A lot of waiting....
FLUX Mentor Class-A dual-mono headphone amplifier.
- Thread starter Ichos
- Start date
I would do my best to give Mentor full priority despite having a long que behind it!........ "Waiting For Ichot" ....
Man, I was getting closer to buying and got to the check out page thinking "$100 on sale 
" only to see $110 shipping + $60 processing fee :/ buzzkill
" only to see $110 shipping + $60 processing fee :/ buzzkill
bodhidharma
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Considering the performance, construction and components used this is a colossal deal even with those costsMan, I was getting closer to buying and got to the check out page thinking "$100 on sale
streaml1ne
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The shipping price from a warzone to overseas wasn't surprising, specially given the weight. Paying the paypal processing fee makes me realize how much of a ripoff Paypal is.Man, I was getting closer to buying and got to the check out page thinking "$100 on sale
Considering the performance, construction and components used this is a colossal deal even with those costs
mood
I get it but its probably of a UPS rate thing (out of poland?), which will also slam on some BS brokerage fees no doubt
Rebel ships from the same location and is free shipping / included in the price, which is why I had the sticker shock. (heck, I just ordered a 40lb subwoofer yesterday with free shipping, I'm just used to it at this point)
Rebel is 3kg and Mentor 6kg in a much larger and bulkier package.I get it but its probably of a UPS rate thing (out of poland?), which will also slam on some BS brokerage fees no doubt
Rebel ships from the same location and is free shipping / included in the price, which is why I had the sticker shock. (heck, I just ordered a 40lb subwoofer yesterday with free shipping, I'm just used to it at this point)
I'd have no problem paying 200% of free in that case
but seriously, the FA-12 is 4kg and still $100 shipping, so its not a weight thingCourier companies taking the piss that is what.I'd have no problem paying 200% of free in that case
jonathan c
Headphoneus Supremus
.... more a space, volume consideration. When FA-22 arrived, the container box was awkwardly large.I'd have no problem paying 200% of free in that case
streaml1ne
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Of course UPS tries to deliver today, the ONE day this month I wasn't home.
Murphy's Law is a thing
Bluesburger
New Head-Fier
I finally found some time to spend with the Mentors and thought I'd share my impressions I posted on Facebook with you. No review, no comparisons, just my personal impressions and thoughts.
I remember a funny scene with Austin Powers when he checked off having a threesome with Asian twins on his to-do list. In the past, I wanted to tick off the topic of “headphones on 2 mono amplifiers” in a similar way. Over the last few years I have occasionally been looking for 2 Questyle CMA800s in a monoblock configuration. These were hard to come by, so I consoled myself with the newer models CMA400i and CMA Twelve Master. Both very good devices, no question (at least as long as they work, because service is virtually non-existent, both from Questyle itself and from the German distributor). But this is another story.....
It doesn't matter, my heart beats for tubes anyway, but I also like to have a solid state variety and as a reference. A few weeks ago I decided to slim down my gear and focus solely on my DIY tube amps that I built with a good friend. So I sold the Twelve Master again and put the topic of solid state amplifiers aside for the time being.
Before Christmas, however, I stumbled across the Mentor announcement on the Flux Labs Facebook page and the monoblock concept piqued my interest again. I contacted the guys from Flux and had a very pleasant and interesting exchange, so I decided to order a Mentor stack when it was available. My idea was to order 2 pieces and possibly sell one again because I was sure that one mentor would be completely sufficient for my purposes, but out of curiosity I wanted to try out the full stack for a while. After just a few hours it was clear: the stack would be with me for a long time. However, these are two big guys that take up a lot of space on my desk, too much space. So I had to build a wall-mounted shelf and custom cables to store everything properly and in a space-saving manner. I am very happy with the result and use the Mentor stack very often with all my headphones, due to honeymoon phase even more often than my tube amplifiers to be honest.
I'm really wondering why the Mentor is getting so little attention at the moment, because it's great, especially considering the price. This applies to both, an individual in stereo mode and to the full stack. It's a wonderful counterpart to my tube amplifiers and definitely the best solid state amplifier I've heard so far. Really very transparent and clear with a wonderful spatial image, especially in depth, which always impresses me the most because I think that's the supreme discipline with headphones. The combination with the Merason Frerot DAC is wonderfully musical and leaves absolutely nothing to be desired for me. I don't feel the need to compare with my other amps or "test" certain songs. I just listen to whatever music I feel like listening to, enjoy it, get goosebumps and look forward to every day that I find time to listen to music. For me, the focus on the music instead of the equipment is a sign that it just fits. I also like the look and feel. The units are very nicely built and switches, controls and sockets are of very high quality. The synchronization of the devices via the 9 pin cable works smoothly. The volume control via relay is precise and fun to use. I love the clicking sound that both devices make when changing the volume and switching them on and off. I operate the Susvara on medium or high gain and the ZMF Atrium Closed and Verite Closed on low gain. The volume can be regulated with excellent precision in all cases; it seems to progress more slowly in the lower range than at higher volumes, which means that I always have a comfortable control path. I'll also test my IEMs (64 Audio U12T and Sony IER-Z1R) some day, but I wasn't bored enough to do that yet. They get warm, but not nearly as hot as I expected and they don't need much time to warm up and sound great.
