[NickT23]

Wow, when did they start offering a silver faceplate version? I really like that color.

Since they post on their fb page. You need to contact them through email as its not on the website.

 

[Belialspawn]

You just hold the volume tight and pull it towards you whilst holding the amp steady; it will slowly slide off of the pin. The new volume is milled Aluminium and tightens with a grub screw + small Hex key.
You can get all of the New amps painted any colour you want to, just need to email them / chat with Vitaliy and decide what you want after you purchase it. I thought about the Yellow or a bright fun colour.. but its such a big beast I wanted something subtle and contrast'y that did'nt scream at my wife to hate it.

 

[NickT23]

You just hold the volume tight and pull it towards you whilst holding the amp steady; it will slowly slide off of the pin. The new volume is milled Aluminium and tightens with a grub screw + small Hex key.
You can get all of the New amps painted any colour you want to, just need to email them / chat with Vitaliy and decide what you want after you purchase it. I thought about the Yellow or a bright fun colour.. but its such a big beast I wanted something subtle and contrast'y that did'nt scream at my wife to hate it.

Your wife hates you for liking the colour yellow ?

 

[teknorob23]

Man, It sounds like we have a similar taste in music! Thats hilarious (and fitting) that we went down similar paths in gear. Damn it, I'm going to have to find a pair of HD820's to audition. Congrats on your setup as well! I just read your signature... a fellow OCC and cryo believer, nice. In the UK you have more access and better pricing on Neotech, there are not as many providers here, but I'm a big fan of Audio Sensibility's cables, you should check out their website. Since they are priced in CAD, they're an even better value for you.

I listen to a lot of 90's/early 00's IDM also. Even though I grew up the US, I lived in Barcelona in 97-98 and was exposed to a lot of it. I hear you on the synths! My favorite test track is Orbital's "The Girl with the Sun in her Head" from the Satan Live set. I've seen them a bunch of times and know exactly how it's presented live. The most memorable hifi listening session I had with this track was with a BAT tube/ss hybrid integrated amp and Focal Utopia BE speakers. Which IMHO, aligns with what you're describing your ideal sound signature to be.

Other favorite test tracks include the opening tracks on both volumes of Kruder and Dorfmeister K&D Sessions, Daft Punk Something About Us / Voyager / Veridis Quo, Beastie Boys "Car Thief," St Germain "Montego Bay Spleen," Radiohead OK Computer/Kid A, TOOL Aenima (96/24), RATM (the Audio Fidelity DSD remasters), and Tipper "Surrounded."

Your take on the Hugo2 vs the RME is very interesting. In my case with the Qutest, I felt the mids were a little recessed and the RME had more weight, speed, and impact overall. I found the imaging and sound staging comparable when using the SD LD filter on the RME, but the Chord was a hair more 3 dimensional and textured.
I'm also an admitted sub-bass addict, so being able to add a little low end when needed with the RME is a bonus too. I think if I were comparing the 2 DACs on a 2 channel hifi setup with a sub crossed very low, I'd likely pick the Chord. If you haven't, try listening to the RME off a 13.2V or 15V power supply. I accidentally plugged in a 15V instead of the 12V and was taken aback by the richness of the output. It technically is rated for 9-15V input, but it'll run quite hot. Next tweak for me is to try a 13.2V power supply and see if the same applies but with less heat.

Sorry for slow response manic few days. This is what i love about this hobby + this forum, how often I finds others on here who's experiences track my own, but also how we end up in the same but slightly different places fine tuned to our preferences. My other half is Catalan, so i've spent quite a bit of time in Barcelona (regular at Sonar/ not so much since kids arrived) and i'm actually on my way out to a town north of there, Vic, to see family for the next 3 weeks. Trips away are where the Hugo2 comes in to its own, no with added 2Go, because it allows me to take 75% of my main set up on the road with very little compromise. Sadly the Fa12 wont be making the trip, but distance makes the heart grow and all that!

