[psy472]

Yea psy is definitely out to get you slack lol get that wallet ready!

Well if he gets a dual Mentor, he won’t miss out for not having a Susvara. Sure the Susvara scale well but with this amp the HeK scale so well it’s only 5% difference in bass and treble resolution. As we get older and our hearing range narrows, the differences are much less noticeable.

Just wait till more Mentors come out. Someone will end up selling theirs.

 

[Slackaveli]

Yea psy is definitely out to get you slack lol get that wallet ready!

The seeds we plant on each other is the most hilarious thing about Headfi loololol

 

[jkteddy77]

Just wait till more Mentors come out. Someone will end up selling theirs.

The seeds we plant on each other is the most hilarious thing about Headfi loololol

M-Field needs to hurry up.
Mentor is killing my joy of the V222, but it still wraps like a warm blanket. Hoping the MField strikes the same character.

 

[nighthink]

Well no it’s not as bad as software EQ. Just only a pain if I wanted the Lokius to match my tube amp exactly as part of the experiment I was doing.

There is even Loki Max and that thing looks very serious, wondering what that would do if placing between DAC and Mentor. But it costs more than MJ3 alone .. well maybe it's better to start with some el cheapo software eq thing to get an idea if that is something worth investing into. But if that would actually work, wouldn't be that great?

Most likely not , because otherwise everybody would just do straight netural amps and rather invest the time into some uber-EQs to allow changing it to whatever the end user like.

 

[Slackaveli]

There is even Loki Max and that thing looks very serious, wondering what that would do if placing between DAC and Mentor. But it costs more than MJ3 alone .. well maybe it's better to start with some el cheapo software eq thing to get an idea if that is something worth investing into. But if that would actually work, wouldn't be that great?

Most likely not , because otherwise everybody would just do straight netural amps and rather invest the time into some uber-EQs to allow changing it to whatever the end user like.

Thats the thing with any EQ'ing or Pre-amping- at some point why not just get the 2nd Mentor. Thats going to sound better than any EQ and than most pre-amps.

 

[nighthink]

Thats the thing with any EQ'ing or Pre-amping- at some point why not just get the 2nd Mentor. Thats going to sound better than any EQ and than most pre-amps.

That's right. But Loki Max or Lokius can be connected right after DAC and then from Loki into Mentor via XLR and into my preamp/amp combo via RCA and then just turn the switch between XLR and RCA on Loki. Suddenly the Pontus would feed both systems from balanced XLR at the same time (right now I have to turn off one to listen to the other one).
Plus with EQ you could achieve other sound signatures or plenty of them possibly.. if that would work of course. No clue if that would work.

 

[Slackaveli]

That's right. But Loki Max or Lokius can be connected right after DAC and then from Loki into Mentor via XLR and into my preamp/amp combo via RCA and then just turn the switch between XLR and RCA on Loki. Suddenly the Pontus would feed both systems from balanced XLR at the same time (right now I have to turn off one to listen to the other one).
Plus with EQ you could achieve other sound signatures or plenty of them possibly.. if that would work of course. No clue if that would work.

does sound cool.

 

[RobWilde]

Thats the thing with any EQ'ing or Pre-amping- at some point why not just get the 2nd Mentor. Thats going to sound better than any EQ and than most pre-amps.

Well I've ordered a Lokius because it will be here Thursday and a second Mentor would not.

 

[Yodamanjaro]

Well I've ordered a Lokius because it will be here Thursday and a second Mentor would not.

I can't get my hands on one Mentor, let alone two!

 

[Slackaveli]

I can't get my hands on one Mentor, let alone two!

their popularity riseth

 

[sygnus21]

I don't own a Flux Mentor (Denafrips man), but I have to say it's one incredibly beautiful piece of equipment to look at from the inside....

Yeah, I'm that guy that opens up gear to check out its design layout

 

[jeffjefferson1]

I don't own a Flux Mentor (Denafrips man), but I have to say it's one incredibly beautiful piece of equipment to look at from the inside....

Yeah, I'm that guy that opens up gear to check out its design layout

It's a well thought out design. The interior JFET dissipation panels, the left side of the case being elevated only to raise the cable, the cable suspension on the right.. There's a clear design language throughout the amplifier; someone took care arranging each component. Looking forward to receiving mine.

 

[Slackaveli]

I don't own a Flux Mentor (Denafrips man), but I have to say it's one incredibly beautiful piece of equipment to look at from the inside....

Yeah, I'm that guy that opens up gear to check out its design layout

Im also a hardware nerd and these pics literally sold me

 

[jkteddy77]

Amp
V222 is a lot lusher, dynamics more fun, and the vocals still a lot sweeter and forward, makes it more engaging for me overall with my rock music taste
MJ3 is the in-between. A bit more impact in the bass than Mentor 'allures' to you. The timbre sweeter, but it sounds thinner in body and power than the Mentor.
Warm --V222--Mj3-Mentor- Neutral
Detail --V222-MJ3----Mentor

Dac
Bifrost 2: definitely warms the tone up, but Amazed I can hear the detail drop going from NOS to OS. It's a straight downgrade to keep OS on.
Ares 12th-1: Dead-Neutral and more detail than the Bifrost 2, but bigger soundstage at the cost of some dead space in the space between instruments
...

Pontus II & Iris came today. Both on older firmware, not 12TH-1 yet

Soundstage: sounds like this pair matches the Mentor in grand size, whereas the Bifrost 2 cramped it. Separation is greater than Ares and Bifrost also
Tone: Got my warmth back, and the vocals are pushed forward. the bass is bigger but hits a bit softer than on the Ares 12th-1, likely firmware-driven

Makes the cold Mentor far more natural, but the speediest and sharpest clarity in the treble is subdued, and slightly sibilant at the very top of S's, but for every other range it's more effortless and less fatiguing to listen to. Think 'Tube-like'
Noteworthy, the Timbre is superior to the Bifrost 2, beating schiit at their own game there.

V222 + Ares 12th-1 is still thicker and lusher than Mentor + Pontus II, going to show that you truly can't "warm-up" an amp to change it's character.
If it's not for you, I say don't waste money trying to turn an Apple into an Orange in that sense.

Think i'll upgrade the Iris and Pontus II to the 12-TH-1 firmware, but maybe not til I have an M-field in front of me. The warmth is nice for now.

Note: Mentor at about 20 hours, not at the 100 hour maturity yet.

 

[psy472]

Pontus II & Iris came today. Both on older firmware, not 12TH-1 yet
soundstage: sounds like this pair matches the Mentor in grand size, whereas the Bifrost 2 cramped it. Separation is greater than Ares and Bifrost also
Tone: Got my warmth back, and the vocals are pushed forward. the bass is bigger but hits a bit softer than on the Ares 12th-1, likely firmware-driven
Makes the cold Mentor far more natural, but the speediest and sharpest clarity in the treble is subdued, and slightly sibilant at the very top of S's, but for every other range it's more effortless and less fatiguing to listen to.

Think i'll upgrade the Iris and Pontus II to the 12-TH-1 firmware, but maybe not til I have an M-field in front of me. The warmth is nice for now.

You haven’t burnt in the Mentor yet. The sibilance will be gone after about 50 hours or so.