[rmsanger]

FA-10 can provide 10.5w at 50ohm (measured by Flux)

Hence my point on Amir or Wolf putting it up to their rig. I’d love to see the real measurement and distortion measured at 50 ohm. I know it won’t be an A90 but still would be nice to see the output.

 

[saadi703]

Hence my point on Amir or Wolf putting it up to their rig. I’d love to see the real measurement and distortion measured at 50 ohm. I know it won’t be an A90 but still would be nice to see the output.

If I was in US then I would have sent mine but I can’t.

 

[cfranchi]

If I was in US then I would have sent mine but I can’t.

Hello saadi,
I’m waiting for FA-10 delivery to power my HE6-se. As you have Susvara, do you prefer A90 over FA-10 ? The more powerful FA-10 does have any advantages ? More robust bass, more control ?

 

[saadi703]

Hello saadi,
I’m waiting for FA-10 delivery to power my HE6-se. As you have Susvara, do you prefer A90 over FA-10 ? The more powerful FA-10 does have any advantages ? More robust bass, more control ?

Yes I do prefer A90 over FA-10. I am really enjoying listening to Susvara + A90 combo. It has more than enough power to drive it. FA-10 advantage is the colored sound (if your into that kind of thing) as compared to A90 which is more transparent. FA-10 has more thicker and full bodied mids and also if you want less hot treble than FA-10 is the choice. A90 has even more darker background and more detail. I don’t find any advantage of more power in FA-10. I personally even prefer the bass of A90 and it does not lack the slam and punch. A90 can drive Susvara loud enough at 12 to 1 o clock volume and I never passed 1 o clock. I don’t feel A90 is lose anywhere or underpowered or sound tiny. I never thought A90 would be such a great pairing with Susvara. I am so happy that I bought this amp and Sandu has earned my respect as reviewer. Great times really, how a $500 amp can sound so good and drive the most demanding headphone. I am pretty sure that if this amp was made by some big brand name then it would have easily cost $3,500 or more. I don’t feel any need to invest in amping anymore unless I get bored and I want a new toy.

Edit: Having said that, bass on some songs has slight more thump on FA-10. So it does vary a bit for some songs. But bass is also a strong point of A90 not that it is elevated too much but rather the delivery of bass is nice. Depending on your taste some would prefer the thicker mids of FA-10. I like the variety though and it is also enjoyable to listen same songs on both amps and it is interesting how different they sound.

 

[rmsanger]

Yes I do prefer A90 over FA-10. I am really enjoying listening to Susvara + A90 combo. It has more than enough power to drive it. FA-10 advantage is the colored sound (if your into that kind of thing) as compared to A90 which is more transparent. FA-10 has more thicker and full bodied mids and also if you want less hot treble than FA-10 is the choice. A90 has even more darker background and more detail. I don’t find any advantage of more power in FA-10. I personally even prefer the bass of A90 and it does not lack the slam and punch. A90 can drive Susvara loud enough at 12 to 1 o clock volume and I never passed 1 o clock. I don’t feel A90 is lose anywhere or underpowered or sound tiny. I never thought A90 would be such a great pairing with Susvara. I am so happy that I bought this amp and Sandu has earned my respect as reviewer. Great times really, how a $500 amp can sound so good and drive the most demanding headphone. I am pretty sure that if this amp was made by some big brand name then it would have easily cost $3,500 or more. I don’t feel any need to invest in amping anymore unless I get bored and I want a new toy.

This exactly the feedback I was looking for... The THX / A90 fans love the crisp, dry, clinical/critical listening in all the glorious detail (measurement queens). I tend to find the thx sound signature harsh, sibilant, thin, and just boring for me. I'm pretty sure what you describe on the FA-10 would be perfect for my preferences especially if I can combine with a tube r2r dac or tube pre-amp. Thanks!

