The Article

SP601 SPEAKERS FROM FOSI AUDIO

21st August 2025

Relatively large standmount speakers promising a relatively large sound, Paul Rigby listens and is hit by deja vu

Deja vu? Well yes because these standmount passive speakers, spanning 352.5 × 210 × 290mm and weighing 6.5kg per speaker look familiar. They look, in fact, like a pair of Q Acoustics speakers. Not so much the drivers and not even the sockets at the rear but the cabinet itself. That shape, those rounded corners. The cabinet itself screams Q Acoustics. Which made me wonder. Does Fosi Audio have this venerable brand in its sights with the launch of the new DP601 speakers?

Fosi – pronounced ‘Fossy’ incidentally – has taken its own path in terms of speaker design, I hasten to add so it’s looking to improve upon Q Acoustics’ classic designs but I was looking forward to the sonic tests, nevertheless.

DESIGN

In terms of design, the SP601’s 85db sensitivity indicates that the speakers will need a bit of a push to get going. A 30W amplifier perhaps? Especially so as these are 4 Ohm speakers.

Arriving with optional magnetic grills, although I reviewed these boxes with the grills off, you will find two drivers within. Up top is a relatively large 38mm silk-dome tweeter while below is a hybrid mid-bass unit spanning 165mm blending paper with aluminium. Dual-mode binding posts are to be found around the back just underneath a tuned bass port.

An interesting design but how do they sound?

SOUND QUALITY

In software terms? I reached for the CD version of the China Crisis’ album Difficult Shapes & Passive Rhythms, which sounds like an album title for a later post rock album but this was the band’s debut from 1982. I played African and White, a track which offers big bass possibilities and a track that fights against more delicate guitar and secondary percussion. This track would be a good challenge.

Because my immediate thoughts of the SP601s swerved towards Q Acoustics, I decided to bring out the Q Acoustics big gun classics to see how the 601s faired in sonic terms. To begin, I hooked up the excellent, yet smaller, 3020i speakers which sit within a smaller version of the 601’s cabinets. The 3020is are balanced, neutral and full of detail.

VS Q ACOUSTICS 3020i

In comparison, the SP601s showed that they didn’t have quite the same level of neutrality of the 3020i speakers but they did exhibit a wealth of highlights right across the soundstage.

For example, that larger cabinet really paid dividends. The SP601s offered big, bold bass and had the sonic presence akin to a tank, especially for the cabinet size and price. These speakers provided a solid, weighty bass that pushed though the music with some confidence.

Isolation pad on base of speaker

I did hear more space and air around the upper mids from the SP601s and, while the midrange was slightly more aggressive than the 3020is, which showed itself during crescendos, I was impressed with the detail extraction from the 601s and the tonal realism from percussion and acoustic guitar.

VS Q ACOUSTICS 3030i

Changing to vinyl and Peggy Lee’s I’ve Got You Under My Skin I moved up the scale to Q Acoustics larger 3030i speakers. Fetching a similar price on the Q Acoustics website to the 601s, the cabinet of the 3030i has that same curved corner cabinet of the SP601s although the cabinet size was not quite as tall or wide but the 3030i speakers were deeper.

I rate the 3030i speakers very highly indeed. They are classic, low-cost speakers. What shocked me was how closely the SP601s sounded by comparison. The 601s were not quite as neutral in overall presentation, again vocal, string or brass crescendos being a good example of that, but the SP601s did actually improve in certain areas over the 3030i designs. The bass was bigger, deeper and more ominous is its delivery while upper mids and treble were more spacious, airy and extended.

CONCLUSION

I could be wrong and maybe I’m missing the mark here but I do feel that Fosi has ‘gone after’ Q Acoustic with the new SP601 speakers. In some areas, the attempt hasn’t been completely successful, note the slightly aggressive mids but in various other parts of the sonic envelope, Fosi has been more than successful, landed several blows on Q Acoustics classic speaker series. At least when it comes to the 3020i and 3030i designs, both low cost and highly desirable classics. The amount of information retrieval from the 601s is impressive indeed while that tight, forceful bass is a headline feature.

If strict neutrality is important to you, the SP601s might not be for you but if you want a lively, energetic performance from your speakers with plenty of detail and tonal accuracy to boot, then grab these speaker designs with both hands.

FOSI AUDIO SP601 STANDMOUNTED SPEAKERS

Price: £400/€459/$400

BUY HERE:
USA – https://amzn.to/3VgMWYY
UK – https://amzn.to/4mmk8ud
EUROPE – https://amzn.to/4lC7dmw

Website: fosiaudio.com

GOOD: spacious mids, tonal realism, big bass, energetic presentation

BAD: slightly aggressive mids