Itāll be interesting to see how the VOLOT measures up since the price of that should be roughly analogous to the Pro Ican
Yes very curious now, although if itās going to be around 2.5k thatās going to be a fair bit more than the pro ican
Right I forgot its USD. THe Ican is 2500 in Canadian Funbucks
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Enjoyed your write up. I was contemplating the $1.5k amps after returning my V280. I decided to get the FA-12 to save some money. Turns out to be a good decision I think because it allowed me to get a Crack + Speedball now that they are on sale. 2 amps for the price of 1 at $1.5k.
I have a feeling that prob would be what I would prefer more than the fa-10 if it trades some raw power for refinement, would want to hear it eventually to find out
More options is always good lol
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Thanks for this quite extensive overview! I trust your takes and dang I guess I was hoping for a slightly more positive review from you especially after all the hype over on headfi. Iāll keep saving my pennies.
I was hoping the 1265 and Susvara would be viewed more favorably especially with all that power. Would you say the musicality and dynamics are strong with these two and itās just transparency thatās missing?
That prob did seem a bit negative lol, to be clear I do think the amp is a good value and is pretty worthwhile depending on the headphones that might be had, but itās no giant killer imo (things rarely are lol)
While yes those headphones are power hungry they also really like quality power, you can throw a ton of power at them to get them moving, but you really want quality to back that up imo. I donāt really think either of them demand the speaker amp treatment like the he6, but they do enjoy having more behind them
Itās just that overall the amp isnāt there for what those headphones demand from a quality perspective. It is not lacking power whatsoever, but it just doesnāt have the finesse and control, detail, spatial recreation, resolution, dynamics, black background, organicness that the 1266 and susvara also command. Itās not lacking for the price, itās just that the 1266 and susvara demand more imo, and itās pretty apparent when you listen to higher end amps with those headphones, itās just a different league. Now if flux takes what they have here in the fa-10 and bring it closer to the higher end levels their flagship could really be a great option. But while I donāt think the flux is really lacking in most aspects and is pretty well rounded, it just isnāt going to give you the potential thatās in the 1266 or susvara like higher end amps can. Itās just a case of people expecting too much imo, itās a quality amp, but really if you have headphones like that you should put just as much if not more in your source gear to unlock what they are really capable of. They donāt sound bad on the fa-10, itās just hard to look past how much more you can be rewarded by going higher for the source gear with those headphones. You could prob live in ignorance and be happy with it, but imo again I do think one would be better off with a bit lower tier less demanding headphone where it can be more easily brought to itās potential for the most part
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Would be cool for you to compare the FA-10 and FA-12 if you ever get the chance.
I could buy one but I would rather just wait until someone I know does first lol, but will wait for a chance to hear one
Please tell me you have multiple monitors with each one on a different forum category. Youāre so fast lol
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Lol what would be too much to manage, other monitors are for work, canāt distract myself too much
So I am getting a Susvara, and already have an LCD-4 (the 200 ohm version). I could get one of these at a slight discount, and it would be paired with my Sonnet Digital Audio Morpheus (which is a NOS Dac from the same guy who designed Metrum Acoustics Dacs, such as the Adagio and the Pavane Level 3)ā¦
I currently have a Liquid Platinum paired with the Morpheus and an Yggy A2 paired with a Violectric v281, and both rigs have been doing a great job driving my headphones (the LCD-4 and a Hifiman HeKSE which I am trading up for the Susvara) until I decided to get the Susvara. The rave reviews of the FA-10 on Head-fi and elsewhere have made me curious enough about it to want to get it as a hold0ver until I can afford a more technically superior amp (I have been considering the Niimbus US4(+) from Violecrtic/Lake People, but it is outside my reach by a few budget cycles at this moment, which is why the FA-10 sounded so appealingā¦
Something says I should wait and check out the reviews of the Volot, after it has come out before doing anythingā¦ So there is that
Still, I have got that deal on the discounted FA-10 which might slip through my fingers if I do not act quickly, say in about 36 hours from now topsā¦
So what to do.?..get the FA-10, or wait for the Volot and see how that compares? Or better yet, wait and save toward the Niimbus which is even farther out of my reach (budget-wise) than the Volot?
