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Take for example a new Sony $2,000 amplifier or receiver sounds exactly like the $200 Sony receiver, they both sound bad, the only difference is the bigger amp has a little bit more power, but it doesnt have the power to drop to 2 ohms like a $3,000 Krell amp does. I never hear a reviewer talk about great low ohm amps that play well with Magnepan speakers.. The old Nad 3020 isnt made anymore, it was a great British amplifier that still sold millions in the US for $200 that had a great tone, but it wasnt clear sounding. What I mean by tone is that an amplifier has a deep sound that isnt analytically bright or harsh. So when I hear a reviewer say the amp sounds good, that doesnt tell me anything. Now if a reviewer told me the amp has good tone like the older Nad 3020 amp, I would go buy it. But I dont think there are any amps like that out there, because Ebay sells the old Nad 3020 amp for $1,000 thats hard to find on Ebay. I hear that this amp is a good amp, that doesnt tell me of the amp that has a good tone, if its clear sounding, & has a good tone, which is a $2,000 amp. Power means nothing, because the human hearing to hear DOUBLE the loudness, requires an amp with 5 times more wattage. So the $400 to $700 amps that you recommend, do ANY of them have great tone, like the Nad 3020 amp!!!!!!!!! An amp with great tone is a real AUDIOPHILE amp to me, if one can be found in this price range, but if the amp dont have great tone in this price range, it is considered a sorry amp, because high wattage dont mean nothing. In your reviews please mention tine, clearness, & ohms. I am speaking nice to you & all the other reviewers on youtube, so you can get people to UNDERSTAND. There are too many words that most reviewers use to confuse us. I am not picking on you, just other reviewers in general.
I'm really shocked to hear this news about the Arylic H50. I felt the H50 is over priced also. The B50 was on sale at one time for $129. One month ago, I setup a Arylic B50 to a Samsung 85” QN85B with SVS SBS01 Bookshelf speakers and a REL HT/1205v.1. A 2.1 system in my wife’s living room area; it’s the most she would let me do. It turn out better than I expected. The phone app definitely made a difference when fine tuning the tops and sub. I had no latency problems with tv and sound and no eARC problems. I have never heard any popping sounds from the B50. I will try to sneak DAC and a more powerful amp without her knowing in the system later. The B50 can be used as a preamp also. Wish me luck!
FYI: RSL speakers has released their 2.1 mini amp for $110, that looks position to compete against FosiAudio; would love it if the CAM channel would get in the Amp for review and comparison to Fosi... thanks.
Ya' gotta' call 'em like you hear 'em! Avoiding a product that may have curb appeal - is just as valuable as finding a gem. This goes beyond personal preference, I think; as you said.
Appreciate the heads up Randy. Pretty tidy looking little unit which would've been good for the office/computer setup but yeah, the popping and crap sound is a deal breaker, not to mention the steep price which is $650 here in New Zealand. Tons of decent amps and dacs for less than half that so that's a hard nope from me.
I don't understand what Arylic is doing with this H50. It is basically a B50 with built in streamer and a screen at over twice the price! I have the B50 and I do like it. It really can't be beat for an HDMI/ARC device for under $150! I agree, it doesn't sound fantastic, but is just fine for my living room tv where I mainly watch sports and work out videos.
I purchased the B50 on pre-order for around 113 dollars. It has a whole different app in go control with tone controls, Eq, and a bass boost. Combined with a Wiim mini, a pair of kef q150s, and a kef kc62 I can't complain. For less than 200 dollars the B50 and Wiim are a great combination.
Agreed. It's great value, replacing a Douk Pro thing that everybody seems to rave about, but I didn't like it so much. I can't see the justification of the price gap for this one over the B50.
