standalone
* Google Pixel Phone GR40 USB-C
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Optical In
* WiiM Ultra GR40 Optical In
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Optical In THX 789 Headphone Amp via RCA Out on GR40
* Chromecast Audio GR40 Emotiva BasX A2M KEF Q150
Tracks Tested with Tone Control in the Middle. All songs on Amazon Music HD
* Rage Against the Machine – Take the Power Back
* Daft Punk – Giorgio by Moroder
* 21 Savage – Red Rum
* Queen – Don’t Stop Me Now
* Stevie Wonder – Sir Duke
* Stevie Ray Vaughn – Tin Pan Alley
* Jimi Hendrix – Little Wing
* Beetles – While My Guitar Gently Weeps
* OutKast – B.O.B.
* Childish Gambino – Redbone
Sound Quality
Sounded quality was very good overall and honestly better than I was expecting out of a cheap all in one device. Only complaints were the bass lacked punch on the 21 Savage and Outkast tracks and more dynamic tracks like Rage Against the Machine, Queen, and OutKast were a little more subdued than what I’m used to. Maybe a product of the tubes. Would have loved to have a second set to test with.
Highs were not sibilant at all which I enjoyed and musical instruments like the guitars on Hendrix and Beetles sounded great. I tried to use the tone control to introduce more bass and play with the treble and it worked well however you could only do so much before bass heavy tracks sounded muddy.
Comparisons
I will be upfront and say I’m not the biggest tube amp fan and honestly would have enjoyed this product even more without them. I did compare it to my DarkVoice 336SE Tube Amp which I had not used in years as it gives you that, it could burn your house down at any moment, kind of vibe. The GR40 was much cleaner and had less noise and distortion, but in my opinion, if I’m going to play with tubes, I kind of want the gooey distortion that it adds to certain music genres, otherwise give me a solid-state amp all day over tubes.
When compared to my usual WiiM Ultra, SMSL SU-8, THX789 and Emotiva BasX A2M desktop stack it performed as expected and did not sound as good. That is not a knock on the GR40 at all. I just feel more expensive separates typically perform better. As with the WiiM Ultra, the GR40 will check a lot of boxes for someone who wants an easier to manage stack at an even lower cost than the Ultra.
Out of the headphones/IEM’s I tried I felt the GR40’s had no issues powering Porta Pros, M1060 and the TIN T2 IEM’s. The LCD-3’s and HD6XX’s pushed the GR40 to or past its limit depending on the track and your volume preference. The GR40 could not properly power the ZMF Classics but let’s be honest most headphone amps can’t. I literally only keep them around to stress test headphone amps as they sound awful.
The KEF Q150 and Q350 sounded fine through the GR40’s and my Emotiva BasX Speaker amp. Of the two speakers I prefer the Q150’s but that is my overall opinion of the two speakers and not influenced by the GR40.
Who is the GRR40 for?
The GR40 is an awesome standalone desktop set-up if you understand its limitations and who the target audience is. I would happily use this on my desk if I did not already have my current setup.
Out of all the configurations I tried, I really enjoyed the Chromecast Audio to the GR40. However, since the Chromecast Audio is no longer available, I would recommend the WiiM Mini which adds a wireless audio streamer and AirPlay in favor of BT. That is not to say you can get by with just the BT as my experience was great on the GR40. I had zero issues with it in my testing.
For the perfect setup I would add the Fosi Audio V3 to the mix as it has a perfectly matched form factor to the GR40 and from the reviews I have read it is a fantastic device. Next best option would be to purchase some powered speakers and bypass a speaker amp all together by plugging directly into the audio out on the GR40.
Pros
* All in one solution if you use BT and either headphones or powered speakers.
* Very respectable sound quality especially considering the price.
* Tone control for bass and treble lets you adjust sound to your liking.
* The GR40 never got hot, even after hours of continuous use.
* Option to tube role should change the sound and the EF95, 6AK5, 403A/B, 6J1, 6J1P, 6J2, 6J3, 6J4, 6J5 tubes can be found for cheap even on Amazon.
Cons
* Remote would have been nice. Not a deal breaker as I sat close to the GR40.
* Heavy bass and dynamic tracks were not the GR40’s strong suit.
* Headphone amp is solid but can be under powered depending on what you try to power
* Wish I had some other tubes to test to see if tube rolling impacted the sound.
Final Thoughts
In this hobby once you get to a certain point where there are diminishing returns. Like the WiiM Ultra, the GR40 checks a ton of boxes and allows people without disposable incomes to dip their toes in the hobby. I applaud Fosi Audio for making possible. Slap on a Fosi V3 speaker amp or some powered speakers and you have a solid small form factor system at a very low cost. Add a streamer and it gets even better.
From the specs I read online the GR40 is a step up from the Fosi P3 with the inclusion of a DAC and additional inputs. You can tell Fosi is listening to its customers and adding features when it makes sense. I would love to see a remote and phono input on the next version. It would really set this device over the top.
Thanks to Jerry at Fosi for giving me the opportunity to test my first piece of equipment from Fosi.
Happy to answer any questions you may have. Thanks!
