[gancanjam]

I used to have HD800 which i sold it, what i didn't liked about HD800 are it's rough treble, little leaner sound, for many the bass in HD800 would have been satisfactory but not for me.

Last month i borrowed HD800 for 2 weeks and listened with FCN-10/FA-10, good pairing ! sound stage was still wide, treble was still plenty but much more enjoyable, bit more musical and though it didn't boost the Bass much, it was tad more present with FA-10. Overall, HD800 pairing was good and i was doing longer listening with this setup.

I have never listened to HD800S though but what i recalled on my earlier discussions with it's owners were, HD800S has similar DNA as HD800 but with more warmer & musical tone, if that's the case then i am guessing HD800S & FA-10 will also be a good pairing.

I liked FA-10 with most HPs including Abyss 1266, HD800, HE1000 and the only HP pairing i did not liked is Utopia. Now with my new Simaudio Moon Neo 430 HAD which to me is an upgrade to FA-10, it sounds great with most HPs especially with Utopia but not with HE1000. So guess i cannot discard FCN-10/FA-10 now but have to keep it for HE1000. Seems there is nothing like One shoe fits all in Audiophile world

 

[funkur]

That’s a pretty big statement as it seems the fuse is adding some improvements to the sound. I might have to try one to see if I hear any changes, thanks!

After doing the A/B, I can absolutely recommend the improvement the fuse makes. Definitely lowers the noise floor and really lets the music shine through. At $50-60, it's a great upgrade in tandem with a nice power cable. I plan to order some more for other home and car amps I have.

I had read that these fuses are directional. At least in my case, the little arrow is pointing away from the IEC inlet. The other way sounds like some tube harmonic distortion coupled with a smaller soundstage.

 

[Slim1970]

After doing the A/B, I can absolutely recommend the improvement the fuse makes. Definitely lowers the noise floor and really lets the music shine through. At $50-60, it's a great upgrade in tandem with a nice power cable. I plan to order some more for other home and car amps I have.

I had read that these fuses are directional. At least in my case, the little arrow is pointing away from the IEC inlet. The other way sounds like some tube harmonic distortion coupled with a smaller soundstage.

Great info, I didn’t know about the directional arrow. I can’t wait to give it a try in my FA-10.

 

[Slim1970]

I liked FA-10 with most HPs including Abyss 1266, HD800, HE1000 and the only HP pairing i did not liked is Utopia. Now with my new Simaudio Moon Neo 430 HAD which to me is an upgrade to FA-10, it sounds great with most HPs especially with Utopia but not with HE1000. So guess i cannot discard FCN-10/FA-10 now but have to keep it for HE1000. Seems there is nothing like One shoe fits all in Audiophile world

I wish I still had my Utopia’s. They do like clean power. I found them great with the Hugo 2 and even the Gilmore Lite Mk2. I’m surprised the FA-10 doesn’t pair well with them. It’s a lot less colored than the Liquid Carbon 2.0 I previously owned and enjoyed the Utopia’s on as well.

 

[adydula]

I read on the facebook page that the ground on the AC input is not connected?

Is this accurate?

Something about if connected it might affect the "sound" ?

I thought the AC input ground is connected to the case for safety??

Am I mis-understanding this ?

Alex

 

[funkur]

That is correct, the ground is not attached. I don’t know why Flux chose that design, but its safe and not uncommon.

https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/ungrounded/

 

[elira]

That is correct, the ground is not attached. I don’t know why Flux chose that design, but its safe and not uncommon.

https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/ungrounded/

Regarding the ground, they told me:

By default we use the same technology as finest Japanese devices like Esoteric the chassis is not connected to ground in the outlet. This method allows to obtain higher parameters and eliminates the possibility of a ground loop. But the grounding is necessary, especially on the signal source side.

Our device are safe, they are utilize varistor protection.

By the request, we can connect GND wire (but that may reflect on the sound).

 

[adydula]

Understand what your saying, but do these products meet UL safety sandards then????

Alex

 

[funkur]

Understand what your saying, but do these products meet UL safety sandards then????

Alex

Likely not UL listed. Possibly CE as that’s more common in Europe, but not mandatory in Ukraine to my knowledge. If that’s important to you, then I’d stay away from a tiny manufacturer like Flux and go with Schiit or someone more established in the US market.

Complete side note - I’ve imported Italian restaurant equipment - wood burning ovens, dough mixers, etc for my pizzerias and had to get them UL/NSF certified on site. It’s a pain in the ass, but you make minor changes (never electrical), they give you the fancy sticker and then they take their inflated check to the bank.

 

[adydula]

Having electrical devices without this safety ground might be an issue. If the case is metal and a 110vac hot wire comes in contact with the case then the case becomes "hot" per say and if u touch the case and are grounded current could flow and you could be shocked or worse IMO.

The neutral or return in houses is connected to earth ground back at the power entry panel on most houses in the US. But this goes back thru the circuit breaker. And if for some reason its not connected back at the power panel (not all homes are wired correctly) this issue could be worse. again IMO.

In some products without the "ground" being used or connected, the cases are usually "Plastic" or the internal power wiring is doubled insulated to help prevent input voltage from touching the metal case.

I am not an expert just want to make sure there is "protection" built in to this product. Varistor etc??

Thanks
Alex

 

[GU1DO]

Well, if you are pairing with something like the HE-6se or Susvara, it seems to me the FA-10 is definitely the way to go (unless you want to wait for the Volot) despite the FA-10 not being balanced. Even if the FA-12 running balanced does okay with those hard to drive cans, the FA-10 even single ended should do better as 16W vs. 2.6W into 32 ohms is a huge difference, regardless of balanced vs. single ended topology.

PS. I am using the FA-10 to drive my HE-6se, and feel it does a wonderful job! I prefer it to the balanced Liquid Platinum, which is more powerful than the FA-12.

any infor regarding the Volot ?

 

[Terriero]

@Slim1970, have you tried the HD 800s in the FA10?

And one more thing, are you still enjoying your Z1R with FA 10? If you still use them with that amp.

Thanks in advance.

 

[Slim1970]

@Slim1970, have you tried the HD 800s in the FA10?

And one more thing, are you still enjoying your Z1R with FA 10? If you still use them with that amp.

Thanks in advance.

I haven‘t received my HD800’s yet. I just got notice from the dealership yesterday that my trades where good to go. Now I have a small balance to pay. I traded in my LCD-X’s and Focal Elegia for them. As neither set was getting much listening time. I’ll have them soon now that everything is finalized.

The Z1R’s are sounding phenomenal on the FA-10. Love the pairing.

 

[teknorob23]

I haven‘t received my HD800’s yet. I just got notice from the dealership yesterday that my trades where good to go. Now I have a small balance to pay. I traded in my LCD-X’s and Focal Elegia for them. As neither set was getting much listening time. I’ll have them soon now that everything is finalized.

The Z1R’s are sounding phenomenal on the FA-10. Love the pairing.

Obvs not identitcal but similar, the hd820s sound great with f10, where as the ether c flow 1.1s sound better on the fa12 and have become my go to pairing

 

[cfranchi]

I haven‘t received my HD800’s yet. I just got notice from the dealership yesterday that my trades where good to go. Now I have a small balance to pay. I traded in my LCD-X’s and Focal Elegia for them. As neither set was getting much listening time. I’ll have them soon now that everything is finalized.

The Z1R’s are sounding phenomenal on the FA-10. Love the pairing.

I’m nearly ready to pull the trigger on the HD800s, I’m also interested to read your thoughts about 800s and FA-10