Personal presentation of the Fosi Audio P4 preamplifier
In my latest recommendation, I present the Fosi Audio P4 preamplifier. This is the latest product currently available in the company's range.
First, let's see what we get.. A new arrival has been added to the orange button family
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Contents of the box: P4 preamplifier
Multifunctional remote control.
Wall adapter for power supply
User manual.
I will share only some technical information. Detailed information can be found on the manufacturer's website.
Number of inputs: 3x rca.
Number of outputs: one stereo rca and stereo 3.5 mm jack
The gain can be adjusted in three steps with a switch: 3DB - 6DB - 9DB
Tone Adjustment Gain: ±12dB
Dynamic range: >110DB
Total harmonic distortion: ≤ 0.003%
Take it out of the box. You can immediately feel the usual good build quality. Fosi Audio has used the usual solid aluminum housing in this case as well. When viewed from the front, the first thing that strikes you is the modified style of the V3 stereo. The straight-line design of the front panel and the centrally placed volume control clearly resemble the v3 stereo. the size of the p4 does not match the v3 stereo perfectly due probably to the placement size of the rear connectors. The difference is not too big, but the fit is not perfect. The design of the volume control is also different from the v3 stereo knob.
Well, let's insert it into the system and let the fun begin! As you can see, it looks very good..
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and in the bigger family..
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The remote control is very well thought out. It can be switched, so it will handle the existing ZD3 and the product that will be released in the near future. Brilliant!
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The power button and input selector on the device work easy and great. This device uses fine relays in inside. What immediately strikes you after switching it on is the extraordinary dynamics and clarity. The sound stage is very good. It has a very pleasant sound. It is characterized by extremely clear instrument sounds and very good spatial reproduction. I've been using it for quite a few days now, so I can say that I've gotten to know it thoroughly. I got to know it and I really loved it! I put it through a pretty thorough test and listened to it very critically, I can say this. I can't say bad things to the sound it produces at all. Sound is very good! All styles of music sound very good with it. I really like that with a device, no matter how high the volume is, there is no audible operating noise or similar. When listening to the speakers up close, there is no noise or hissing from the speakers, even faintly. I don't usually use the equalizer. But since it can be turned off here, this is also a very good option for the p4 if needing . I have some poorer quality vinyl records and cassettes when listening to them and they worked very well if I added a little extra bass and treble. The sound of weaker quality recordings can be easily corrected. And if it is not needed, you can switch it to bypass mode in an instant. At this point, we turn off the Tone Adjustment completely.
Front:
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Rear:
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Bypass mode switch
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Fosi Audio has provided us with a motorized volume control in the P4. I connected a ZD3 DAC, a CD player, and a cassette deck to the P4 inputs. The motorized control works very well for the CD and cassette deck. This is obviously a function of the input signal levels. With the ZD3 volume control turned off (in bypass position), the P4 sends a higher output signal than the CD player and tape deck. So with my P4, the control from zero to the already loud volume takes about a centimeter of rotation. So since my V3 monoblock does not have a volume control, the motorized volume control is more difficult for me. I use this manually. However, it can work flawlessly on amplifiers that have their own volume control. For example, the V3 stereo za3 or any other amplifier. Manual volume control is much more precise than the motorized one. Perhaps a slow-step volume control similar to the zd3 would have been a better choice. If you need a higher signal level than the base, you can immediately amplify the output signal of the p4 preamplifier even further with a rear switch. We can switch to three levels. 3 – 6 – 9 decibels of amplification are possible.
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I didn't detect any noise here either. It's impeccable at all amplification levels! I don't need anything more than the basic level. It even amplifies the signal from my cassette recorders sufficiently. The p4's channel separation is very good. Even when listening to my cassettes, the sense of space has noticeably increased and all this is accompanied by very clear sounds. I can state that another little gem has been born at Fosi Audio, which I heartily recommend to those who need a really good-sounding preamplifier. In addition, it has a preamplified 3.5mm jack output for supplying an active sub, for example. I tested it and the output is perfectly usable stereo output. This makes it suitable for driving other amplifiers (sub or any plus amplifier..) or, for example, for recording with tape recorders, we can transmit a signal through it with a suitable cable (jack to rca) to recoders. In this case, the gain control switch (3-6-9DB) and tone controll has no effect on the jack output, the gain does not change regardless of the switch. This switch and tone controll can only be used on the rca output. However, the jack output signal is also regulated for volume (volume controll ), just like the RCA output signal. This is a huge plus for me, because even though I don't use a subwoofer, I can drive my tape recorders from the extra output. Of course, it would have been nice to have a few more plus input channels, even double RCA outputs and maybe even XLR inputs and XLR outputs.. But then you would need a bigger box than the one you have now. This is a really and fantastis neat little thing.
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Using a good power supply can definitely make it even better. But otherwise, this device is completely fine! It has an incredibly good spatial reproduction and a really pleasant sound. I absolutely recommend it!
Pros: Really great, Dynamic almost surround sound and noise-free sound.
Good construction, stable aluminum housing.
Motorized volume control.
Equalizers that can be turned on and off. (bypass mode)
Plus stereo jack output for active sub or additional amplifiers,
Maybe the tape recorder
Three-level adjustable signal gain.
Remote control for controlling multiple devices.
Easy input selection with the power button
Repleceable op amp
Cons: The size does not match perfectly with any Fosi audio amplifier. It's a little bigger than the v3 stereo.
The tone and volume knobs are a bit close to each other.
