[maheeinfy]

I am in the same boat. 
 
My 1st unit had imbalance till around 8 o'clock which made listening to any easy-to-drive cans impossible. I got it replaced and the replacement unit is exactly like the first one.
 
So i did not bother to replace it again, because i didn't want to go through replacements(which cost the company) but never knowing for sure if the problem will be resolved
 
 
There are a few folks on this thread who say their unit doesn't have channel imbalance at any volume level, so my unit is faulty for sure.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

  I am in the same boat. 
 
My 1st unit had imbalance till around 8 o'clock which made listening to any easy-to-drive cans impossible. I got it replaced and the replacement unit is exactly like the first one.
 
So i did not bother to replace it again, because i didn't want to go through replacements(which cost the company) but never knowing for sure if the problem will be resolved
 
 
There are a few folks on this thread who say their unit doesn't have channel imbalance at any volume level, so my unit is faulty for sure.

 
All small pots have some imbalance problems at very low levels, I'm afraid.
 
If you listen at very low levels or have very sensitive headphones, you may have to turn down the source volume if you want to use an amp.

 

[Selbi]

Was a gain switch purposefully left out during the design of the Fulla 2 to save manufacturing costs? Being an entry DAC/amp combo, it's likely that most people will come from on-board and thus have sensitive headphones.

If a Fulla 3 gets released, that would be the nicest addition (on top of the super narrow plugs for line and pre out getting some more room by carving away that metal a bit).

 

[maheeinfy]

   
All small pots have some imbalance problems at very low levels, I'm afraid.
 
If you listen at very low levels or have very sensitive headphones, you may have to turn down the source volume if you want to use an amp.

What i dont understand is, the volume pots on my portable amps(couple of Fiios ,Cayin C5) doesn't have any channel imbalance and they are smaller in size than the vol pot on the Fulla
 
And to repeat what i said, few folks in this thread claim their units doesn't have imbalance at any volume.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

  What i dont understand is, the volume pots on my portable amps(couple of Fiios ,Cayin C5) doesn't have any channel imbalance and they are smaller in size than the vol pot on the Fulla
 
And to repeat what i said, few folks in this thread claim their units doesn't have imbalance at any volume.

Much lower gain? Input attenuation? Not actually a pot (encoder and volume chip, for example)?
 
If there are such magic pots, I'll happily buy them.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Was a gain switch purposefully left out during the design of the Fulla 2 to save manufacturing costs? Being an entry DAC/amp combo, it's likely that most people will come from on-board and thus have sensitive headphones.

If a Fulla 3 gets released, that would be the nicest addition (on top of the super narrow plugs for line and pre out getting some more room by carving away that metal a bit).

There's no practical place to put a gain switch in Fulla, I'm afraid, and it is very constrained on cost. The gain is low, in any case--which begs the question--if you don't need the gain, why do you need an amp? Best to save money--we counsel people on this all the time, saying "Don't bother with our amps if you don't have needy headphones." (schiit.com/about/principles).

 

[JohnnyOps]

  And to repeat what i said, few folks in this thread claim their units doesn't have imbalance at any volume.

I do - my Fulla2 has no imbalance or scratchiness at any volume.  No one ever asked me before so I never pitched in.  I think this is kind of claim is completely spurious; people complain about something that doesn't work that they think should, few will ever volunteer that something basic simply works.  I get that you're annoyed, but I wouldn't try to draw a line between a small number of points and expect that the slope is accurate.

 

[SomeTechNoob]

I am in the same boat. 

My 1st unit had imbalance till around 8 o'clock which made listening to any easy-to-drive cans impossible. I got it replaced and the replacement unit is exactly like the first one.

So i did not bother to replace it again, because i didn't want to go through replacements(which cost the company) but never knowing for sure if the problem will be resolved


There are a few folks on this thread who say their unit doesn't have channel imbalance at any volume level, so my unit is faulty for sure.

Add me to this list of people who got a replacement Fulla 2, unfortunately with another shoddy volume pot that affects even my T50RP MK3. Pot is sadly still unbalanced at my listening level, but is now scratchy when it previously wasn't. Sigh.

Should I try my luck again, or should I wait a couple weeks for a new batch of Fulla 2's to hopefully come out without a run of pots that have channel imbalance all the way up to 8:30/9:00?

