Flux Labs Acoustics

[robson]

If anyone is interested:

"Dear friends!

For more than 10 months our country has been at war, but we are constantly feeling your support and we are thankful for your warm heartfelt wishes, for which we are very grateful. Inspired by the latest events and your full support, our team has been working all along and had something special in store for you.

Our first yearly announcement is dedicated to our close friends and fans. We are glad to show you for the very first time the FA-10 Limited which is a massively upgraded version of the regular FA-10 headphone amplifier, coming in limited numbers.

Although there are plenty of internal upgrades, these are the most important ones:

• Modernized printed circuit boards for the installation of MUNDORF MLYTIC AG power capacitors. This change leads to a clearer sound that’s quite a lot more dynamic
• All audio circuits are now using ELNA Silmic II electrolytic capacitors
• We upgraded the circuitry of the analog input and output stages, for a more linear tonal balance across the board
• The feedback circuit has been redesigned for a fuller-bodied sound, that’s more transparent than ever before
• Internal wiring uses the highest-quality and purest copper wire available today, more exactly the Neotech ultra-pure UPOCC wire, that had a massive positive effect on the entirety of the frequency response, getting a cleaner and weightier sound.

Each buyer of the Limited Edition will be receiving a memorable gift - a hand-crafted bracelet from the last steel batch made at the Azovstal plant in the beautiful city of Mariupol, which was completely destroyed by the invading troops. The bracelet is a symbol of unity and invincibility of the Ukrainian people.

You can be part of our history, helping us doing what we love to do the most by getting an FA-10 Limited Edition that can be ordered right now."

fluxlab-acoustics.com

FA-10 Limited Class-A Headphone Amplifier

I ordered one, and will report back after some burn in and listening time

[xiaoyaoyou]

Definitely keep us posted. The limited edition should be an interesting development.

[robson]

If anyone else is interested in actually purchasing one I can post or PM you some further info on this amp.

I exchanged a couple of somewhat lengthy emails with Vitalii of Flux Acoustics, clarifying the differences and strengths of some of the models, and how this differs from them or the regular FA-10.

I did kind of a deep dive on whatever info and reviews of the FA-10 and 12 I could find first, and then reached out to the company.

According to Vitalii, the Limited combines the power, clarity, and soundstage of the 10 with the better midrange, bass, and smoother sound of the 12, and supposedly sounds better overall than either.

They seem similar to Rebel Audio in that the amps are all class A, they use good to excellent parts, and seem to be pretty high performance/value propositions. Both are from Ukraine too. The build quality looks simple but a very clean layout on circuit boards, overall very nice internally.

They seem somewhat analogous to some of Schiit’s stuff, or some of the better Singxer stuff. But hopefully better sound quality? I’ve never heard Flux amps or the Rebel amp, but they’ve both gotten some very good reviews. It will certainly be different in any case. We shall see…

[bigshel99]

Will be curious to hear your feedback on this one. Sounds like it addresses probably my biggest “meh” part of the FA-10, maybe. Overall, really like the amp for the price. Nothing like any Schiit amp I’ve heard, tbh.

[robson]

What is your biggest meh for the FA-10? Sounds like you have one (the amp that is), curious what you think of it, what all you use it with.

I’ll hook it up to a Schiit Yggy DAC, various ZMF and Rosson RAD 0 for headphones. I’m looking forward to trying it!

[robson]

This came yesterday:

The Flux FA-10 Limited!

Initial impressions are quite positive, though the time I’ve had with it has been fairly short. Maybe 5-6 hours so far…

I’ll be listening today with ZMF Verite and Rosson RAD-0. Last night was with Atrium, as I thought it would be a good match, which it is.

Chain is Schiit Yggy OG DAC, to XLR switch which feeds it and a Burson Soloist GT. Headphones are via 4 pin XLR.

My first impression of it is that it’s a very resolving, punchy, and “exciting” sound with very good soundstage. It reminds me (in a positive way) of some of the characteristics the Schiit Jotunheim 2 has, in that it is very dynamic, with punchy bass. It’s a fun listen so far. It has better detail and resolution than the Schiit, and more front to back soundstage depth. It’s definitely not as “relaxed” as some Schiit amps, but does convey warmth in the mids. It’s also a bit more treble forward presentation, but it is not harsh or fatiguing. Now that it’s had some time to settle and burn in overnight it sounds smoother as well.

A brief comparison with the Burson Soloist GT confirms that the Soloist is a more “reference” tuning, bass is not as forward, and overall it’s more detailed and with a bigger soundstage. It’s a more restrained sound, not as “exciting” or in your face. But this is very preliminary. It’s also a lot more expensive of an amp, so it had better do some things better!

The build quality of the Flux is basic but solid, overall it’s well put together. Switches have a pretty good feel, volume control as well. The face-plate looks good, the chassis is kind of meh. It’s stamped steel like Schiit, it’s utilitarian and nothing fancy. The important stuff inside looks very clean. Very neat layout, super clean soldering, nice PCBs and parts as far as I can tell… The amp is dead quiet at max volume no input. The actual headphone jacks (both 4 pin XLR and 1/4 inch SE) could have a better “feel” to them when you insert into the jack, a more positive click would be nice. But they are solid, no wobble or looseness.

I would recommend the amp as something that’s interesting and worth getting, but the “Limited” FA-10 seems to be already sold out! I guess it really was limited! I hope they can make some more at some point, though the bracelet is no doubt gone. If you read the story on it you’ll see the supply of steel for it was very much finite. But the regular FA-10 and the FA-12 did get good reviews. It’s just that Flux amps are not well known in the US.