FluxLab FA-10 powerful headphone amplifier

Discussion in 'Product Announcements' started by FluxMan, Apr 25, 2020.

  1. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    Hi SBAfriends,

    I'm glad to introduce the new model of our powerful headphone amplifier FLUX FA-10 which was designed specially for hard to drive headphones like HE-6(SE), K1000, Abyss, Susvara etc. But to be honest three GAIN modes and total background "silence" make possible to use it with any headphones you want

    [​IMG]

    Features for your reference
    • output power is 16 Watt on 32 Ohm load, absolute control for most hard to drive headphones on market
    • output stage is based using Toshiba bipolar transistors with a supply voltage of 80 volts
    • 3 GAIN modes for excellent flexibility
    • Class A
    • 64-step relay volume attenuator
    • powerful toroidal transformer
    Specification

    Output power​
    • 32Ohm: 16W RMS per channel
    • 300Ohm: 1.7W RMS per channel
    • 600Ohm: 1W RMS per channel
    • Inputs single-ended RCA, balanced XLR
    • Outputs 4-pin balanced female XLR headphone out, TRS headphone out
    • Frequency Response : 5Hz-200kHz, -3dB
    • THD 0.008%
    • Input Impedance 10KOhm
    • Gain 14dB, 21dB, 25.3dB
    • Power Consumption 55W
    • Voltage 115V at 60Hz, 230V at 50Hz
    • Weight 11.2lbs (5.1kg) without packaging
    The price for that beauty is 749 USD

    [​IMG]

    We already have the review on it but I'm not sure that it is possible to share link here) so you know how to Google it

    Thanks for watching
     
    Last edited: Apr 25, 2020
  2. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

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    You should send one to us for a loaner tour.
     
  3. purr1n

    purr1n Desire for betterer is endless.

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    ^ This.

    @ChaChaRealSmooth is the person to contact for this. Or alternatively, feel free to reach out to members, preferable people you have been here for a long time, that you may know.
     
  4. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I feel like you can tell us a lot more about the actual design of the amp. You've been here over a year, you should know what we're like. A "powerful toroidal transformer" tells us nothing. Power specs tell us nothing. A single THD# tells us... well you get the idea.

    Is designing for inefficient headphones like the HE-6 and K1000 really the proper benchmark that people should be striving for these days? I'm a nutjob with an HE-6 and my amp is set on low gain (I think it's at 12db). If you're set on three gains, in my opinion having a low setting around 6db would offer you far more flexibility to a wider range of customers. I can guarantee you that people will have sources that have inherent noise, and they're going to complain about hearing that noise when it goes through a high gain amp with their efficient headphones.
     
  5. TheIceman93

    TheIceman93 El pato-zorro

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    It seems they have 2 versions of this amp. The FA-12 puts out less power: https://fluxlab-acoustics.com/product/fa-12/
     
  6. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophileâ„¢

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    Hi @FluxMan Welcome to SBAF.

    Every place has its own rule and culture. Without knowing and utilizing them, any marketing cannot be effective. I don't think the first post of this thread SBAF-informative.

    1. Ultimately you will have to arrange a loaner tour to get some credit. @ChaChaRealSmooth can help you. Note that people here (myself included) tend to believe neither pro-reviewers, sns/blog/youtube-reviewers, nor impressions posted in other forums.
    2. But before that, you should PITCH your product again. Otherwise, you may not get enough participants.
    3. For #2, you should convince sbaf folks why this product meaningfully differentiate itself from tons of other products already on the market. Ask your developer(s) or technology chief to register here and say something like below
    • what is his/her view on market competitors?
    • what were goals and challenges in development? and how were they accomplished or addressed?
    • what are supporting evidence that stand by tech statements?
    Note that people are not having any trouble in getting a ear splitting volume in K1000 or HE6. Quality of amplification matters more. I hope you actually heard them through VARIOUS amps (yours, your prototypes, de-facto standards, other competitors, etc) to get some robust comparative idea.

    If you want to rely on measurements. Do it right and thorough. For example, instead of saying THD percentages, you can provide a better information by showing each order harmonic result / changes by frequency / changes by level / in-depth discussion/interpretation of the results (again, call your tech lead). And always note that any single evidence may not be enough to convince people here.
     
    Last edited: Apr 27, 2020
  7. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    Guys, sorry for the silence, days after reviews were scorching for chatting, calling, emailing, so I have no idea how to deal with responses. Sorry for that) but I'm back and let me answer to you one by one
     
  8. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    So, before any activities like reviews on other sources, a person named Paul have already contacted us about the loan program and he mentions about SBAF forum. I'll check his nickname via email) Also I want to say thank you for the contact of the responsible person who can keep the question under control. The bad news that is for according to our preliminary assessment, we can arrange a testing unit not early than in two months.
     
  9. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    Thanks for the question. First of all, we have developed this amplifier for "complex" or better to say hard tod rive load, of course, the HE-6 and K1000 are more an exception than a rule. But we place that goal as market needs

    Responding on your question, 6dB is an only two times gain, it is too small even for a low gain, for some IEM it will work, but given the power of the FA-10 amplifier, IEM is not the target group for this amplifier. Besides, the amplifier has a low noise level, and in any full-size headphones, will be extremely difficult to hear it. And the DAC has a higher signal-to-noise ratio than amplifiers, so this is not a weak link. For IEM's better try look on the FA-12 it just has the right gain for IEM - 3.5dB (1.5 times), and there is no noise in IEM even with the volume knob turned up to maximum position

    Tell me please, what details you need to know?
     
