[jaker782]

just received an FA-10 and it is sounding very good with my HE-6se. Sound is full and organic, bass is tight, mids and highs are clear without any harshness or fatigue. The highs on the 6se can get a bit hot so this makes me happy.

Only quibbles so far are it seems the gain isn't very powerful, but it is the 6se I am driving. I need high gain with maybe 2 o'clock on the dial and I don't listen loud. Also, not used to the relay clicking on the volume knob. While I haven't tried, I have a feeling this amp will run iems and low impedance cans hiss free on low gain. I'll have to do more testing this weekend.

All in all, so far I am pleased with the FA-10. Oh yeah, it is built like a tank and looks great too!

 

[Slim1970]

just received an FA-10 and it is sounding very good with my HE-6se. Sound is full and organic, bass is tight, mids and highs are clear without any harshness or fatigue. The highs on the 6se can get a bit hot so this makes me happy.

Only quibbles so far are it seems the gain isn't very powerful, but it is the 6se I am driving. I need high gain with maybe 2 o'clock on the dial and I don't listen loud. Also, not used to the relay clicking on the volume knob. While I haven't tried, I have a feeling this amp will run iems and low impedance cans hiss free on low gain. I'll have to do more testing this weekend.

All in all, so far I am pleased with the FA-10. Oh yeah, it is built like a tank and looks great too!

Glad, you like it. You are right, there isn't much disparity in going from medium to high gain. It's only like a 5 dB differences. I guess this is why some manufacturer's only include low and high gain on their products. I do utilize medium gain sometimes with headphones, like my Quad ERA-1's and LCD-4z's. They don't really need it, but planar drivers, to my ears, benefit from the extra volume boost.

I drive my Susvara's on high gain at 2 o'clock as well. It's plenty loud at that point. But I like that even at high volume levels the FA-10 remains composed and continues to delivery good, distortion free sound. It's like it made to be driven hard.

 

[jaker782]

Glad, you like it. You are right, there isn't much disparity in going from medium to high gain. It's only like a 5 dB differences. I guess this is why some manufacturer's only include low and high gain on their products. I do utilize medium gain sometimes with headphones, like my Quad ERA-1's and LCD-4z's. They don't really need it, but planar drivers, to my ears, benefit from the extra volume boost.

I drive my Susvara's on high gain at 2 o'clock as well. It's plenty loud at that point. But I like that even at high volume levels the FA-10 remains composed and continues to delivery good, distortion free sound. It's like it made to be driven hard.

I guess for some reason I was thinking the power this amp provides would mean high gain would be louder. But, I will say it is evident that this amp has much better control of the 6se when I get that volume level cranked on high gain. Like you said, it doesn't distort or get sloppy at all, even with the 6se, which to me is indicative that the FA-10 is a very high quality amp indeed!

 

[driftingbunnies]

I guess for some reason I was thinking the power this amp provides would mean high gain would be louder. But, I will say it is evident that this amp has much better control of the 6se when I get that volume level cranked on high gain. Like you said, it doesn't distort or get sloppy at all, even with the 6se, which to me is indicative that the FA-10 is a very high quality amp indeed!

Have you tried comparing mid and high gain with the HE-6se? I actually liked mid gain with it and just cranked the volume up a little bit more. I guess it also depends on your dac but with the yggdrasil, I never felt like I needed to go past 1 o'clock with any headphone.

 

[Slim1970]

I guess for some reason I was thinking the power this amp provides would mean high gain would be louder. But, I will say it is evident that this amp has much better control of the 6se when I get that volume level cranked on high gain. Like you said, it doesn't distort or get sloppy at all, even with the 6se, which to me is indicative that the FA-10 is a very high quality amp indeed!

The HE6se and Susvara have odd loads for a headphone. Their impedance's are speaker like and not very efficient ones at that. It's why so many dedicated headphone amps struggle to get the best out of both of them. It's also the reason so many head-fiers turn to power amps to drive them. What's unique about the FA-10 is it specifically designed to deal with the high demands of headphones like the HE6se's, Susvara's, and TC's. It does this while remaining composed and adding some class A character.

All three of these headphones are resolving and transparent. The Susvara and TC's bring speed to equation. The FA-10 does nothing to take away these attributes but enhances them. The FA-10 is full sounding with a lot of body. No frequency seems to be exaggerated. It's dynamic, clean at any volume level, quiet, transparent, natural sounding, musical and powerful. The FA-10 may not be the last word in refinement, but it's one of the most complete solid state headphone amp I've heard.

 

[jaker782]

Have you tried comparing mid and high gain with the HE-6se? I actually liked mid gain with it and just cranked the volume up a little bit more. I guess it also depends on your dac but with the yggdrasil, I never felt like I needed to go past 1 o'clock with any headphone.