I have been out of touch regarding hi fi gear since 1984. My previous system was designed to list en to my extensive LP, CD, and cassette library. And there i stagnated. My latest systems have been just home theater setups. When I had to replace my latest Yamahs...i believe 465...I purchased a Yamaha RX 4VA with my Energi speakers. At this point i decided to build a music only system. I purchased the Cambridge CXA 81 and the Elac DBR 62. I liked your review on the Elacs snd watched a number of positive reviews on the CXA 81. I just purchased the Fosi v3 amp to use with either my Yamaha or as a separate setup. I the bought the Topping DV3 Pro but i may return that in favor of the Geshelley Labs J2. I ripped my extensive music colleection onto two hard drives. Can i use the Geshelley USB input for this and will i need to run the.hard drives through my laptop before plugging into the usb on the Geshelley. I feel like i am so clueless about all of these uogrades in elactronics and computers. At the age of 71 I guess that can be expected. Any advice you can give me will be gratefully received
I remember giving away my perfectly working Yamaha 90s amp and buying an integrated amp and a 5.1 speakers designed for movies. I've still got the integrated amp and it's from about 2005 so no HDMI on it, no arc. I thought you would get better music with more power and it's not terrible it's not great as well.
@cheapaudioman, thank you for well rounded, entertaining and consumer oriented content mate! I have just have started to stand on the fence of the audio world and watching in 😁 I have purchased the edifire r1700bts and a T5. Unfortunately nether of those can/does split the frequency. Therefore I am looking for a device, that can recieve BT input, filter the frequency and has pre-outs for the active speakers and active sub. I was hoping to find such with a 100€/$ budget. Do you or anyone have suggestions for me?
Why are there so little hdmi dac’s? I honestly don’t understand. This seems to be the only one. No one listens to music from apps on there tv or playstation?? No one wants tv sound from bookshelf speakers without a big overkill receiver? I have my presonus speakers wich are perfecr for my livingroom, but no dac to connect them to besids a cheap hdmi audio extractor or an expensive receiver. Is spotify if tidal connect via tv of playstation really so weird to do?
I use quite a bit of there DIY amplifier boards, the features you get for the price are great, at least when I first found out found out about them. To me that's where Arylic shines. Also with ACP Workbench I can iron out some of the sharp edges of the sound of my speaker designs and adapt to certain room situations. I would never buy the H50, I don't really get it.
I also love their DIY boards so I'm sad to hear this review. I wonder if a better approach is to have an up2stream pro so you get whole home streaming + spotify connect/etc, but then get a traditional dumb receiver/amp for the rest of the inputs?
Outstanding as always Randy. Keeping it honest is one of the qualities I admire with your reviews. I bought a B50 when they came out and love it. The B50 replaced an SMSL SA300 as my desktop integrated running into Q Acoustic 3010's and it sounds amazing in the near field. Then I saw the H50 come out and was like WTF? HDMI ARC is not a priority for me and when combined with the much higher price it was a hard pass for me. Thanks for confirming that and keep up the great work.
Hi Randy - Overall efficiency is also one of my concerns. I am a fan of solar power, currently have a grid tied system and monitor all my power usage. Class D amps are the way to go for me and I would like to see the power draw from the mains closely relate to the amplifier power out to the speakers. I currently use an Arylic Up2Stream 2.1 amplifier driving 2 Pioneer SP-FS52 (Andrew Jones design) and a Polk 10 In sub-woofer (which I got second hand with a fried amplifier). I have direct connected the SW output of the Up2Stream 2.1 into that sub-woofer (disconnecting the dead amp). The system sounds pretty good to my ear for moderate level listening. The downside to this is that all three speakers draw their power from the single power supply - tricky how Arylic rates the power out with only two channels driven on a 2.1 amplifier. It would nice if there was one more criteria to the listening tests, like how much power does the amp draw under various conditions. It might be a bit subjective and certainly would vary with various speakers, however, if it were only measured at the points of OFF or Standby, On with no input, and Max Power Output that would make the readings meaningful. The off or standby readings really accumulate over time. My favorite Home Theater system is a somewhat old Pioneer VSX-S520 which only draws .38 Watts when in it's NET Standby mode. Regarding your review of the H50 - when I first saw the pre-announcement I would have liked to find a 48V input and the newer TPA3255 Amp Chips that you rave about in the FOSSI - but alas the power supply limits of 24 volts would seem to indicate continued use of the older TPA3116D2.. Who knows what trickery they have done to claim the same power ratings for 4 or 8 ohms with their switch. I completely agree that PoPping the speakers is a non-starter! Regarding the tone controls on the limitations of the 4Stream app. Have you ever tried their APC Workbench? It appears to allow one to tailor the bass and treble settings looking a bit like a parametric equalizer. It is a shame that it requires a direct USB connection rather than working over the Ethernet port or WiFi. A reviewer like you might be able to influence Arylic to make the APC Workbench work over the network rather than USB.
