Fosi Audio T10 - Initial Review

I thought I would share my initial opinions about the Fosi Audio T10. Note: this is not a necessarily a review either subjective or objective. I am just providing some brief opinions below. I will attempt to answer questions in any follow on comments as I further test this unit.

In my opinion, the Fosi Audio T10 is an interesting product and the first “streaming integrated amplifier” at this price point with a ‘decent’ audio chipset and good power output, e.g. it considerable cheaper than that Arcrlic A50+ with some similarities. I believe it is perfect for my use-case for it, which is as a low power always on streaming amplifier for my kitchen setup, specifically for non-critical streaming music while cooking.

Effectively this is a Wiim Mini merged with a typical Fosi Audio Bluetooth amplifiers e.g. maybe a BT20A as it has a similar look (with the USB input on the front and a similar TPA3116 chipset). From my brief experience previously with TPA3116 amplifiers I would imagine this has a similar sound profile, though not as ‘good’ as the TPA3227 in an A07 or Fosi Audio own TBD10D but for most people in non-critical listening the overall experience will be good.

What you get in the box: IMG_6190.jpg

The power supply is a typical 24V / 4.5 A and Fosi Audio are claiming get 100W + 100W @3G - but while I would not believe these output specifications, it certainly does get loud as one odd decision with this amplifier is there is no volume ‘button’ - you have to use the remote or control volume within the Wiim App. I got an initial blast of audio as the default volume is close to Max and it took me a couple of seconds to find the remote and lower the volume. The full specs are here for those interested:** **https://www.fosiaudio.com/product/user-instruction/t10/

So, for the price, this amplifier is full of features:

  1. Wifi and Ethernet connectivity
  2. LinkPlay streaming platform built in - so utilises the same application as the Wiim Mini from the AppStore / Playstore
  3. USB storage for local file playback - I tried some high ref FLAC as well as MP3 and M4A files so good compatibility
  4. Full range Aux output for external sub-woofer or as a pre-amp
  5. Bluetooth 5.0 (though it seems to only support SBC so works fine just no AAC or APTX or newer bluetooth codecs)
  6. Aux in
  7. Remote Control - this is basically required as no physical buttons on the front of the device.

IMG_6191.jpg

Wifi Setup is via the Wiim App and I noticed an odd issue (more with the Wiim App) as I had to restart the app fully to get it to properly setup the wifi network. Ethernet works without any complications. Once added to the Wiim App it works very similar to a Wiim Mini - though because the firmware is different you cannot link the T10 and the Wiim Mini within the app. I actually reached out to Fosi Audio about this and they were very responsive and may look at updating the firmware on the T10. I do hope they do as the constant updates to the Wiim Mini over the past year have made that a great product and given this shares the same basic platform it would be great to see some extra features added over time. For example, there is no EQ with the T10 and some of the settings exposed within the Wiim App do not make sense for the T10.

Mostly I have streaming Spotify premium and a few other streaming services and it has been fine. Amazon Prime music did not work so hopefully there is a fix with a future firmware update. I do not have Tidal or Qobuz so cannot say if they work or not. The Music servers options works well so I have been playing music off my Plex Servers via DLNA and I really like that the contents of USB on the front of the T10 are actually displayed within the Wiim App, so you can browse any music you have put onto a USB key in the T10 from within the Wiim App. I hope with a few firmware upgrades, Fosi Audio can enhance the experience further.

One requirement I have for this was that it would take minimal power and I am delighted to say it uses hardly any power. About 2.1w while on but idle and at most I needed 3.1w when streaming music pretty loud to my speakers. Considering I measured the power the combination of Wiim Mini + DAC + A07 as 10w idle, I think this could provide a nice solution to leave always connected in my kitchen.

Overall, I think this a very interesting product with lots of features and a very attractive price point. Though I imagine it would test similar to other TPA3116 based devices.

Ratings

The T10 represents good value for money and but the linkplay implementation is a bit buggy and the TPA3116 is not a particular well implemenent - hence it has a low measurement score.

Summary

For someone interested in a nice simple to use streamer amplifier for non-critical listening the T10 represents tremenedous value for money.