So Iāve been using a 789 for a while now because I mainly game and donāt want my amp fucking with my audio, but im looking for a fairly cheap class a for music and I keep seeing this pop up. Someone tell me what to do for strictly music amps. I have anandas, dan Clark open aeon 2s, dt990s balanced, t1.2, 560s, dt880 balanced, harmonicdyne zeus, and soon to get a pair of gl2000s. Is this thing worth it for balanced power as well as single ended, or is there a better option? Im ok with a slightly warm amp, but I will freak out if I lose quality. I love the transparency of the 789 but i want something that compliments music well. Im open to suggestions but really I donāt care to spend much more than $500ish. I guess $1k if something is amazing and mindblowingly endgame, but it better be fucking good. I love soundstage and im not willing to sacrifice noise floor over a 789. Halp.
Flux measured on audiosciencereview
Good result IMHO
Reading the thread some of the āengineersā bring up some significant safety concerned related to safety grounding not being installed and other potential design short cuts.
Iām not sure if this is their attempt to piss on something that measured better than they expected and outside of their targeted shill products. Itās interesting to read none the less.
Have one of these in for the time being, honestly really nice for the price. It has a somewhat similar signature to the fa-10, and honestly pretty similar technicalities as well to the fa-10 for most headphones, really great overall. Itās got that warmer smoother more relaxed and bodied signature the fa-10 had without going overboard, reasonable technicalities for the price point with a wider leaning stage with decent depth and placement, detail is appropriate for the money, itās got good impact and slam without going overboard, timbre is pretty nice, really like itās volume control for the money, drives most headphones fairly well. Honestly most of my thoughts on the fa-10 could apply to the fa-12s but with tamed impact and slam with some of the more power hungry cans, and a bit tighter sound overall. But itās pretty compelling for what this goes for
Does anyone know if the fa12 balanced is worth the extra $250? That brings it reall close in price to a on sale Burson soloist 3x, especially with itās expensive shipping.
Received flux fa-12s today, first impression was - WOW, schiit asgard 3? not even close, resolution is stunning, i think it just do things right. Iām opening allo revolution dac again, waiting for m400 to arrive in 1-2 days. I think i will share my impressions of the fa-12s and m400 dac. I did not like volume knob, but remote control makes things very good, and they changed remote to a good one, not like in zeos reviewā¦
I really enjoy my FA-12 balanced. Is it worth an extra $250? I donāt know, I havenāt heard the SE version.
Thank you! Is there any other amps that you have heard that you can compare it with?
Had a 789 before it so not a good comparison.
Oh, thatās what I have. Can you tell me how much of an upgrade it was?
I think itās a good upgrade. Got the Class A flavor vs the 789 linear sound. I didnāt A/B between them and I upgraded my DAC from the Enog to the Bifrost 2 at the same time as getting the FA-12. It should be a little warmer than the 789. The first thing I noticed was great instrumental separation, but not sure if thatās more FA-12 or BF2.
These amps have been on my radar for a little while now. They seem like a really value.
My Flux Fa-12 just arrived. First impressions, itās soo big. (Insert joke here). I donāt want to comment too much without break in and proper listening time, but its put a smile on my face so far.
Having spent more time with the Flux Fa-12 I feel like I can give out some decent feedback.
Pi2aes with moode resampling to 176khz->Coax->Denafrips Ares 2 in NOS->Flux Fa-12 High Gain->LCD2C
Is a great pairing. Very smooth mid centered and detailed sound. Bass is still present, well extended and detailed. Itās a more textured and nuanced sound than a dynamic slam. The same set up with a thx 789 can come off as harsh in the treble. The FA-12 has detailed treble, but the mids seem to be the star of the show. The treble is more laid back for fatigue free listening, but with the FA-12 you donāt miss the treble at all. With the THX 789 and modi 3 I always missed the treble with these headphones and sometimes the treble came off as fatiguing even though it wasnāt that present. This is the best Iāve ever heard the LCD2C by a good margin.
Pi2aes->Coax->Denafrips Ares 2 in OS mode->Flux Fa-12->Anandas
Detailed, and airy with a little less bass slam than I was expecting. Mids are a little on the distant side. I was never able to hear height in the stage with the THX 789, but with the FA-12 the sound can sometimes be heard as coming from above your head. the stage is more filled out from center to left and right as well, but depth still alludes me somewhat. I might need to add a PEQ to increase the bass slam for the Anandaās while the THX 789/Modi 3 did not need it. Bass is still well extended and textured, but just not as present as on the Schiit dac. Now I want to hear a bifrost 2 to compare, but aesthetically the Denafrips Ares 2 and Flux FA-12 are a great match. Ironically, the easy going treble of FA-12 seems to take away from the Anandaās treble sparkle. The same can be said for my balanced modded KSC75. Iāll give this a bit more time for brain burn in. I might be too used to the THX 789 at this point.
The Flux Fa-12 is a superior amp to the THX 789 in most ways sonically. Itās less fatiguing, more detailed and has better channel balance. My 789 had a little channel imbalance at low volumes. Except, the fa-12 does seem to deliver noticeably less power. I listen to both of my not very power hungry planars on high gain at around 11:00-12:00. If youāre looking for a really aggressive and in your face kind of sound I guess you could prefer the THX 789.
The biggest upgrade with the FA-12 was the elimination of my ground loop problem with the THX 789 paired with the Denafrips Ares 2 over balanced.
On a side note, I think the Denafrips Ares 2 is best used on speakers. The reverb it can provide seems a little wasted on headphones. Something to consider when itās time to upgrade my stereo.
better channel balance than your 789? doesnt that just mean your 789 is faulty?
It seems to be a more common issue with some amps more than others. This is a known issue with the 789.
Enjoyed your write up. Similar results to what I hear. I run the Bifrost 2 with mine. Would be a great addition for headphones if you didnāt want to go full on upgrade.
An update on my FA-12 experience. I ran the FA-12 for a 24+ hour burn in when I first got it. Somewhere around hour 30 the left channel went out. After turning it off for a few seconds and then back on it ran fine so I didnāt think much of it.
However, my volume wheel is now acting up. It starts clicking in the middle of playing music after I havenāt touched the volume wheel for a few minutes. Worst yet, it occasionally jumps up in dB to much, much louder than my current listening volume for about a second and then back down. I contacted support, so I guess weāll see what happens.
Wow, I got this reply with in 40 minutes of my email!
Hello Rene
Donāt panic please, the potentiometer needs a little mechanical running-in, just plug off the headphones and turn off the unit. You need to make short fitness program with volume knob, from the extreme left position, make 15-20 vigorous rotations of the volume control, clockwise and counterclockwise. Next, move the volume control to its original position (at minimum volume), plug in the headphones, and then turn on the device. Enjoy your use
Best regards, Vitaliy
Crazy fast support! Iāll report back if this fixed this issue or not in a day or two.
Sadly this hasnāt resolved the problem. I still get clicking randomly while listening to music and worse yet, I still get loud bangs, where the volume jumps up many dB for a second. Not sure I can use this amp to protect my hearing and my headphones.