I have heard that the modded Liquid Platinum I currently have can drive the Susvara quite well with the right tubes, but I can only try that for myself and see how it works when the Susvara arrives, in about a week from now or lessā¦ If it handles the Susvara well enough, that could buy me some waiting time as I save toward either the Volot or Niimbusā¦
Still the FA-10 is calling my name at this point, and I have to say that it is what I am reading from your review which is currently giving me pause, and I really do not know what to do,ā¦ I wish I could hear it for myself and compare it with my modded Liquid Platinum, and see where the chips fall
One thing I find a little confusingā¦ In the latter part of your review, you mention the importance of source components, and I think I am pretty well set up in that department-I mean in the department of DACS, and whatever comes before them in a signal chainā¦ For example, my immediate plan was to replace the modded Liquid platinum with the FA-10 in the following chain :
Router ==>> Sonore Optical Module ==>> Uptone Etherregen ==>> Metrum Acoustics Ambre (Roon) ==>> Sonnet Morpjeeus ==>> Liquid Platinumā¦ I think the upstream components (equipped with proper LPS units) all help to bring out the best in the Liquid Platinum, although I have also always wondered what a more sophisticated amp in the 3-5k-ish region might do for this same chain.
So back to the pressing question of the momentā¦ Get the FA-10 now, or hold off for a few months in the hopes of getting something like the Volot, if it turns out to be much better for the Susvara, or maybe wait for the Niimbus US4+, which might take 6 months to one year to save for? By the way, and to say it one more time, the Susvara arrives in a week or less.
Nice 
Yes I got to hear one of those semi recently, I actually kinda prefer them it some of his older metrum stuff lol
Sounds like solid setups
Be careful with the niimbus, it sounds excellent but man it can be unforgiving at times lol, itās a really good amp but if you prefer the smoother warmer wider sound of the vio gear, this is a more studio neutral no nonsense type of sound compared to the v281
Honestly you already have pretty solid source gear, personally I would just wait and save
Itās more just scattered thoughts than a review lol, but while I do think the flux would outperform the plat while giving you a somewhat similar tuning to the plat, you do have a v281 which imo would outperform the flux to my ears at least. The susvara would have more slam and impact on the fa10, but the v281 would be more capable in most aspects I can think of imo if you already like the voicing of that amp
Thatās a very solid chain, and I think the liquid plat is easily the weakest link there for sure, taking that next step up amp wise would definitely elevate your experience there
Honestly I would hold off and go higher, you already have pretty good amps for holdovers and I think that saving up for something higher end will be more rewarding in the long run here, unless you are just super curious about the fa10
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mon have you heard the Burson Conductor 3 (XR reference or XP performance)?
They ave a new dedicated HP amplifier (Soloist) coming out with a limited per-release sale of $915.
Supposedly the first reviews are that itās a strong performer on the amp stage over both Composers and the specs are quite impressive. Raoul over on headfi and the measurements seemed excellent and the feedback from a few youtubers were positive as well.
Apparently its a fully balanced Class A amp with the ability to roll in different op amps.
Yes, Iāve heard the balanced reference, itās pretty solid, I think itās an impactful and fun amp, generally pretty good overall, although the dac inside there is meh for the price (I actually mentioned it in comparison to the flux in my thoughts on the fa10)
Well this would be a nice solution since it removes the DAC out of the equation then. Thx
FA-12 en route from Ukraine!
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Iāve been reading interesting results from modding the FA-10. I probably will buy the FA-10 next year. I will give an update if I bought it and got the mod.
Ksroata (spl on his name) quoted me $400 for the mods but he may have a bit of a backlist for it. The users who had it say it really improved the flux performance keeping itās musicality but improving the resolution way beyond the Burson Soloist 3XP.
Reach out to slim if you want a bit more feedback.
I already contacted ksorota and he quoted me at $425. The price is subject to change, depending on the pricing for the components and his time. I think itās getting to an interesting territory since now itās competing in the $1100 to $1300 area. I probably will wait for volot to come out and see whether itās better to buy volot or a modded FA-10 (although volot probably will be at around 2k)