[NickT23]

He said the FA-12S is bright as well

And that’s the very minute I stopped watching that review.

I can’t comment to the FA-10 is I’ve never heard it but just about every review I’ve seen/read described it as linear with plenty of punch/dynamics and smooth highs

I do own the FA-12S and that amp is anything but bright. It has excellent bass extension, lovely mids and the highs are smooth as can be with nice extension. And that’s my impression of that amp paired with my 2021 LCD-X. And I’m a very treble sensitive so if a setup is bright I fatigue VERY quickly to that kind of sound signature

Hello same here. But some people like bright signature, nothing wrong with that. There is always a caveat with sound signatures ! Speaking of bright, am listening to a bright headphones now while writing this comment. But not Flux amp, sadly. If enough money and space I will pull the trigger.

 

[realmassy]

He said the FA-12S is bright as well

And that’s the very minute I stopped watching that review.

I can’t comment to the FA-10 is I’ve never heard it but just about every review I’ve seen/read described it as linear with plenty of punch/dynamics and smooth highs

I do own the FA-12S and that amp is anything but bright. It has excellent bass extension, lovely mids and the highs are smooth as can be with nice extension. And that’s my impression of that amp paired with my 2021 LCD-X. And I’m a very treble sensitive so if a setup is bright I fatigue VERY quickly to that kind of sound signature

Same here, I own a FA-12 and I can’t find anything bright in this amp. In fact I love the pairing with the HD800s, that many consider a bright headphone

 

[NickT23]

Same here, I own a FA-12 and I can’t find anything bright in this amp. In fact I love the pairing with the HD800s, that many consider a bright headphone

FA12 S is tuned to be warmer right ?

 

[whitefang]

FA-10 is not bright. To be very strictly speaking I would even call it borderline dark.
My Th500rp ,which has a bit of sibilance problem, I love it on the FA-10.
actually I almost use it exclusively on the FA-10 because it will tame the sibilance down.

 

[wolfstar76]

Glad to hear the feedback from you guys. I guess I will simply wait for my fa-10 to arrive and test. Thanks for all the posts above.

 

[The Hawk]

Same here, I own a FA-12 and I can’t find anything bright in this amp. In fact I love the pairing with the HD800s, that many consider a bright headphone

I’ll be curious to hear his thoughts on the Burson Soloist (I believe he intends to discuss that one in his upcoming part 3)

If he finds the FA-12S bright then he should find the Burson even brighter. If he doesn’t, he doesn’t know what he’s talking about or his testing methods are clearly flawed.

I also own a Burson Soloist 3XP and I use it in conjunction with my FA-12S depending on my mood. When I want that extra detail and such for more complex recordings I use the Burson, when I want a more laid back presentation I use the Flux.

But again……neither one is bright to my ears and both are nice and smooth in the upper registers and as I mentioned earlier…..I’m most definitely treble sensitive.

 

[realmassy]

FA12 S is tuned to be warmer right ?

I thought about this, but i’m not sure to be honest.
I have a FA-12 (the balanced version of the S), but I assume the difference is minimal, and it’s mostly power related: if the amp was warm I didn’t expect to be a good match with a notoriously warm headphone like the the Empyrean…today I used the Empys with the same couple of albums I listened to yesterday with the HD800s, and the sound was just as gorgeous. Different of course, because the two headphones are nothing alike, but the FA-12 makes them both sing delightfully, and it’s transparent enough to show the differences in the drivers.

Granted, I listen mostly to nicely recorded music, so I might not appreciate the brightness of one or the bloated bass/thickness of the other one, but to me the FA-12 sounds pretty neutral. The DAC probably plays an important role too…as I mentioned I don’t particularly enjoy the Chord sound, too vivid for my taste.

One thing I’ve noticed though, is that it needs a bit of volume to fill the sound compared to my Manley…at ver low volume it sounds a tad dry.

 

[The Hawk]

FA12 S is tuned to be warmer right ?

Compared to the FA-10 yes.

I have no practical knowledge of that as I own a 12S but Flux has described it that way and way back in the early days of this thread there was a gentleman who had the FA-10 and FA-12 at the same time. He described the 12 (which the 12S is claimed to sound very much like) as having more extension and a bit more bloom in the bass. He also felt the mids were a bit more forward and warmer and that the highs were a touch more extended and smoother. He said he preferred the FA-12 as he enjoyed a more relaxed presentation with his music. He said the FA-10 did have better dynamics, layer separation and a bigger and wider soundstage.

As I mentioned in an earlier reply that description aligns with my thoughts on my 12S when compared to my Burson Soloist 3XP most notable difference being the Burson has just as much bass extension and has more slam. The Burson is better at layering and placement of instruments in the soundstage as well.

Both great amps and I love them both and I don’t feel one is better than the other……they just have slightly different presentations. I could be perfectly content owning just a 12S if I had nothing but easy to drive headphones…….it’s a fantastic sounding, beautifully built amp……especially for $499

 

[Gimmesomeaudio]

Anyone knows whether the hifiman he1kse would work well with fa10?

 

[pompon]

Do you have suggestions for HD650
I am using Equinox balanced as cable.

My DAC is Exasound E28mk2 (balanced dac)

I think F12 is better than F10 for my use ? What you think ?

Do you think GS-X mini (used) can be a wortly upgrade or I am at 90% the sound of gs-x already with F10/F12 ?

 

[Ichos]

Do you have suggestions for HD650
I am using Equinox balanced as cable.

My DAC is Exasound E28mk2 (balanced dac)

I think F12 is better than F10 for my use ? What you think ?

Do you think GS-X mini (used) can be a wortly upgrade or I am at 90% the sound of gs-x already with F10/F12 ?

If you want to stay in the Flux lab camp then I would suggest the FA-12 for a fully balanced set-up.
Don't break the chain.
Great synergy with the HD650, I have used them extensively while doing the review.

 

[realmassy]

If you want to stay in the Flux lab camp then I would suggest the FA-12 for a fully balanced set-up.
Don't break the chain.
Great synergy with the HD650, I have used them extensively while doing the review.

Your new avatar is very nice…fantastic choice!

 

[Ichos]

Your new avatar is very nice…fantastic choice!

Thank you, another beloved painter and painting!

 

[whitefang]

Do you have suggestions for HD650
I am using Equinox balanced as cable.

My DAC is Exasound E28mk2 (balanced dac)

I think F12 is better than F10 for my use ? What you think ?

Do you think GS-X mini (used) can be a wortly upgrade or I am at 90% the sound of gs-x already with F10/F12 ?

I had a caps modded FA-10 and I really liked it, but it is not on the same tier with the GSX mini.
GSX mini is noticably more transparent, smooth and with better imaging.

 

[akelew]

Would FA-10 and Bifrost 2 be an okay pairing or too much of a good thing?

I'm trying to find what would be the best amp for me to pair with my LCD-3 fazor for primarily EDM listening.

I was thinking of going burson soloist 3xp but even though thats said to be a smooth 'tube like' sound, from what ive gathered i think its much more neutral than fa-10. The type of sound i like is what pulled me to the LCD-3, organic, smooth, warm, easy listening with heavy hard hitting fast bass.