[RobWilde]

Yes, but not just that. I love that the volume pot turns in a proportional way: you can still turn it up to 12 o'clock or 1 o'clock with more sensitive headphones and finely adjust to volume below that value. The real power kicks in after that but you only need that with the hungriest headphones.
For example, on many amplifiers I can only use my Caldera between 9 and 11 o'clock and I have a fraction of a millimetre to play with when I need smaller volume adjustments. The Mentor's volume knob is big and there is a lot of room to make these adjustments. Why are not all amps like this?
Plus, I love those relay clicks.

Never, ever, ever, buy an MHA200. The volume control goes from nothing to deafening in about 2mm.

 

[phthora]

For example, on many amplifiers I can only use my Caldera between 9 and 11 o'clock and I have a fraction of a millimetre to play with when I need smaller volume adjustments. The Mentor's volume knob is big and there is a lot of room to make these adjustments. Why are not all amps like this?
Plus, I love those relay clicks.

It took me a minute to get there, but this post made me realize that a bigger volume knob means turning the knob a greater distance to cover the same degree of rotation, meaning finer control of the volume. It seems so obvious now, I feel dumb for not realizing it earlier. I thought it was purely an aesthetic thing. lol

 

[skhan007]

Just got notification it arrived in Kyiv. Not sure why it took so long when everyone else outside of U.S already got their amp.

Thanks for posting this. I just checked and indeed, mine is also in Kyiv. I can only conclude that there were some strange circumstances that allowed UK customers to get their units in a couple of days. I'm not sure why the 9 day delay with any updates for us in the US, but I'll be patient.

 

[betula]

It took me a minute to get there, but this post made me realize that a bigger volume know means turning the knob a greater distance to cover the same degree of rotation, meaning finer control of the volume. It seems so obvious now, I feel dumb for not realizing it earlier. I thought it was purely an aesthetic thing. lol

It is not just the size of the volume knob. It feels like, at 12 o'clock the Mentor is not using 50% of its full power, but less. (I do not know exact numbers.) This allows more room to play with the volume when listening with sensitive headphones. For the sake of the example let's say the Mentor is using 30% of its power at 12 o'clock with certain more sensitive headphones. And still there is the 70% reserve after 12 o'clock for your Susvara or Tungsten. This adds a lot to versatility and usability.
Feels a bit like cruising in town with a well-designed supercar: comfortable on the boulevard but you know the amount of power in reserve.

 

[RobWilde]

Thanks for posting this. I just checked and indeed, mine is also in Kyiv. I can only conclude that there were some strange circumstances that allowed UK customers to get their units in a couple of days. I'm not sure why the 9 day delay with any updates for us in the US, but I'll be patient.

My guess would be, given they seemed to sell most of the stock in a day, they only had so much space on the van to get things to Poland and come back again and go again.

 

[Slackaveli]

May have been waiting on US versions of the Neotech cable.

 

[skhan007]

Just got an update that my Flux Mentor will be delivered in two days!

 

[Ballszilla]

Been reading through the thread, lot of fun reading the impressions. I'm runnning a Chord TT2/Mscaler setup with Abyss 1266's, the TT2 drives the 1266s fine but I read quite a bit about amps really pushing the 1266s and getting more out of them. Haven't seen anyone in thread with a TT2, but might have missed, does anyone have any thoughts on if the Mentor stack would be a good upgrade for 1266s against the TT2 amp?

 

[psy472]

Been reading through the thread, lot of fun reading the impressions. I'm runnning a Chord TT2/Mscaler setup with Abyss 1266's, the TT2 drives the 1266s fine but I read quite a bit about amps really pushing the 1266s and getting more out of them. Haven't seen anyone in thread with a TT2, but might have missed, does anyone have any thoughts on if the Mentor stack would be a good upgrade for 1266s against the TT2 amp?

I don’t think anyone here has both of those. Their price points are completely off and their use is different. The TT2 is depended on Mscaler and its DaC to sound good. The Flux Mentor is less dependent on the DAC and signal processing to sound good. You can use a mid fi DAc on it like the Bifrost. TT2 outputs like 18W max while the Flux Mentor dual stack output 40W, enough to run speakers. In this case your 1266 would like that very much.

Main thing that I get from the Flux Mentor is the dead quiet background, large sound stage, and intricate details. It’s not “warm” sounding so it’s more in tune with the Susvara sound signature.

 

[Ballszilla]

I don’t think anyone here has both of those. Their price points are completely off and their use is different. The TT2 is depended on Mscaler and its DaC to sound good. The Flux Mentor is less dependent on the DAC and signal processing to sound good. You can use a mid fi DAc on it like the Bifrost. TT2 outputs like 18W max while the Flux Mentor dual stack output 40W, enough to run speakers. In this case your 1266 would like that very much.

Main thing that I get from the Flux Mentor is the dead quiet background, large sound stage, and intricate details. It’s not “warm” sounding so it’s more in tune with the Susvara sound signature.

Good points, appreciate the insight, expanding the soundstage was one of the goals I was looking at and the Mentor price point is a lot more affordable than a formulas/Powerman or an equivalent.

 

[skhan007]

Abyss 1266 user here. I'll really look forward to sharing my impressions of the Flux/Abyss pairing, once my unit arrives. Specifically, I am interested in seeing how the Flux drives the Abyss 1266 vs. my Woo WA22.

 

[betula]

I have shared a little direct comparison between the Mentor and Mjolnir 3 in the Cayin HA-3A thread. Clicking here will lead you to my post.

 

[nighthink]

I have shared a little direct comparison between the Mentor and Mjolnir 3 in the Cayin HA-3A thread. Clicking here will lead you to my post.

Great comparision. I think the whole chain has a lot to say about the end result. Lately I found out how much you can compensate on different aspects in different parts of the chain. Mentor's strength I believe is it can adapt and translate those changes into the end result quite well.

Apart from that, even based on this shoot out for my taste and music genres the Mentor is the pick, so my wallet will sleep well for another good length of time .

 

[Slackaveli]

Great comparision. I think the whole chain has a lot to say about the end result. Lately I found out how much you can compensate on different aspects in different parts of the chain. Mentor's strength I believe is it can adapt and translate those changes into the end result quite well.

Apart from that, even based on this shoot out for my taste and music genres the Mentor is the pick, so my wallet will sleep well for another good length of time .

yep- Yggy A2 fills in that mid-bass he mentioned was slightly lacking, for instance. Adds to the bass in general.

 

[betula]

yep- Yggy A2 fills in that mid-bass he mentioned was slightly lacking, for instance. Adds to the bass in general.

I find the Cyan 2 to be a fantastic DAC that punches way above its price range. Natural R2R sound and great imaging, but also with plenty of dynamics, clarity, energy, punch and bass slam. It is quite balanced though; while bass is super satisfying, it is relatively even. I do not know how much more mid-bass is emphasised on the Yggy, but of course it can be a synergy thing. Even though I am yet to hear a dissatisfying combo with the Cyan 2.