 

[Jason Stoddard]

Add me to this list of people who got a replacement Fulla 2, unfortunately with another shoddy volume pot that affects even my T50RP MK3. Pot is sadly still unbalanced at my listening level, but is now scratchy when it previously wasn't. Sigh.

Should I try my luck again, or should I wait a couple weeks for a new batch of Fulla 2's to hopefully come out without a run of pots that have channel imbalance all the way up to 8:30/9:00?

 
If you're having problems, contact us--that goes for everyone. We can fix it. 
 
Except--as stated before--small imbalance issues. However, with T50RPs, you should be operating at a level above any volume mismatch. The Alps pots usually test well to almost -70dB, which is very, very good.

 

[FrivolsListener]

  I do - my Fulla2 has no imbalance or scratchiness at any volume.  No one ever asked me before so I never pitched in.  I think this is kind of claim is completely spurious; people complain about something that doesn't work that they think should, few will ever volunteer that something basic simply works.  I get that you're annoyed, but I wouldn't try to draw a line between a small number of points and expect that the slope is accurate.

 
I did well as well.  No problems.
 
That's not to diminish the people who *do* have problems, but don't assume that *everyone* has issues.

 

[MarkArtz]

   
If you're having problems, contact us--that goes for everyone. We can fix it. 
 
Except--as stated before--small imbalance issues.

To be honest I never noticed any imbalance on any of the two Fullas I tried. Mostly just the high pitch scratchy noise with the slightest turn of the volume knob. Otherwise, great sound.
 
I will definitely contact you. I really though I couldn't had it exchanged after the 15 days had passed. Thats why I had the first one sent within the 15 days of received since I never used the extended warranty on anything else before.

 

[Jason Stoddard]

  To be honest I never noticed any imbalance on any of the two Fullas I tried. Mostly just the high pitch scratchy noise with the slightest turn of the volume knob. Otherwise, great sound.
 
I will definitely contact you. I really though I couldn't had it exchanged after the 15 days had passed. Thats why I had the first one sent within the 15 days of received since I never used the extended warranty on anything else before.

We'll most likely have you send it in first, so we can see what's going on with it. But we'll definitely be able to resolve the problem.

 

[Jacobh]

There's no practical place to put a gain switch in Fulla, I'm afraid, and it is very constrained on cost. The gain is low, in any case--which begs the question--if you don't need the gain, why do you need an amp? Best to save money--we counsel people on this all the time, saying "Don't bother with our amps if you don't have needy headphones." (schiit.com/about/principles).

I imagine a significant number of people are purchasing more for the DAC capability than the amp, but you probably have better market research on that.
Either way this probably isn't the product for someone who wants a DAC for low impedance, high efficieny headphones as you say.

 

[AudioBear]

It just makes sense that people post because they are really happy with a piece of gear or they have a problem.  There is great value in both reasons.  The problem is if people over-generalize from a very small sample of either praise or complaints.  It's for sure not a scientific study.  Jason has helped us out by telling us 5K Fulla 2s were sold. 50 complaints would be a 1% failure or dissatisfaction rate.  We have no idea how many others have praise or problems that haven't posted but Jason knows how many have been serviced or returned.  I don't think he will or should tell us that but I'll bet the number is low.  Jason has, however, been absolutely candid about volume imbalances being normal at low volumes and that while this isn't the world's most expensive pot, it specs pretty well.  I don't know of another manufacturer who sits on a forum and tells users so much about design, success, good ideas, bad ideas and failures too.  IMHO Fulla 2 is pretty darn good for a $100 piece of gear.  At $500 I would tell Jason that's crazy.
 
 
FWIW, mine doesn't make scratching noises either and I haven't experienced channel imbalances.  Happy camper here.

 

[M Paul]

Mine Fulla-II is flawless: no imbalance, no scratchy pot, good clean sound!

I use mine out of an old iBook into a Yamaha minni system with my knob at 2:00 and guessing a couple hundred hours of music running through her.

Now quit bugging Jason so he can get those Vadars out!

And... If you have an issue with your gear call or email support. You can only cry on our shoulders for so long and all we can do is pat you on your back and send you on your way...