I will definitely try the higher voltage PSU with the RME when i get back. And Yes i've been massive convert to UPOCC copper and best of all silver (when pockets allow it), first in HP cables, but subsequently in pretty much every other application you can care to mention. This stuff is incredible both in performance and value and its easy to work with. I sold off probably £3K+ worth Tellurium Q interconnects (which i had enjoyed a lot), power cables, digital and ethernet cables, replaced them with better sound performance for about £800. Still a lot i know, but it works for me. Biggest shock has been the difference solid core UPOCC silver makes when used in ethernet cable, definitely the biggest impact on my streaming apart from power supplies. Anyway thats a whole other wormhole filled with controversy

Back to the FA10, like you i'm not really interested in amp's like the A90, not because they're any worse, but they're just not the flavour i'm looking for and if i want this super transparent, neutralish presentation, well i have it straight out of the Hugo2 with my favourite dac (under £4k TT2) attached to it.

I was lucky enough to have the HPA4/Dac3 on demo for month so i could compare it to the TT2. Its amazing, super transparent, no detail is lossed, tons of power and dynamics, but the Benchmark sound is bit overly clean and slightly emotionless to my ears when compared to the TT2, which is just effortlessly powerful and resolving all in a lovely organic sounding package. You can target in on any detail you want or let the whole thing wash over you, whereas the the BM duo felt like it was constantly showing me what it could do. I know at this level this is a comment based on preferences not performance vs performance as i have friends who's ears i trust (sort of ) who prefer the benchmark and swear by the HPA4. I will be surprised if the Class A Fa10 sounds similar to the HPA4, but i'd love to hear from anyone who gets to hear them together.

I cant really give a great review i do not have that much experience with a wide range of gear. Using Arya and directly comparing it to THX there is a lot more overall detail and the bass hits harder. Running High gain at 12 o'clock its decent listening volume but creep it towards 1 and things get loud, but everything becomes more engaging. Still letting it burn in and getting over the honeymoon period to prove itself to me.

I have no complaints other than it being huge, you need to make room for this thing, I'm still working out a good place for it to reside and breathe properly. Also playing around with some cosmetics, I originally planned on a black one, but the gold is staying for a while..

Congrats looks great in silver

 

[NickT23]

Sorry for slow response manic few days. This is what i love about this hobby + this forum, how often I finds others on here who's experiences track my own, but also how we end up in the same but slightly different places fine tuned to our preferences. My other half is Catalan, so i've spent quite a bit of time in Barcelona (regular at Sonar/ not so much since kids arrived) and i'm actually on my way out to a town north of there, Vic, to see family for the next 3 weeks. Trips away are where the Hugo2 comes in to its own, no with added 2Go, because it allows me to take 75% of my main set up on the road with very little compromise. Sadly the Fa12 wont be making the trip, but distance makes the heart grow and all that!

I will definitely try the higher voltage PSU with the RME when i get back. And Yes i've been massive convert to UPOCC copper and best of all silver (when pockets allow it), first in HP cables, but subsequently in pretty much every other application you can care to mention. This stuff is incredible both in performance and value and its easy to work with. I sold off probably £3K+ worth Tellurium Q interconnects (which i had enjoyed a lot), power cables, digital and ethernet cables, replaced them with better sound performance for about £800. Still a lot i know, but it works for me. Biggest shock has been the difference solid core UPOCC silver makes when used in ethernet cable, definitely the biggest impact on my streaming apart from power supplies. Anyway thats a whole other wormhole filled with controversy

Back to the FA10, like you i'm not really interested in amp's like the A90, not because they're any worse, but they're just not the flavour i'm looking for and if i want this super transparent, neutralish presentation, well i have it straight out of the Hugo2 with my favourite dac (under £4k TT2) attached to it.

I was lucky enough to have the HPA4/Dac3 on demo for month so i could compare it to the TT2. Its amazing, super transparent, no detail is lossed, tons of power and dynamics, but the Benchmark sound is bit overly clean and slightly emotionless to my ears when compared to the TT2, which is just effortlessly powerful and resolving all in a lovely organic sounding package. You can target in on any detail you want or let the whole thing wash over you, whereas the the BM duo felt like it was constantly showing me what it could do. I know at this level this is a comment based on preferences not performance vs performance as i have friends who's ears i trust (sort of ) who prefer the benchmark and swear by the HPA4. I will be surprised if the Class A Fa10 sounds similar to the HPA4, but i'd love to hear from anyone who gets to hear them together.


Congrats looks great in silver

Then what is it that you dont like about this hobby ?

