Flux Labs have been doing incredible work for years now, and somehow they’ve developed and released a new amplifier in the midst of bombing and invasion (they are based in Kharkiv, Ukraine)
I bought the Mentor and have been overwhelmed by it so far. It feels effortlessly commanding of every headphone I’ve tried, and it elevates and honors every song I’ve played. Excited to see other’s impressions!
I haven’t head the Mentor, but I have an FA-10 Limited that I enjoy. It is currently waiting on Verum 1 'phones to play with for an all-Ukrainian pairing.
Just have to get me the proper power-output ratings, as the information they have posted their site is insufficient to do it.
Specifically, while they quote power output at 32 and 300 ohms (and in some cases 600 ohms), it is not at all clear wether that’s the single-ended power output, the balanced-output power, or whether there is any difference (some amplifiers just have “convenience” balanced outputs, which don’t increase the power available vs. the TRS output).
I need both single-ended and balanced power output, for 32 and 300 ohms, at a minimum.
Hmm hopefully someone with measurement tools will provide this before too long…
Meanwhile, this amp continues to deeply satisfy I agree with the few reviews that have been published, this is endgame performance for a fantastic price. It’s like listening to a live venue sound system, with all the full-bodied impact and thrill, but none of the fatigue.
All it would take is for the manufacturer to respond to email, but they haven’t - and I am uninterested in making further attempts to get them to.
Also, I am generally of the opinion that when specs are published but are in an incomplete or ambiguous state, AND emails asking for clarification go unanswered, there’s usually something being either hidden - or that the manufacturer would prefer not to share for “reasons”.
With amplifiers … it’s usually that there are some limits that prevent simple extrapolation of power values OR, most commonly, that the “balanced” inputs/output are just for “convenience”.
(Also a “fully balanced” amplifier does NOT mean “fully balanced/differential”. Just being “balanced” simply means that all legs of the connection have the same impedance and says nothing about increased power or separation).
I looked into this when I was recently deciding on an amp purchase, and the only real reason I decided on Holo Bliss instead of Mentor is that Bliss matches my Holo May.
Reading reports of folks pairing 2 Mentors in dual-mono with Susvara or 1266 to magnificent effect and am truly intrigued.
I’m sure the Bliss is wonderful. I had to go with Mentor for my budget, otherwise I would’ve loved to try something from Holo Audio.
But it is crazy to think about the dual-mono thing. I cannot possibly go up to 3 o’clock on this amp - on LOW gain - with my current headphones (mainly Empyrean 2 & HE1000), and already it sounds like I’m in front of a concert stage with massive speakers. The idea that a single headphone could actually need two of these
I’ll finally get to experience the power hunger when Tungsten arrives though…