my SA100 connected to my bowers and wilkins bookshelf speakers consumes a maximum of 25 watts that i have observed , sometimes as low as 15 watts.very efficient as i run on solar too
I think you have convinced me not to buy this. I wanted to try this as a cheap ARC solution for my 2.0 desktop system where i use a TV as a monitor. I had also read that the HDMI-CEC integration on this amp is poor.
@@cheapaudioman Its just that you neglected to put the ferns outside of the speakers... Its all about controlling that reflectivity. Improper placement of the ferns is probably why you had issues with this unit😅. Another great video, quality control is a huge issue and no one likes spending money on something that could ruin your speakers.
And this is why we watch and listen to your recommendations. You tell us like it is, not how we wish it would be. Truth in this day and age is getting to be a rarity is all I'll say on that. Good job Randy, thanks. It's not always easy, but it is necessary, or at the very least, appreciated!
Ebay is chalked full of open box/used avr's. There's no way I'm spending $250 on this thing much less $400. If small form factor is a necessity, I'd find a dac/preamp with the necessary connections and run it through a Fosi amp. Even Arylic's own B50 appears more reasonable
Great honest review, Randy! The pop in the speakers was all I needed to hear to say no. That happened all the time with my comments I bought in the 70s.😊
Interesting review. A Used onkyo 8160 networked receiver runs 200-300 on e-bay, has a fair range of network connectivity (sirius xm, Pandora, spotify, dlnr, although slow to initialize) and can drive a wide range of speakers while sounding neutral and quick on the low end. Built in DAC sounds good to me, if you want to use a wiim device with it. I'm sure there are similar products out there, and based on my experience so far, i think you are taking less of a risk buying this used than buying a new product from these newer, smaller brands. Only foenside - big friggin box. Aiyima and such are definitely pushing a better fork factor while the older brands are pushing the big black box.
I was really looking at this product for the wireless Bluetooth output to some headphones. My goal is to get Dolby Atmos into 2 sets of headphones, which this what this product claims to do. That and the HDMI ARC input (would also like an HDMI passthrough but you can't have everything). Did you have a chance to test that?
I just bought the BP50 and it sounds...weird. It seems to really change the sound of my analogue reference input. It also has digital outputs. Does this mean it's potentially doing ADC on the analogue inputs?
Thanks for an honest review. Plz include the make and model in the video title (your usual practise) to help folks find this video when researching this product.
could be. even the smsl A50 sounded a lot fuller than this thing though. it was kind of like they did a shelf eq with the midrange. just sounds off. and with the popping of my sub on power up and down it was a deal breaker for me.
I just replaced my SMSL AD18 with a Arylic B50 the biggest reason is the HDMI Arc connection. I use it with Klipsch Speakers RP-8000F and Klipsch Sub R-10SW1 for a 2.1 setup so far I have no issues with the sound in fact me and the wife noticed clearer voices with the Arylic B50. I plan on upgrading to a class A/B intergraded amp but the lack of HDMI Arc support really sucks. These manufactures are really missing a good opportunity not targeting us folks that really don't care about a full surround sound. 🙂
I have no interest in this company, but the consensus seems to be that they need to start from the ground up to reinvent their brand and offerings. Their stuff doesn't grab my curiosity in the slightest.
bummer that the output is so lousy. the feature set is pretty great...and i think beats the soundbase pro considering the phono-pre and potential to play from usb thumbdrive. great for someone looking for a single small device. if only it sounded good.
Thanks for the honest review. I'm disappointed because I already use an A50 for my entertainment center. I would have loved for an update that worked with banana plugs and supported ARC.