At this point I would like to say thank you to the guys from Flux Labs. I wish them all the best and much success! They really took the time to answer my questions and I had a very good feeling about the purchase, even though it was a blind purchase and there were no reviews or impressions at the time I ordered. The package took a week from Ukraine to Germany and arrived safely. The amplifiers were double packed and so well padded that you could have dropped the package with a parachute without having to worry about damaging the devices. When ordering, you have the option of ordering an adapter cable for mono operation and an upgraded power cable for an additional charge, as well as a remote control. I assemble all of my cables myself and have therefore decided not to buy these. What I really regret, however, is that I didn't order the remote control. I was sure I wouldn't need it because I had planned to use the amps on the desk from the start. However, at some point, the master unit will probably show signs of wear and the slave will look like new forever, so I think I have to get a remote as soon as possible.
Now back to listening to music. Have a good time everyone!
Michael
I remember a funny scene with Austin Powers when he checked off having a threesome with Asian twins on his to-do list. In the past, I wanted to tick off the topic of “headphones on 2 mono amplifiers” in a similar way. Over the last few years I have occasionally been looking for 2 Questyle CMA800s in a monoblock configuration. These were hard to come by, so I consoled myself with the newer models CMA400i and CMA Twelve Master. Both very good devices, no question (at least as long as they work, because service is virtually non-existent, both from Questyle itself and from the German distributor). But this is another story.....
It doesn't matter, my heart beats for tubes anyway, but I also like to have a solid state variety and as a reference. A few weeks ago I decided to slim down my gear and focus solely on my DIY tube amps that I built with a good friend. So I sold the Twelve Master again and put the topic of solid state amplifiers aside for the time being.
Before Christmas, however, I stumbled across the Mentor announcement on the Flux Labs Facebook page and the monoblock concept piqued my interest again. I contacted the guys from Flux and had a very pleasant and interesting exchange, so I decided to order a Mentor stack when it was available. My idea was to order 2 pieces and possibly sell one again because I was sure that one mentor would be completely sufficient for my purposes, but out of curiosity I wanted to try out the full stack for a while. After just a few hours it was clear: the stack would be with me for a long time. However, these are two big guys that take up a lot of space on my desk, too much space. So I had to build a wall-mounted shelf and custom cables to store everything properly and in a space-saving manner. I am very happy with the result and use the Mentor stack very often with all my headphones, due to honeymoon phase even more often than my tube amplifiers to be honest.
I'm really wondering why the Mentor is getting so little attention at the moment, because it's great, especially considering the price. This applies to both, an individual in stereo mode and to the full stack. It's a wonderful counterpart to my tube amplifiers and definitely the best solid state amplifier I've heard so far. Really very transparent and clear with a wonderful spatial image, especially in depth, which always impresses me the most because I think that's the supreme discipline with headphones. The combination with the Merason Frerot DAC is wonderfully musical and leaves absolutely nothing to be desired for me. I don't feel the need to compare with my other amps or "test" certain songs. I just listen to whatever music I feel like listening to, enjoy it, get goosebumps and look forward to every day that I find time to listen to music. For me, the focus on the music instead of the equipment is a sign that it just fits. I also like the look and feel. The units are very nicely built and switches, controls and sockets are of very high quality. The synchronization of the devices via the 9 pin cable works smoothly. The volume control via relay is precise and fun to use. I love the clicking sound that both devices make when changing the volume and switching them on and off. I operate the Susvara on medium or high gain and the ZMF Atrium Closed and Verite Closed on low gain. The volume can be regulated with excellent precision in all cases; it seems to progress more slowly in the lower range than at higher volumes, which means that I always have a comfortable control path. I'll also test my IEMs (64 Audio U12T and Sony IER-Z1R) some day, but I wasn't bored enough to do that yet. They get warm, but not nearly as hot as I expected and they don't need much time to warm up and sound great.
At this point I would like to say thank you to the guys from Flux Labs. I wish them all the best and much success! They really took the time to answer my questions and I had a very good feeling about the purchase, even though it was a blind purchase and there were no reviews or impressions at the time I ordered. The package took a week from Ukraine to Germany and arrived safely. The amplifiers were double packed and so well padded that you could have dropped the package with a parachute without having to worry about damaging the devices. When ordering, you have the option of ordering an adapter cable for mono operation and an upgraded power cable for an additional charge, as well as a remote control. I assemble all of my cables myself and have therefore decided not to buy these. What I really regret, however, is that I didn't order the remote control. I was sure I wouldn't need it because I had planned to use the amps on the desk from the start. However, at some point, the master unit will probably show signs of wear and the slave will look like new forever, so I think I have to get a remote as soon as possible.
Now back to listening to music. Have a good time everyone!
Michael
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