Using my Tungstens, I went from the Jot2 to a single Mentor and the way I described it was like going from a small closed room and opening a door to the outside world.
THANK YOU, I thought I was going to have to make a video myself which I didnt want to have to do. Finally theres a second review of a mentor amp, unlike the volot. I LOVE my flux mentor.
Tungstens legit do need something with SERIOUS power and Speaker Amps are the only Budget Friendly move thus far - it honestly needs its own solution - Mass Kobo 465 ($20K tho) , Dual Flux Mentors, Ferrum Stack + Wandla, Dual Monoblock Thomann T.Amps (the 150 MKII w/35v gain are the cheapest option shipped , Soncoz SGP1, Black Ice F22/F35 ... collab amps are currently in the works with Enleum and Black Ice to power the things properly . - I preamp mine with a SPL Phonitor 2 for that sweet 120v swing - +60 VOLTS! plus THAT thing is in HIGH GAIN (an additional +24, I think?) And still it made me take the SP200 (once thought beefy AF) out of my Amp Rack and now it just collects dust on the floor a90/LA90 same fate (RIP) The (SUPER underrated) SP400 (w/all the Phonitor preamping) sounds better than AHB on it because of all of the (18?) Amps that thing is pushing perhaps, but its what I edit with now as the Imaging and accuracy of timbre is insane (yeah, who knew?, and the L70/A70 from topping are passable but still a TOUCH flat, but that may be the way they do the nested feedback thing which SMSL seems to have figured out better than they. The 281 only really worked when fed that much voltage and sounds phenomenal, but before that was, honestly, no better than HE1k was on it, despite the inverted impedance saddle. Now we can say "Well if they need all of that I dont want them", that's cool, but you MUST build your chain specifically for Tungsten or else you are not hearing them . The fact is that to get the best out if them they NEED to have SPEAKER AMP POWER And I mean like 250-350WPC@8ohms! There are affordable paths to this but you tend do sacrifice space to get there - T-Amps are UUUGE. If you aren't ball in, they might not sound better than HEK but thats just using them incorrectly and wanting them to work in a way or with gear that they do not. My 281 turned then on and they sounded GOOD but I did not het it until I connected my Phonitor to my chain, and then my mind blew. Then I took them to my studio and put them on a Speaker Amp. Then I put them back on a regular HP chain. A great one - the differences were Palpable. The more clean power you give these the more they scale, and the price point is meaningless. if they dont sound better than something its the chain not the Tungstens. Sounds nuts - and it IS nuts. But its also true. I am SUPER glad that there is a company out there like Flux Labs that is making the Amps that I would make for Tungsten if I was a maker of Amps. I have been in the business for decades and that is a SERIOUS components list!!! I think that after I buy my Wife (A sound tech and video editor) her own pair of Tungstens that Flux Labs is getting my Money for SURE! Thanks for a great review and focusing me in on whats good - They have been on my radar, but I was not sure and was on the fence - no longer. The Monoblock Mentors sounds like what I have been looking for. all along.
Right now I have a Modius/Jot 2 stack. I wound up scoring a pair of SS Tungstens today. I know the Jot2 will drive them, but not to their potential. Im currently looking at either the SGP1 with the Hifiman speaker/headphone adapter or the Mentor. Not a huge difference in price. Whats your opinion? My main phones are the HD800s so I got the Tungsten SS to compliment them.
@@atom631 Mentor 100% unless you you need a Speaker Amp to do double duty? you will have punchier and a bit lower bass and better SoundStage with the mentor, plus a hair better timbre & more detail. On top of that the Build Quality difference is off the map! Aside from that with Mentor there is an Upgrade Path if you choose in the future, you cannot Monoblock the Soncoz
@@Djimbe I wound up finding an absolute killer deal on a V281 in pristine condition and complete. So I jumped on that bc FOMO. I have 6 months before my Tungsten arrive, so I might actually grab a Mentor also so I can a/b test.
