[tholt]

After burning in my Fa-10 for more than 200 hours, I enjoy it even more. Music flows more easily, more transparent, detailed and most importantly smooth.

Good to know things are still changing through that amount of time. Something to look forward to

and still not sure i even like this, but i keep finding myself listening to it...

I hear you. I feel the same way about his stuff

 

[GU1DO]

FA-10 pro is just released, 749$

what is the difference to the regular one ?

 

[Belialspawn]

From the facebook page, I think the 2 main features are Bipolar input instead of J-fet and IR remote port + i would guess motorised volume.

FA-10 features

- JFET inputs and BIPOLAR outputs stage circuit design;
- Neat high freqs
- Full-bodied mids
- Fast and soft bass response with a bit forced Mid-Bass

FA-10 PRO features

- BIPOLAR inputs and BIPOLAR outputs stage circuit design
- Crisp high freqs
- Linear mids
- Precise, percussive bass response
- Remote control (optional)

 

[NickT23]

I don't have the Utopia, sorry. I had a pair of Stellia but sold them within a few days of receiving the Verite C

Why VC over Stellia ?

 

[NickT23]

From the facebook page, I think the 2 main features are Bipolar input instead of J-fet and IR remote port + i would guess motorised volume.

FA-10 features

- JFET inputs and BIPOLAR outputs stage circuit design;
- Neat high freqs
- Full-bodied mids
- Fast and soft bass response with a bit forced Mid-Bass

FA-10 PRO features

- BIPOLAR inputs and BIPOLAR outputs stage circuit design
- Crisp high freqs
- Linear mids
- Precise, percussive bass response
- Remote control (optional)

What does that even means ?

 

[Belialspawn]

They replaced the JFet ( junction-gate field effect transistor) from the input signal to use another type; BJT (Bipolar junction transistor) to process the signal slightly different.

" The major difference between BJT and FET is that, in a field effect transistor only majority charge carries flows, whereas in BJT both majority and minority charge carry flows. "

That's as far as my engineering skills will take me

 

[Blizniak]

Pro is more clinical, not as warm.

 

[Slim1970]

I ask Vitaliy that question when I was inquiring what would be a better fit for the headphones in my collection. I wanted to know if I could change my order to the pro version. Here’s his reply on the FA-10 and FA-10 Pro.

“PRO has own strong sides, for example bass section is more trumped, focused and articulated, technically it is more interesting, but you also should understand that you will lose at depth. Mids and highs share a bit more transparency, clearness (for my taste sometimes it sounds a bit sharply) maybe with warm DAC source you can reach success, but there is always roulette game.

Main point that you need to understand that is FA-10 classic support really organic, seamless and emotional nature of the sound, FA-10 Pro will share more crisp and trumped sound and there is always you will have a risk of unnatural brightness“.

So after the email exchange I decided to stick with the regular version of the amp. Since my DAC’s are neutral with very good technicalities.

 

[rmsanger]

I'm holding out for the Volot release within the month and associated reviews.... The initial FA-10 feedback wasn't positive enough for me to make an investment yet.

 

[funkur]

Why VC over Stellia ?

At first listen, I was smitten with the Stellia but quickly found them fatiguing once I had them to demo at home, especially when I switched out the stock cables to more revealing ones.

The VC to me are simply more musical and enjoyable for long listening sessions. They are also the most open sounding closed backs I’ve ever heard.


Side note: I had the Audeze LCD-XC for 4-5 years. At the time of purchase, they were one of the best closed backs around and I was looking for a 2020 upgrade. Open backs are not a viable option for me at home.

I also used to work in hi-fi and still have a lot of friends in the industry. I did not pay retail for the Stellias - the VC cost me more even lightly used - Zach/ZMF could ask $3-3500 for them and I’d still be impressed. While I don’t always agree with Stereophile, the A+ rating is warranted.

 

[cfranchi]

I ask Vitaliy that question when I was inquiring what would be a better fit for the headphones in my collection. I wanted to know if I could change my order to the pro version. Here’s his reply on the FA-10 and FA-10 Pro.

“PRO has own strong sides, for example bass section is more trumped, focused and articulated, technically it is more interesting, but you also should understand that you will lose at depth. Mids and highs share a bit more transparency, clearness (for my taste sometimes it sounds a bit sharply) maybe with warm DAC source you can reach success, but there is always roulette game.

Main point that you need to understand that is FA-10 classic support really organic, seamless and emotional nature of the sound, FA-10 Pro will share more crisp and trumped sound and there is always you will have a risk of unnatural brightness“.

So after the email exchange I decided to stick with the regular version of the amp. Since my DAC’s are neutral with very good technicalities.

I’m glad that I have choose FA-10 for my HE6se, don’t know if my Chord Mojo DAC can be called warm.

 

[Blizniak]

I’m glad that I have choose FA-10 for my HE6se, don’t know if my Chord Mojo DAC can be called warm.

It sure can, it's typical warm brit-fi.

 

[Slim1970]

I’m glad that I have choose FA-10 for my HE6se, don’t know if my Chord Mojo DAC can be called warm.

I think I'm going to like the FA-10 as well with my gear. The TT2 has a slightly warm, natural sound to it. I'm not sure how it would pair with the FA-10 but I'm going to try it. I want to listen to the RME ADi-2 DAC first since I have a bunch of PEQ presets stored in. The TT2 is more plug and play and I know what to expect from it.

 

[driftingbunnies]

I wanted to share my experience with the HE-6SE's with the FA-10. FA-10 had plenty of power for these headphones. I found that mid-gain and turning the volume knob to 11-12 was the best vs using high-gain. The bass was detailed and impactful. When compared to my integrated NAD amp, the NAD amp had even more impact but it could be due to the character of the amp. The FA-10 provided a very enjoyable experience with the HE-6SEs. It brought more musicality to the music compared to my NAD amp which was more neutral sounding. I didn't notice any drop in resolution and felt like for a headphone like the HE-6SE which is known to be very amp picky (as in it requires a large amount of power), it's amazing that something like the FA-10 under 1k does a great job when more expensive amps struggle.

 

[cfranchi]

I wanted to share my experience with the HE-6SE's with the FA-10. FA-10 had plenty of power for these headphones. I found that mid-gain and turning the volume knob to 11-12 was the best vs using high-gain. The bass was detailed and impactful. When compared to my integrated NAD amp, the NAD amp had even more impact but it could be due to the character of the amp. The FA-10 provided a very enjoyable experience with the HE-6SEs. It brought more musicality to the music compared to my NAD amp which was more neutral sounding. I didn't notice any drop in resolution and felt like for a headphone like the HE-6SE which is known to be very amp picky (as in it requires a large amount of power), it's amazing that something like the FA-10 under 1k does a great job when more expensive amps struggle.

Interesting, I didn’t try mid gain, just went for high gain and was happy with what I heard. What is your DAC output voltage, mine is 3V.