  10. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    My comment on gain was partially because 20+ gain is taking you into literal speaker amp territory. And yes, the DACs may in fact have a higher SNR than the amp, but that means the high gain is going to amplify the dac noise. It doesn't matter what happens, people are going to complain that they hear noise and not realize it's their source. It's not your fault that people are stupid, but it's going to happen. Back to the 6db option, you may also be underestimating that people may be hooking up pro level sources that have hot line levels coming out.

    topology used, and why you chose it
    how do you define "class A"
    specific design elements you strived for / what makes you different from everyone else
    what type of power supply? how did you keep the noise down?
    any peculiar difficulties you faced and how you overcame them
    why toroidal? what makes it "powerful"? how is it "special", and please give us real engineering, not just colourful words

    Take a look at this build log: https://www.superbestaudiofriends.o...ecp-audio-t4-headphone-amplifier.6720/page-12
    I'm not asking that you create something exactly like that, but this build tells us so much about what goes into the amp, all the work that went into the design and the history of it, etc.
    You have many guys in this community who have built amps for decades and worked in the actual industry, both boutique and commercial. There are many here who also know how to *properly* use measurement gear, not just fly-by-night guys who bought a machine and messed around with a few tutorials to make pretty graphs. We even have a couple guys here who do these kind of measurements for a living, on components more complex than audio gear.

    There are a lot of amateurs here, and a lot of average folks just here to read random things; but there is also a very strong contingent of guys here who will call you on your BS if all you deliver is flowery words. You gave us a THD spec. Cool. Now show us the variance per FR and per varying power levels and per differing loads, and your control and calibration. I'm not doubting you, but if you want to impress us then show us you know what those numbers mean, and that it wasn't just a figure that you got after pushing a button on a machine.
     
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2020
  11. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

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    It would be interesting to know how much power the amp can produce for 4 Ohm load (within the announced THD)?
    And I don't understand the choice of gain settings too. If you put 3-positions switch it would have sense to cover wide range, IMHO.
     
  12. ufospls2

    ufospls2 Friend

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    Thats me (Paul) you are talking about. I reached out to see if you would be interested in loaning me an amp personally so I could review it for my blog. I would, of course, also post my thoughts here as I am a member and like to share my thoughts with the community. The reason I reached out is that my main headphones are the Susvara, and AB-1266 Phi TC, which are both hard to drive, and would do well with the FA-10s power output.

    However

    The SBAF loaner program is an entirely separate entity from me, and I have no affiliation with SBAF apart from being a member of the site. The head of the loaner program is @ChaChaRealSmooth, and he would be the best person to speak to if you would like to provide a loaner amp for the SBAF loaner program.

    Hope that clears up any confusion :)
     
  13. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    Hello, Dzerh. Our amplifier is not adapted to work with loudspeakers and the output power to a load of 4 ohms will be limited and will depend on the power of the installed power transformer and will not exceed 21-22W per channel with the declared THD values. This circuit is capable of providing an output power of 112 W per channel at 4 Ohms of load. However, to obtain such power, it will be necessary to equip the device with a 370-400 VA transformer, while the amplifier will work in AB class.

    Regarding the GAIN settings. Decibels are not a linear unit of measurement, and the adjustment range is quite wide, we carefully selected it together with many popular headphones today.
    To make it easier to understand, we indicate the gain in times.
    low - 5 times (e.g. FOSTEX 610/900)
    mid - 11.2 times (universal gain, suitable for most headphones - HD800, LCD ...)
    high - 18.4 times (Susvara, HE6, 1266 ...)
    At the same time, an amplifier with any group of headphones will work with a complete absence of noise

    Thanks
     
  14. FluxMan

    FluxMan MOT: Flux

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    Hello, Paul

    Thanks for the clarification, we will consider for the future.

    Keep in touch
     
  15. Dzerh

    Dzerh Friend

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    actually I was thinking about covering Verum1-like types of headphones, - high current requirements but pretty efficient.
     
  16. Jerry

    Jerry Friend

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    Hi @FluxMan

    Any chance of sending a loaner unit to SBAF?
     
  17. neogeosnk

    neogeosnk Friend

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    Did the loaner prospects for this amp dry up? $750 high power class-a amp sounds like the perfect fit for sbaf, where performance/value is king.
     
  18. YMO

    YMO Chief Fun Officer

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    He went on HF after this thread.
     
  19. Phantaminum

    Phantaminum Friend

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    Flux Labs look to have come out with another amp in the $750 range. This one is the FA-22 Class A amp. I was thinking about purchasing the amp for the Focal Elex and possibly a future planar. Anyone interested in a personal loaner tour if I do?
     
  20. Vtory

    Vtory Audiophileâ„¢

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    I'm definitely interested. Indeed I was debating myself to try out their amps a while ago before I settled down Jotunheim 2.

    By the way, their line up is a little confusing to me. They seem to have four products in very similar price ranges (FA10, FA10Pro, FA12, FA22).. and I failed to figure out how they differentiated. Any insights?

    upload_2021-10-8_18-17-33.png
     

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