Oh nice you managed to get that champagne colored faceplate in your FA-10. I wish that was still an option. The blue option was what I got. Was great. I wiah they wouldnt use metal switch toggles for the buttons. The FluxLab Volot has actual push-in buttons that you dont need to worry about them metal rods breaking in shipping.
Absolutely great review. Specially liked the point where u pointed out how to connect 2 of em. One question comes to mind. Which dac are You using with 2 mentors? I heard from Flux that they prefer 2r2 ladder dacs.
@@MasterMarslander Where to begin? Upon receipt, my unit has been fraught with quality control issues, the worst of which is the fact that the remote control function is inoperational (I was sent a new remote, so it seems the problem is in the RECPTION of the signal, and not the remote control unit itself). However, the worst thing about the purchase is not so much the defects, but the response (or lack thereof) I received from iFi.
Hi Master, thank you for your enjoyable review of the Mentor, which echoes others I have heard or read about it. I have ZMF Vérité Open and Closed models as well the Calera Open. Zach recommends amplifiers with 1 ohm or greater output impedance so as to avoid over damping. Do you have any idea or experience as to inform you how these ZMF’s would perform with the Mentor, especially in the bass region with respect to Zach’s recommendation? I am aware that the Mentor’s is .01, so its very low output impedance concerns me, but I know there can be exceptions to rules of thumb. Any experience with the ZMF’s or thoughts about this as they would relate to the Mentor?
I have a pair of ZMF Bokeh. They are less impedance than your Caldera or Verite, but might still offer a general baseline. I'll try them on the Mentor tomorrow and get back to you.
Alright, so ZMF Bokeh sound great on Mentor. Compared to an SMSL A90D, the Mentor offers more staging, more vocal clarity, and an overall more relaxed but natural midrange. Hope that helps.
I could see this being someone's endgame amp. Considering what people say about it, and what you just tested with 2xmono setup, I'm really thinking about getting this to, once and for all, stop this stupid part of my brain that wants to connect speaker amps to my headphones XD
Fantastic video by the way, I see that these are your first steps, so don't get intimidated if the numbers don't grow too quickly - this is a very nieche hobby :) Keep it up!
@KXP70 I would love to try the voyager. Best bet is for you folks to message Burson and ask them to send a review unit. If they see interest maybe I'll catch their attention.
btw, all jokes aside (but quad-stack for 8Ohm IEM is, actually, funny one) - what about +/- sensitive stuff? I currently have HiFiMAN Serenade and Meze Liric, for example - it's a quite noisy combination. It sounds good as for me, but I definitely need ifi imatch for them :(
I suggest taking that percentage with a grain of salt. Like I said, it's not a linear improvement across the board. It's an improvement for sure, I just want to be clear it's not something crazy like double the performance. A single Mentor is still stupendous.
I really, really want to support Flux Lab Acoustics but there is a PSA that needs to be applied whenever their products are discussed: None of them are currently CE (conformité européenne) licensed. At least in the EU, this risks problems with insurance claims from a house fire, even if the amp was not the source.
CE certification indicates that the product is not harmful to the health of its users, as well as harmless to the environment. However, you should keep in mind that this certificate is not a quality mark for the product itself! This certificate is required for sales in the domestic market of the European Union. As for quality. FLA use only quality-certified components. Also, all products are equipped with varistor protection at the input, which can prevent damage to the device itself in case of overvoltage. Five fuses are installed in the unit - one at the power input and four in the power supply of the amplifier circuit. Also used a separate protection circuit for the headphones, which can prevent damage to the headphones if the amplifier itself should fail for any reason.
@@FluxLabAcoustics Thank you for your reply. As I stated, I do want to give you my full support. I was seriously looking into purchasing some of your equipment myself at one point. It does unique things at a reasonable cost. This information is mostly meant for those for whom it is a consideration. While I did use the phrase 'CE licensed' rather than 'CE compliant', it does indeed bear emphasizing that you have not failed any tests (as far as we know). As I understand the situation, for whichever reasons (e.g. associated costs), those tests have just not been performed with the supervision of certifying bodies. I do hope that you eventually do get the certification because I would love to be able to recommend you without that reservation.