 

[cfranchi]

Yes I do prefer A90 over FA-10. I am really enjoying listening to Susvara + A90 combo. It has more than enough power to drive it. FA-10 advantage is the colored sound (if your into that kind of thing) as compared to A90 which is more transparent. FA-10 has more thicker and full bodied mids and also if you want less hot treble than FA-10 is the choice. A90 has even more darker background and more detail. I don’t find any advantage of more power in FA-10. I personally even prefer the bass of A90 and it does not lack the slam and punch. A90 can drive Susvara loud enough at 12 to 1 o clock volume and I never passed 1 o clock. I don’t feel A90 is lose anywhere or underpowered or sound tiny. I never thought A90 would be such a great pairing with Susvara. I am so happy that I bought this amp and Sandu has earned my respect as reviewer. Great times really, how a $500 amp can sound so good and drive the most demanding headphone. I am pretty sure that if this amp was made by some big brand name then it would have easily cost $3,500 or more. I don’t feel any need to invest in amping anymore unless I get bored and I want a new toy.

That’s plenty of good news for you

You are right we have chance to have now plenty of quality gears at reasonable price.

I’ll stick with FA-10 I guess, even if A90 has a local dealer in France. Despite db specs announced by Hifiman, it seems from what i have read that HE6 is more difficult to drive than Susvara : you see I try to justify the power of FA-10

Thank you

 

[saadi703]

That’s plenty of good news for you
you are right we have chance to have now plenty of quality gears for reasonable price.
I’ll stick with GA-10 i guess, even if A90 has a local dealer in France. Despite db specs announces by Hifiman, it seems from what i have read that He6 is moee difficult to drive than Susvara : you see I try to justify the power of Fa-10
Thank you

I am pretty sure that you would enjoy the FA-10. It is a pretty good amp on it's own. If you are fan of beefier / full bodied sounding amps then you would love it. Also some people might not enjoy the extra detail in A90's highs and rather enjoy the smoother treble of FA-10. I have never head HE-6 but some people say that it is little analytical / colder sounding so I feel FA-10 would be a better pairing as compared to A90. HE-6se already slams pretty hard (harder than Susvara) and with FA-10 you would have the amp which can really keep up with the beast. I am not going to sell my FA-10 any time soon as well as I prefer it over A90 for certain songs.

 

[iFi audio]

BTW, are you an official from iFi ? if yes then I like the iFi iCan versatility to cater to different needs with Bass/3D/Amp type options.

I sure am, my name is Rob. And thanks for nice words about iCAN. Those features surely were helpful enough that in our later products we included as many as we could. thanks again!

 

[Bhk1004]

Has anyone tried and reviewed the FA-12? Outside of it being balanced, I have no idea what the actual sound differences are and why someone would choose it over the FA-10... Think Flux Labs really needs to have both of the amps reviewed by someone reputable and the differences properly explained.

 

[gancanjam]

Has anyone tried and reviewed the FA-12? Outside of it being balanced, I have no idea what the actual sound differences are and why someone would choose it over the FA-10... Think Flux Labs really needs to have both of the amps reviewed by someone reputable and the differences properly explained.

There is now another amp, FA-10 Pro with different sound signature This is from their web site

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)

 

[Bhk1004]

There is now another amp, FA-10 Pro with different sound signature This is from their web site

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)

Jesus... CHOICES AHHHHHHHHHHHH

 

[rmsanger]

Yeah I'm going to hit the pause button on purchasing one until a few more reviews get out there.. I need Zeos will be getting a FA-10 at some point but with the multiple product offerings I want to make sure I get a high confidence level of quality and which components match well with it.

 

[NickT23]

Yeah I'm going to hit the pause button on purchasing one until a few more reviews get out there.. I need Zeos will be getting a FA-10 at some point but with the multiple product offerings I want to make sure I get a high confidence level of quality and which components match well with it.

That Zeos guy is very misleading and not to be trusted 100%

 

[rmsanger]

That Zeos guy is very misleading and not to be trusted 100%

I watch him daily I can pick apart the fluff from real. I watch Darko Gutt Zero Fidelity Thomas Joe N Tell Next Best Thing and a few others. After you see enough data points from these people you gain an understanding of reality.

 

[elira]

That Zeos guy is very misleading and not to be trusted 100%

No one is to be trusted 100%.