Randy, sorry this is not on subject but... could you please call out Douk for the blue version of their VU2 meter? The power scale on it is mostly terribly wrong!! I and I think many others like the look of this meter but the (Watts) scale is just embarrassing. I can't buy it that way and nobody else should either!!
This is what you get when throw a load of features in a box, but but don't do more testing than see if it produces sound. Like all those crappy cheap eighties Armstrad products and the likes.
YAY negative reviews! If an outlet is afraid to give an earned negative critical review then the reviewer starts to fail the shill sniff test. I have left many a channel because they either feel pressure to give a positive review when one might not be earned, or maybe not even publish the review because it wouldn't be positive. Either option is allowing the reviewer to be strong armed under threat of with holding samples or access. That is antithetical to the journalistic practice and shouldn't be acceptable to the reviewer. I get that it could be tough when that is you livelihood but remember that its those that consume your content that you are ultimately beholden to. Great stuff Randy! If Polk makes a new model of the T15 speaker stands you better be out here telling us!
Now if you could have this level of frankness with some of those polk audio speakers.... Sure they're incredibly cheap but is it really worth it when there are other better choices? Not to trash Polk, they have some good products but man, some of the super budget stuff they put out is just horrible.
I think up to 500 bucks per item is the sweet spot, but willing to listen to up to 1200 per item. That said other channels reivew way more expensive gear. That's why I stay away from them.
They skimp on the amplifier quality most of the time which defeats the purpose of having a ESS9023p Sabre DAC and what not. I mean it is a $400 device shouldn't they do a bit better?
I have developed kind of a personal rule of thumb for myself. Any audio gear with bluetooth built-in is garbage whether it is $100 or $1,000,000 from anywhere. I also question it if it has built-in WiFi or anything that doesn't belong in the signal path or not mission critical to the main function of the piece. I'm waiting for the day we see BT or WiFi antennas on turntables. Man, I hope not! I apply the same rule to any gear that has "audiophile" in the description or what have you.
Those turntables already exist. Also Bluetooth being on something is fine, we don't have to use it. But you can. My DAC has Bluetooth, I've used it twice, once to check if it works, second time to check sound difference. I like the DAC though, seems good for the price. Recently tested an aiyima t9 pro, it has Bluetooth. It's quite nice, the DAC on it is worse than my stand alone DAC, but that was the same price as the t9 pro. You get what you pay for.
@@danielh12345 “you don’t have to use it” that’s not op’s point. It’s that any extra assembly part that isn’t crucial to the main function of the device (in this case processing an audio signal and amplifying it) distracts from that task adds extra interference and inevitably mangles the sound quality
@CommanderGinyu I know, I'm just trying to say that disregarding all the gear with Bluetooth in that price bracket seems like a waste. There really is some good stuff, it could be a matter of perspective I guess. But I highly doubt a better dac for example will make my set up 2 times better. Which to me, means it's already decent, which means it's not total garbage haha. All a matter of opinions and perspective I guess. I haven't heard the top of the line stuff, but this sounds good to me
@@danielh12345 Turntables with built-in BT already exists?! Yikes! At least I don't have to deal with them. Personally, I'm of the opinion that says potentially piling more stuff into the signal path is not good. If in item is meant to be BT, that is perfectly fine, but adding BT to a CD player or indeed a turntable just makes no sense to me. It makes more sense to add to a preamp or integrated, but personally even that bothers me unless it can be disabled when not used to make sure it doesn't interfere with the signal path. As a matter of fact, I have a flagship Marantz CD player (discontinued only two months ago) with Wi-Fi built-in, but I can disable it along with any other ports I am not using to completely cut it off from getting near or taking anything from the signal path. It has the Wi-Fi because it is also a network player and streamer and likely does everything but cook dinner. That said though, I must say that it is terrible as a streamer because one can't see the display screen and one must use a tablet or smartphone, which is the most inconvenient thing ever to me. (I can put in a CD in under 3 seconds, calling up what I want to listen to via tablet or smartphone takes at least 5 minutes on a good day and then it drains the battery fast). I also have no need for a network player, but it come that way. As a CD player it's good as far as sonics go. It has a better headphone amp then my expensive preamp. The lower cost older Marantz CD players are a tiny bit better though. I'm fixing to get a Geshelli Labs headphone amp after summer though (I don't use cans much and never in warm weather). I may also get their AKM DAC to try out as I'm curious if an outboard DAC will make a noticeable difference. One doesn't always get what one pays for in the audio world or for that matter lately also the car world, shoe world, etc. Many times the lesser priced or one tier down piece is the far better choice as far as I have found anyway.