@@MasterMarslander It is a serial port. It evolved into firewire, and then USB. It is still used today as it is extremely reliable, substantially easier to program for, and is resistant to interference at practical lengths. It is still relatively common on commercial networking and manufacturing devices. Especially since it can adapt direct into USB very easily.
I've had my Mentor since January and I damn LOVE IT.
What dac and HP do you use it with?
@@staticosaur Schiit Yggdrasil OG (it loves R2R DACs) and Hifiman He1000 Stealth. But it's great with a lot of other gear.
Using my Tungstens, I went from the Jot2 to a single Mentor and the way I described it was like going from a small closed room and opening a door to the outside world.
That's an analogy I can get behind.
What dac do you connect it to?
looks like a good relatively inexpensive option for the Tungsten thx
dual mono sounds awesome
Very informative Video. Great choice for the Tungsten. Too bad the Mentor will be hard to come by and be sold out most of the time
THANK YOU, I thought I was going to have to make a video myself which I didnt want to have to do. Finally theres a second review of a mentor amp, unlike the volot.
I LOVE my flux mentor.
me too! its fantastic
@CrackaSlapYa í Just bought á second one.
@@JohnnyADi oh, you lucky! Got it hooked up yet?
@@CrackaSlapYa hasn't shipped I've contacted them already I'm aware of when it will ship, which is in a few days
@@JohnnyADi Yeah, takes them a few days to truck it west to poland. Gonna be sweet, Man.
Well done sir
Tungstens legit do need something with SERIOUS power and Speaker Amps are the only Budget Friendly move thus far - it honestly needs its own solution - Mass Kobo 465 ($20K tho) , Dual Flux Mentors, Ferrum Stack + Wandla, Dual Monoblock Thomann T.Amps (the 150 MKII w/35v gain are the cheapest option shipped , Soncoz SGP1, Black Ice F22/F35 ... collab amps are currently in the works with Enleum and Black Ice to power the things properly . - I preamp mine with a SPL Phonitor 2 for that sweet 120v swing - +60 VOLTS! plus THAT thing is in HIGH GAIN (an additional +24, I think?) And still it made me take the SP200 (once thought beefy AF) out of my Amp Rack and now it just collects dust on the floor a90/LA90 same fate (RIP) The (SUPER underrated) SP400 (w/all the Phonitor preamping) sounds better than AHB on it because of all of the (18?) Amps that thing is pushing perhaps, but its what I edit with now as the Imaging and accuracy of timbre is insane (yeah, who knew?, and the L70/A70 from topping are passable but still a TOUCH flat, but that may be the way they do the nested feedback thing which SMSL seems to have figured out better than they. The 281 only really worked when fed that much voltage and sounds phenomenal, but before that was, honestly, no better than HE1k was on it, despite the inverted impedance saddle.
Now we can say "Well if they need all of that I dont want them", that's cool, but you MUST build your chain specifically for Tungsten or else you are not hearing them . The fact is that to get the best out if them they NEED to have SPEAKER AMP POWER And I mean like 250-350WPC@8ohms! There are affordable paths to this but you tend do sacrifice space to get there - T-Amps are UUUGE. If you aren't ball in, they might not sound better than HEK but thats just using them incorrectly and wanting them to work in a way or with gear that they do not. My 281 turned then on and they sounded GOOD but I did not het it until I connected my Phonitor to my chain, and then my mind blew. Then I took them to my studio and put them on a Speaker Amp. Then I put them back on a regular HP chain. A great one - the differences were Palpable. The more clean power you give these the more they scale, and the price point is meaningless. if they dont sound better than something its the chain not the Tungstens. Sounds nuts - and it IS nuts. But its also true.
I am SUPER glad that there is a company out there like Flux Labs that is making the Amps that I would make for Tungsten if I was a maker of Amps. I have been in the business for decades and that is a SERIOUS components list!!! I think that after I buy my Wife (A sound tech and video editor) her own pair of Tungstens that Flux Labs is getting my Money for SURE! Thanks for a great review and focusing me in on whats good - They have been on my radar, but I was not sure and was on the fence - no longer. The Monoblock Mentors sounds like what I have been looking for. all along.