 

[Slim1970]

Sorry for slow response manic few days. This is what i love about this hobby + this forum, how often I finds others on here who's experiences track my own, but also how we end up in the same but slightly different places fine tuned to our preferences. My other half is Catalan, so i've spent quite a bit of time in Barcelona (regular at Sonar/ not so much since kids arrived) and i'm actually on my way out to a town north of there, Vic, to see family for the next 3 weeks. Trips away are where the Hugo2 comes in to its own, no with added 2Go, because it allows me to take 75% of my main set up on the road with very little compromise. Sadly the Fa12 wont be making the trip, but distance makes the heart grow and all that!

I will definitely try the higher voltage PSU with the RME when i get back. And Yes i've been massive convert to UPOCC copper and best of all silver (when pockets allow it), first in HP cables, but subsequently in pretty much every other application you can care to mention. This stuff is incredible both in performance and value and its easy to work with. I sold off probably £3K+ worth Tellurium Q interconnects (which i had enjoyed a lot), power cables, digital and ethernet cables, replaced them with better sound performance for about £800. Still a lot i know, but it works for me. Biggest shock has been the difference solid core UPOCC silver makes when used in ethernet cable, definitely the biggest impact on my streaming apart from power supplies. Anyway thats a whole other wormhole filled with controversy

Back to the FA10, like you i'm not really interested in amp's like the A90, not because they're any worse, but they're just not the flavour i'm looking for and if i want this super transparent, neutralish presentation, well i have it straight out of the Hugo2 with my favourite dac (under £4k TT2) attached to it.

I was lucky enough to have the HPA4/Dac3 on demo for month so i could compare it to the TT2. Its amazing, super transparent, no detail is lossed, tons of power and dynamics, but the Benchmark sound is bit overly clean and slightly emotionless to my ears when compared to the TT2, which is just effortlessly powerful and resolving all in a lovely organic sounding package. You can target in on any detail you want or let the whole thing wash over you, whereas the the BM duo felt like it was constantly showing me what it could do. I know at this level this is a comment based on preferences not performance vs performance as i have friends who's ears i trust (sort of ) who prefer the benchmark and swear by the HPA4. I will be surprised if the Class A Fa10 sounds similar to the HPA4, but i'd love to hear from anyone who gets to hear them together.


Congrats looks great in silver

Nice write up. I have the Hugo 2 and agree with what you said about it being clean, neutral, and transparent. The TT2 give you even more of what the Hugo 2 has to offer while being slightly warmer and more natural sounding. I’m looking for a different sound from them as well. I’m trying to decide if the FA-10 or FA-12 is the flavor I’m looking for even though I have a Burson 3XR. When reading reviews of the FA-10 certain buzz words stood out. Like having more power, more bass slam and better dynamics than my 3XR. Needless to say the FA-10 has me very intrigued with its sound. But I’m still curious about the FA-12. How would you describe the FA-12’s sound compared to the Hugo 2?

 

[teknorob23]

Nice write up. I have the Hugo 2 and agree with what you said about it being clean, neutral, and transparent. The TT2 give you even more of what the Hugo 2 has to offer while being slightly warmer and more natural sounding. I’m looking for a different sound from them as well. I’m trying to decide if the FA-10 or FA-12 is the flavor I’m looking for even though I have a Burson 3XR. When reading reviews of the FA-10 certain buzz words stood out. Like having more power, more bass slam and better dynamics than my 3XR. Needless to say the FA-10 has me very intrigued with its sound. But I’m still curious about the FA-12. How would you describe the FA-12’s sound compared to the Hugo 2?

Hopefully in a few weeks time i will be able to share some comparative observations of Fa12 and FCN10, as FLA are kindly lending me the latter before it heads off on the rounds of pro reviewers in UK.

In the meantime the Fa12 is essentially fuller, thicker and smoother sounding than the Hugo2, it loses very little in terms of resolution but injects a slightly more natural timbre and sense of coherency than i hear straight out of the H2. The different sections of the FR blend and flow in out of each other more naturally via the Fa12. Another highlight of the H2 is layer separation and sense of focus and despite the fuller sound of the fa12, this still comes through, but with added depth where the notes have more texture and shape. I would describe the H2 as a precision tool with soul, but it can show off/ emphasise and slightly sharp edges in the music and again the Fa12 just seems to iron these out without losing any snap or clarity. There is a bit more warmth than with the TT2, but paired together FA12/Hugo2 sits somewhere between the TT2 and my ex-tube amp the Feliks Audio Euforia AE, its not quite as resolving as the TT2 but it is as resolving as FA euforia/ Hugo partnership, but just a bit more linear and transparent to the DAC.. if that makes sense? reading it back i'm not sure it does but struggling to find a better way of explaining it. The take home for me is that i prefer the some of the H2/FA12 parts to the H2 on its own, but i cant wait to hear the differences between the FA siblings. I hope this is of some use, but please let me know if theres anything specific you'd like me pick up on.