I honestly could barely detect any difference at all in volume level between mid and high gain. Very subtle. I really was only listening for volume differences and did not critically listen for any perceived sonic improvements. I'll have to test the gain further to see if I agree. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

[Slim1970]

I honestly could barely detect any difference at all in volume level between mid and high gain. Very subtle. I really was only listening for volume differences and did not critically listen for any perceived sonic improvements. I'll have to test the gain further to see if I agree. Thanks for the suggestion!

There shouldn’t be any sonic differences, but you should hear a slight boost in volume level.

 

[jaker782]

There shouldn’t be any sonic differences, but you should hear a slight boost in volume level.

I have to say I am not hearing a difference in sound quality between mid and high gain... and only a slight volume increase on high gain. This is with my 6se, so the volume difference is likely much less pronounced than a typical headphone.

 

[funkur]

It's definitely too soon to tell - especially because the fuse just blew after a cable swap! Google tells me this is a common issue actually, many folks have to go for a higher Amp rating than stock due to SR fuses blowing at power up.
But after popping the stock fuse back in, the thing I noticed most was the blacker background the SR added. Which is surprising, as I felt the FA-10 was pretty silent as is. The replacement will be here in about a week and I'll post further impressions after that one properly burns in.

Update: The replacement SR orange fuse (this one rated at 2.5 A) also blew within a day. But it did sound great, definitely a blacker background allowing for more low level detail and resolution to come through. I heard/noticed a few new things on really familiar albums like OK Computer and Kid A that are now not as intelligible back on the stock fuse.

A fun experiment, but I can’t recommend the SR’s due to reliability concerns. Going to try Hifi Tuning Supreme3 next.

 

[tholt]

Update: The replacement SR orange fuse (this one rated at 2.5 A) also blew within a day. But it did sound great, definitely a blacker background allowing for more low level detail and resolution to come through. I heard/noticed a few new things on really familiar albums like OK Computer and Kid A that are now not as intelligible back on the stock fuse.

A fun experiment, but I can’t recommend the SR’s due to reliability concerns. Going to try Hifi Tuning Supreme3 next.

Wow, you went through two $160 fuses? You don't seem that concerned -- are you sure there isn't something going on with the amp or something else? FWIW I've run SR Blue fuses for many years in pretty much all my gear, never an issue. I've also never read anything online about SR fuse reliability issues, not to say that there can't be any. But I think if they did have consistent issues people would be griping about it online, considering their cost.

 

[teknorob23]

Wow, you went through two $160 fuses? You don't seem that concerned -- are you sure there isn't something going on with the amp or something else? FWIW I've run SR Blue fuses for many years in pretty much all my gear, never an issue. I've also never read anything online about SR fuse reliability issues, not to say that there can't be any. But I think if they did have consistent issues people would be griping about it online, considering their cost.

I agree this does sound strange, I’ve been using sr fuses for years with zero problems, in fact I don’t think had one blow yet.

 

[funkur]

Wow, you went through two $160 fuses? You don't seem that concerned -- are you sure there isn't something going on with the amp or something else? FWIW I've run SR Blue fuses for many years in pretty much all my gear, never an issue. I've also never read anything online about SR fuse reliability issues, not to say that there can't be any. But I think if they did have consistent issues people would be griping about it online, considering their cost.

Luckily, they have a money back guarantee for 30 days! I've read a few experiences on Audiogon where folks really had to increase the A rating (up to double) on the SR fuses to keep them from blowing on turn on/off. I'm fairly certain they blew when turning off the amp both times as the FA-10 does "thump" a bit when powering up/down. (I believe this affects the fast fuses much more than the slow). There's definitely nothing wrong with the amp; the stock 2A Fast fuse is working fine.

I bought the SR Blue slow fuses for my Sboosters when I bought the Orange for the FA-10 and those have been fine, but I'd rather switch them all out now to another brand before the 30 days are up.

 

[funkur]

I agree this does sound strange, I’ve been using sr fuses for years with zero problems, in fact I don’t think had one blow yet.

Have you tried them in your FA-12?

 

[tholt]

Luckily, they have a money back guarantee for 30 days! I've read a few experiences on Audiogon where folks really had to increase the A rating (up to double) on the SR fuses to keep them from blowing on turn on/off. I'm fairly certain they blew when turning off the amp both times as the FA-10 does "thump" a bit when powering up/down. (I believe this affects the fast fuses much more than the slow). There's definitely nothing wrong with the amp; the stock 2A Fast fuse is working fine.

I bought the SR Blue slow fuses for my Sboosters when I bought the Orange for the FA-10 and those have been fine, but I'd rather switch them all out now to another brand.

Oh that's good. By your calm tone, I sort of wondered/assumed you were able to get a replacement. Very good. And you're right, if the normal fuse works I guess there's nothing wrong with the amp there.

I've also read that one should go slightly higher using SR fuses. I've always used the same rating as stock fuse w/no issues, but it's also prob dependent on gear. The FA-10 thump can cause it evidently, though I'm a little surprised that the last one blew despite being a higher rating.

 

[teknorob23]

Have you tried them in your FA-12?

No, i dont usually mess about with the in-device fuses, but i use them in most of my power leads