Right now I have a Modius/Jot 2 stack. I wound up scoring a pair of SS Tungstens today. I know the Jot2 will drive them, but not to their potential. Im currently looking at either the SGP1 with the Hifiman speaker/headphone adapter or the Mentor. Not a huge difference in price. Whats your opinion? My main phones are the HD800s so I got the Tungsten SS to compliment them.
@@atom631 Mentor 100% unless you you need a Speaker Amp to do double duty? you will have punchier and a bit lower bass and better SoundStage with the mentor, plus a hair better timbre & more detail. On top of that the Build Quality difference is off the map! Aside from that with Mentor there is an Upgrade Path if you choose in the future, you cannot Monoblock the Soncoz
@@Djimbe I wound up finding an absolute killer deal on a V281 in pristine condition and complete. So I jumped on that bc FOMO. I have 6 months before my Tungsten arrive, so I might actually grab a Mentor also so I can a/b test.
Oh nice you managed to get that champagne colored faceplate in your FA-10.
I wish that was still an option. The blue option was what I got. Was great.
I wiah they wouldnt use metal switch toggles for the buttons. The FluxLab Volot has actual push-in buttons that you dont need to worry about them metal rods breaking in shipping.
Yeah, I also wish they stuck with some of the more colorful faceplate options. Still a very nice finish, at least.
Absolutely great review. Specially liked the point where u pointed out how to connect 2 of em. One question comes to mind. Which dac are You using with 2 mentors? I heard from Flux that they prefer 2r2 ladder dacs.
@@101stTank I paired them with a Ferrum Wandla, a Topping D90, and a simple SMSL S-U8. All did very well.
I should probably get a stack of these to power my 8 ohm IEMs.
Go for the quad-stack. Mono your mono block. Should be almost enough for your IEMs. 😆
I wonder if the Mentor will power my $35 Dollar Dora the Explorer headphones from Target properly?
@@JTB-- If by "power" them you mean launch them into orbit, then I'd say it's a pretty good chance.
I was very close to buying a Flux headphone amplifier, but eventually, I purchased an iFi Phantom.
I've only ever heard good things about the Phantom.
@@MasterMarslander, in that case, you had better not hear my assessment of the device. 🤐
@@TheVeganVicar uh oh! Not enjoying the Phantom? Oh, spill the tea!
@@MasterMarslander
Where to begin? Upon receipt, my unit has been fraught with quality control issues, the worst of which is the fact that the remote control function is inoperational (I was sent a new remote, so it seems the problem is in the RECPTION of the signal, and not the remote control unit itself).
However, the worst thing about the purchase is not so much the defects, but the response (or lack thereof) I received from iFi.
@TheVeganVicar yeesh. Maybe you should just return it. Plenty of other options out there.
Hi Master, thank you for your enjoyable review of the Mentor, which echoes others I have heard or read about it. I have ZMF Vérité Open and Closed models as well the Calera Open. Zach recommends amplifiers with 1 ohm or greater output impedance so as to avoid over damping. Do you have any idea or experience as to inform you how these ZMF’s would perform with the Mentor, especially in the bass region with respect to Zach’s recommendation? I am aware that the Mentor’s is .01, so its very low output impedance concerns me, but I know there can be exceptions to rules of thumb. Any experience with the ZMF’s or thoughts about this as they would relate to the Mentor?
I have a pair of ZMF Bokeh. They are less impedance than your Caldera or Verite, but might still offer a general baseline. I'll try them on the Mentor tomorrow and get back to you.
Alright, so ZMF Bokeh sound great on Mentor. Compared to an SMSL A90D, the Mentor offers more staging, more vocal clarity, and an overall more relaxed but natural midrange. Hope that helps.
@@MasterMarslander thank you very much for taking your time to share impressions of the ZMF Bokeh and Flux Mentor. It’s appreciated!
