Thread for the various Flux headphone amps
I have the FA-12 (top) and Volot (bottom)
I haven’t used the FA-12 since earlier this year but it was a nice stopping point in the sub 1k price range before pursuing the Volot and the Formula S and Powerman. My first Volot failed which is why I ended up with the XIAudio amps but they sent me another for free! It just came last week and have been enjoying it so far. To my ears it is quite similar to the sound of the Formula S and Powerman. I need to do more comparisons between the two but I did a bit of a back and forth last weekend and I was having a hard time telling the XIAudio stack apart from the Volot.
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Very interesting, will be curious on further thoughts of the volot. Also that’s pretty damn cool they sent you a free one, now that’s customer service lol
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Here are some impressions of the Volot. This is mostly in comparison to the Formula S and Powerman which is what I was using prior to the Volot arriving. The dac for this comparison is the Pontus II and my chain in my profile should be up to date. I had a Volot right when it came out but one of the transformers sort of melted so I returned it for a refund. This Volot I received for free and it has a protection circuit inside developed using my broken Volot so the failure that I experienced the first time shouldn’t happen anymore.
Tonally these amps are very similar, they seem to present music in a lifelike way and to my ears aren’t overly colored. Switching between the two amps I still find myself having a hard time finding their differences but there are some especially with regards to bass and vocals. The bass on the Formula S and Powerman is a bit more rumbly with a bit more texture. The bass on the Volot is a bit softer with less impact but at times sounds a bit faster. I enjoy both presentations of bass and as an electronic fan I wouldn’t say that the Volot takes away from the enjoyment of the music at all. And in some cases I like the faster and cleaner Volot bass more than the more rumbly sound of the Formula S and Powerman depending on what I’m listening to.
The other difference that I’ve picked up on is that the vocals, especially female ones, sound a bit more forward on the Volot than they do on the Formula S and Powerman. I tend to prefer the presentation of vocals on the Volot over the Formula S and Powerman especially with the 1266 as that can have mids that sound a bit distant at times.
In terms of build and ease of use, the Formula S and Powerman wins here. It’s smaller, feels more sturdy and has an aesthetic that I like more than the Volot. I also find it a bit simpler to adjust the volume on the Formula S and Powerman which uses a simple alps pot whereas the Volot uses a stepped relay attenuator. Although the Volot has a nicer implementation of the volume, the knob itself doesn’t have steps to it, it is smooth, which makes adjusting the volume a bit confusing. You hear the relays click but the knob is smooth so there’s a bit of travel between each click. Sometimes you can get stuck between adjustments in volume and the relays will click continuously until you move the knob a bit. This was an issue with other Flux amps, including my FA-12. It’s not super annoying but I do prefer the more precise/simple volume adjustment of the Formula S and Powerman.
Despite my complaints with the volume control of the Volot, the flexibility of the Volot is nicer than the Formula S and Powerman. The Volot has 4 inputs (2 rca and 2 xlr), 4 gain modes, and more power then I need for any of my headphones. Given the lower cost of the Volot too, 2500 usd vs 6000 usd of the Formula S and Powerman, I think the Volot is a great purchase if you have the space for it. I’m still in the market for a new dac and should be able to pick one up soon with a new job brining in some more cash for this hobby and look forward to hearing how both of these amps scale with a better source.
I also have some more impressions of the Volot over on the head-fi Volot thread under the username cangle. Hope these impressions help and let me know if there’s anything else you want to know about the Volot.
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Just posted on Head-Fi and wanted to share my thoughts here too. TLDR is that I’m preferring the Volot over the Formula S and Powerman:
After going back and forth between the Formula S + Powerman and the Volot both connected to the Bricasti MC1 (FS/P taking the single ended output and Volot the balanced output) I’ve decided that I prefer the Volot with my 1266 phi tc. I lose a bit of bass quantity with the Volot but the bass on the Volot is cleaner, and faster. Whereas the Formula S + Powerman can sound a bit muddy or over done in comparison.
For awhile I was thinking that since I got more bass out of the Formula S + Powerman that it was better bass as I’m a bit of a bass head but I’ve decided that I prefer the transparency of the Volot bass to the quantity and rumble of the Formula S + Powerman bass. Other than the bass, the Volot is clearly ahead of the FS/P imo. It sounds much larger in stage size and the imaging is a bit clearer. The mids are slightly forward and the sound overall is a touch warmer. I’m very happy with this amp and it plays nicely with my other headphones as well. I’m hoping to purchase a Susvara in a month or two so look forward to trying that pairing soon.
I could have just stuck with the Volot after my first one died but I’m glad I had the chance to try the Formula S + Powerman too. I still plan on keeping the FS/P as it’s a great amp for the small space that it occupies and I still plan on going back and forth between the two to make sure that I agree with my decision to use the Volot for most of my listening.
Here’s some music that has been really impressing me with 1266 and Volot (album - artist)
Onism - Photay
Bladerunner 2049 OST - Hans Zimmer
Rhythm Sessions - Lee Ritenour
Debut EP - Prequell
Terra Firma - Tash Sultana
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Seems everywhere I read nobody hates any of Flux amps and all of them are good and priced accordingly. Really nice.
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@M0N Did you ever end up trying their flagship Headphone amp? Seems to have all the right characteristics to be a good thing.
No, just lost interest personally, don’t feel the need to try it
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Not really in your budget range, lol.
It ticks a lot of the boxes, dual mono, class a, big ‘ol caps, independent transformers, etc. But I rarely see it discussed.
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It’s just to me it never really seemed all that interesting, and I wasn’t really super impressed with their lower end offerings either. It’s just not something that really appeals to me to be honest
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I’m hoping to sell my Volot soon and have a listing up on Head-Fi for 2k shipped to CONUS. I’d be willing to let it go for less then that if anyone here is interested in it. Let me know!
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Just read through the article. I’m glad to hear that two mentors outperform a volot. I might be getting a mentor in for demo at some point and will post some thoughts if I do. I still have the fa-12 but the volot was sold last summer.
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I’d be interested in your thoughts on it. If you get two abd run in mono mode the output is 33.5W RMS per channel into 32 ohms which seems silly. Can’t imagine a sus or tungsten benefiting from that kind of overhead. Could be a gimmick 
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