True it's not meant to be preamp.. Anyway, I was in talks with Flux Labs and they saw no issue with operating it this way, assuming the Mentor is in low gain mode. They were helpful in this regard and gave me a lot of further insights. I don't see any issue with operating Mentor in this mode...

Or maybe I'd somehow need to add more resistance between Mentor and R1.5 as the latter is quite a strong power amp.

This.. I had similar thoughts ever since I confirmed with Flux Labs I can use Mentor as preamp to my power amplifier with 6.3mm jack -> RCA. Using XLR output would be the same in this case as the sound from both is the same and Mentor isn't balanced. Today I finally received some quality...

Yes I'm heading toward the JS-16. Looking forward to find out how it will affect the sound of my hekse in comparison to stock cables. My expectations are rather minimal (just in case), but I'm absolutely sure I will like how they look and feel. That alone will be an upgrade worth it.

Some serious gear here. I was recently inspecting Aqua products and especially LinQ module streamer. For now, it's out of my price range, but one day maybe.. They plan to release module for Apple Music, that would be awesome. Also how much Mentor really holds against Paltauf HPA-100? If...

Really nice. I’m also on the waiting list.. What model this is - the new Drausk copper?

Very informative, thanks. Is there aftually any picture of the ultimate inside structure? I can find various text descriptions but no concrete pics. For example, my currently favorite Neotech cables (mostly containing some nice up-occ copper conductors) I can inspect in details what’s inside...

I only judged based on the reports directly here in this forum few pages back and from the people who bought several ultimate cables, burned in and then reported it was too much for the chain. Nevertheless, still would be interested in someone's experience with both, although I admit it's not...

Any experience with comparing Puritan Ultimate cable and Ricable Dedalus? About the same price range, Ultimate is much more flexible. But often the Ultimate is described as bringing too much brightness into the chain (at least in comparison to Puritan Classic). Wondering how Dedalus would behave...

Understood that such fw upgrade process is not for everyone and since many audiophiles are truly "analog" people that does not fit well together either :). Nevertheless, it's worth it. Also, I finally went ahead and ordered Iris 12th to pair with Pontus II. Seems like Iris 12th was also updated...

Can't give any comparison (I have PSM156 and that one works for me well), but I'd be interested as well. PSM156 does not look that robust, but has maybe more filtering stuff going on. Not sure as it's hard to find what's inside Torus units. Those are however way more expensive, so not sure if...

:) hehe hopefully the black tint does not sound worse than the blue one. But even if so I don't mind, mine is already good enough.

My gut feeling is that there will be a difference. Mainly because the DACs usually have better output from the XLRs to start with, blacker background, etc. In general, the balanced signal is most important between DAC and amplifier. Therefore I'd always prefer connecting Mentor with the DAC via...

Yea, everything converts to a point I'm going to get myself one piece of Iris as well. Worst case I will just sell it again, but my gut feeling is it will be worth it.

Exactly, the same sans the module and its cabling. Flux had only initially few such models without the module and when I was discussing with them the options, they advised that if I never plan to use the stack, it's wise to take one of those remaining without the module and save a bit. They do...

While looking through the ventilation holes on top I noticed my board is probably black (not blue like on all the pictures). So took off the cover and it's indeed black. No complaints here I like black :) it's just a bit surprising. Maybe those are the versions without dual-stack module...

There is a link on that page with instructions for both win and mac.

If you have the chip like me (EP4CE6F) then you can use this address to donwload all versions: https://support.vinshine.audio/ep4ce6f-pontus

Yeah, there is no good word spread on 1.2 or 1.3. mostly it is between 1.0 and 1.4 :). My speakers do like 1.4 more as well. But I can see why others like 1.0. more. It all depends on what you are accustomed to, or if you want a more intimate soundstage or more holography and soundstage. Purely...

I'm on the same boat, also have a speakers system fed from the same Pontus II in parallel and I spent a good amount of time on both headphones and speakers to make sure I actually prefer the same firmware on both of them.

The reports are that people from Kharkov were being evacuated from the city. It's hard to imagine some work can still operate there. They must have been moved already from there, I suppose.

I'm using Hifiman HE1000SE and Flux Labs Mentor as a headamp for my headphone set-up. Connected with balanced XLR cables from Pontus II to Mentor.

For those interested, after today's experiment, my conclusion is Pontus II with 1.4 is just a better match to Mentor. It makes the details served by Mentor better shine.

So I couldn't resist and after one year I flashed the Pontus II back to 1.0 (from 1.4) and spent today listening to that. For me, it was more.. muffled maybe. Not bad actually, there was slightly more tube-like feeling that I agree, but not because the bass on 1.0 would be deeper, actually the...

No argue with that. The reason why it's worth discussing is those versions have significant differences. So you have kind of 2 DACs to compare or switch based on your current mood. In some setups, they really make a difference that's so obvious you have an opinion on which one you like more :).