I could see this being someone's endgame amp. Considering what people say about it, and what you just tested with 2xmono setup, I'm really thinking about getting this to, once and for all, stop this stupid part of my brain that wants to connect speaker amps to my headphones XD
Fantastic video by the way, I see that these are your first steps, so don't get intimidated if the numbers don't grow too quickly - this is a very nieche hobby :)
Keep it up!
Can you compare Audio GD Master 9 or their alternatives to single Mentor for the Tungsten?
@staticosaur ooh, I'd love to. If we can get a few folks to ask them, maybe they will be willing to send over a unit.
Would you be able to get a Burson Soloist Voyager for comparison?
@KXP70 I would love to try the voyager. Best bet is for you folks to message Burson and ask them to send a review unit. If they see interest maybe I'll catch their attention.
@@MasterMarslander noted. I'll see what I can do 🫡
btw, all jokes aside (but quad-stack for 8Ohm IEM is, actually, funny one) - what about +/- sensitive stuff? I currently have HiFiMAN Serenade and Meze Liric, for example - it's a quite noisy combination. It sounds good as for me, but I definitely need ifi imatch for them :(
I've used some fairly sensitive cans on them without any noticeable noise floor, so I think it should do just fine for those two examples.
I like this answer😊
Thank you
20 to 25% is not enough performance bump for you to justify it?
If your percentage is accurate this is huge difference and well worth the extra cost.
I suggest taking that percentage with a grain of salt. Like I said, it's not a linear improvement across the board. It's an improvement for sure, I just want to be clear it's not something crazy like double the performance. A single Mentor is still stupendous.
Anyone compare a single mentor with an Audio Gd Master 9, Schiit Mjolnir 3 and an SPL Phonitor XE ?
They're out of stock?!
If they look sold out on the website your best course of action is to email Flux directly. That's how I usually get my gear from them.
There's No Kill Like OverKill!!!
(If you know, you know)
🤣
I really, really want to support Flux Lab Acoustics but there is a PSA that needs to be applied whenever their products are discussed: None of them are currently CE (conformité européenne) licensed. At least in the EU, this risks problems with insurance claims from a house fire, even if the amp was not the source.
I've never heard of this. Thanks for sharing.
CE certification indicates that the product is not harmful to the health of its users, as well as harmless to the environment. However, you should keep in mind that this certificate is not a quality mark for the product itself! This certificate is required for sales in the domestic market of the European Union.
As for quality. FLA use only quality-certified components. Also, all products are equipped with varistor protection at the input, which can prevent damage to the device itself in case of overvoltage. Five fuses are installed in the unit - one at the power input and four in the power supply of the amplifier circuit. Also used a separate protection circuit for the headphones, which can prevent damage to the headphones if the amplifier itself should fail for any reason.
@@FluxLabAcoustics Thank you for your reply. As I stated, I do want to give you my full support. I was seriously looking into purchasing some of your equipment myself at one point. It does unique things at a reasonable cost.
This information is mostly meant for those for whom it is a consideration. While I did use the phrase 'CE licensed' rather than 'CE compliant', it does indeed bear emphasizing that you have not failed any tests (as far as we know). As I understand the situation, for whichever reasons (e.g. associated costs), those tests have just not been performed with the supervision of certifying bodies.
I do hope that you eventually do get the certification because I would love to be able to recommend you without that reservation.
Will the new model replacing Volot in 2025 be CE marked?
@@FluxLabAcoustics What certification do you have to sell in EU, if not CE? Thanks in advance.
"DVI looking port" ...Am I old? And that is why i know what that really is?
Do share! I need to learn this stuff.
@@MasterMarslander It is a serial port. It evolved into firewire, and then USB. It is still used today as it is extremely reliable, substantially easier to program for, and is resistant to interference at practical lengths. It is still relatively common on commercial networking and manufacturing devices. Especially since it can adapt direct into USB very easily.
@@admiralnorman fabulous 👌
Guys, this connector is even older than DVI. This is a COM-port or RS-232. On the other hand, the connection here is completely proprietary.