@ericelliott227 haha yes, they do! I've been researching some lately since it seems like a very fun experience. I'm skipping the BT ones for sure since that's just money spent where I'm not going to use it. I'd rather run a wire and get true analog sound since that's what I want to experience with it. The geshelli stuff seems so nice, it's unfortunate that I live in Europe and the import and taxes make it feel like a stupid buy. And honestly, it's a bit out of my price range, I could make better financial decisions haha. Some day I'll get there haha. I guess price to performance should only get better with time... I'm quite amazed already what sound quality and experience I get with my budget system already. Audio is fun! Also, I understand your point about stuff being in the signal, personally I don't really have a clue. I would imagine it doesn't impact it when it's off (the signal isnt visible if I dont set it to BT mode,) but I guess that depends on implementation. All I know is my little SMSL su-6 dac is quite nice, nice wide soundstage and depth etc. Some day I'll experience the more premium ones out of curiosity.
Thank you for giving us an honest review so a lot of people do not have to waste their money on this hot garbage. 50 bucks sound like it's still too much for this thing...
They claim 2×50W and give you a 100 W power supply ? that’s total bullshit.. if they gave you a good 150 W power supply, then maybe they could claim 30W at 4 ohms, per channel, with < 1% distortion, and 20W /ch for 8 ohms, but that would be about it. Let’s be realistic..
This is what separates this from the main audio media. If something sucks, they won't mention it, gloss over it or even hype it. . sonus faber lumina . There needs to be more responsible and truthful reviews like this. If you have heard the lumina, you know it's the most incompetent speaker over $100 on the 2023 market. FFS, the emotiva B1 blows the lumina away.
If this was just a preamp without the amp section they could still charge about the same amount and we could put it on a better sounding amp. Or even just have pre amp outs. But it can only be used as a single unit.
It disappoints just as much as all the other cheap Chinese Amazon amplifiers. Don’t try to convince us that any of them sound any good. I heard 5 so far and they were all absolutely awful. Thin, no substance no bass, screeching highs, no room or depth… For just a bit more money you can get a regular entry level AB amplifier like the Cambridge axa25 which blows all of this crap out of the water.
Don’t agree with that at all. I have had AXA35, Rotel A11, Denon PMA600NE and 800NE and while all fine amps the Aiyima A07 can still deliver a very desirable sound comparatively. I am currently listening to a BRZHIFI 3255XLR which delivers a fine muscular performance with clarity and air that is even superior to my A11 Tribute in regards to a power sound and has more air. I will say however a lot of the Infineon chip based amps never really impressed me.
Cessez de raconter n'importe quoi, vous parlez sans savoir. Il y a des amplificateurs chinois qui sonnent très bien. J'ai un Aiyima A07, et j'en suis très satisfait. Il ne sonne pas du tout mince.
I tried using my outlaw 975 and emotiva bas-x/mc-700 pre/pro for two channel. On 1st critical listen, they both obviously sucked. They are MID-FI, not hi-fi. Outlaw isn't hi-fi at any price. too many junk parts inside. Emotiva above the bas-x line is hi-fi.
Does amazon have a quality stream? I have it and it SUCKS compared to TIDAL with the platform downloaded onto my computer. ( Its needed for MASTER Recordings) Not a Tidal pusher I am sure others great also. But Even Sirius XM that I find NOT impressive at all is even better than Amazon streaming...I do enjoy your reviews Sir.
I listen almost exclusively to amazon music and tidal. I can't really recall a huge difference but I don't stream from my computer. Always from a streamer. but if it sounds like crap to you use Tidal, my friend