 

[teknorob23]

Then what is it that you dont like about this hobby ?

my inability to distinguish it from an addiction

 

[VitalyDon]

Hopefully in a few weeks time i will be able to share some comparative observations of Fa12 and FCN10, as FLA are kindly lending me the latter before it heads off on the rounds of pro reviewers in UK.

Looking forward to reading your impressions about FCN-10, mein is still in production. If you don't mind, it's very interesting: 1. how it's network / streaming part is set up; 2. what software can one use to set it up; 3. can one stream, e.g., Tidal or Roon over WiFi / Ethernet? 4. is it's internal DAC good enough to 'stop worrying and start living'? 5. how smooth is it's attenuator between, say, 11 and 2 o'clock?

Thank you in advance!

 

[teknorob23]

Looking forward to reading your impressions about FCN-10, mein is still in production. If you don't mind, it's very interesting: 1. how it's network / streaming part is set up; 2. what software can one use to set it up; 3. can one stream, e.g., Tidal or Roon over WiFi / Ethernet? 4. is it's internal DAC good enough to 'stop worrying and start living'? 5. how smooth is it's attenuator between, say, 11 and 2 o'clock?

Thank you in advance!

I think the streamer is fairly basic, just DLNA via ethernet and Airplay via wifi . I'm a Roon user, but i asked Vitaliy at FLA about the and sadly its not Roon Ready, but this is something they're working on for future models. The Amplifier is my primary interest, but i'm very intrigued to hear how the DAC stage measures up too. For the record i havent experienced any issues the volume on the FA12, it appears to operate in a linear manner, again it will be interesting to see if the FCn10 operates differently. I'm away for 3 weeks so you should hopefully find out before me anyway.

 

[Slim1970]

Hopefully in a few weeks time i will be able to share some comparative observations of Fa12 and FCN10, as FLA are kindly lending me the latter before it heads off on the rounds of pro reviewers in UK.

In the meantime the Fa12 is essentially fuller, thicker and smoother sounding than the Hugo2, it loses very little in terms of resolution but injects a slightly more natural timbre and sense of coherency than i hear straight out of the H2. The different sections of the FR blend and flow in out of each other more naturally via the Fa12. Another highlight of the H2 is layer separation and sense of focus and despite the fuller sound of the fa12, this still comes through, but with added depth where the notes have more texture and shape. I would describe the H2 as a precision tool with soul, but it can show off/ emphasise and slightly sharp edges in the music and again the Fa12 just seems to iron these out without losing any snap or clarity. There is a bit more warmth than with the TT2, but paired together FA12/Hugo2 sits somewhere between the TT2 and my ex-tube amp the Feliks Audio Euforia AE, its not quite as resolving as the TT2 but it is as resolving as FA euforia/ Hugo partnership, but just a bit more linear and transparent to the DAC.. if that makes sense? reading it back i'm not sure it does but struggling to find a better way of explaining it. The take home for me is that i prefer the some of the H2/FA12 parts to the H2 on its own, but i cant wait to hear the differences between the FA siblings. I hope this is of some use, but please let me know if theres anything specific you'd like me pick up on.

Thanks for the impressions. The H2 is great at driving low impedance, warmer sounding headphones like the LCD-4z and Empyreans on its own. But I like the H2 as a DAC only with my Liquid Platinum as well. It’s a great match for warm sounding gear as well. So I get the point you’re trying to make with the FA-12/Hugo 2 pairing. They work well together because the complement each other sound wise. I wonder if the FA-10 would be a better match at preserving the transparency levels of Chord DACs but giving a full bodied, detailed, hard hitting sound?

 

[NickT23]

my inability to distinguish it from an addiction

Why did you decided to sell your FA-12 at first ?

 

[teknorob23]

Why did you decided to sell your FA-12 at first ?

I’m not sell the fa12

 

[NickT23]

I’m not sell the fa12

Yes, but you wanted to sell. Why at first you wanted to sell ?

 

[teknorob23]

Yes, but you wanted to sell. Why at first you wanted to sell ?

I might have written unclear post but I’ve not thought about selling it