S17 PRO doesn't provide as much power and it gets considerably warmer. Some even reported that it might move from 100mA to 50mA bias due to overheating (arriving at 69 degrees Celsius). Mentor never went past 40 degrees Celsius, even after 48 hours of non-stop music playback. Mentor provides more power, more headroom, a wider soundstage, a slightly tighter grip over headphone drivers (especially with planar headphones) and it is also by a hair more technical sounding (clearer, faster, having a better timing). The Mentor is also more expensive, so that shouldn't be a surprise. The only thing which people might prefer on the S17 PRO versus the Mentor via regular dynamic/planar headphones, would be its warmer/sweeter tonality vs the serious & transparent nature of the Mentor.
@@Soundnews ok, thanks!! I own S17, I have no overheat problem even if my unit works all day at 100ma mode. I would love to hear more 3D layering from S17. But yeah, I guess it's in the next price tag level :)
Agree, the Tungstens would be rocking hard with two Mentors. Unfortunately, as far as I know, all men from 18 to 60 years old can't leave the country due to Martial Law...so moving to Poland right now is out of the question. It breaks my heart knowing their situation.
I was negotiating a special price with Flux, on one of these amplifiers, in order to use it with the Mod House Tungsten that I just purchased. However, I ended-up buying an iFi Phantom and I am glad I did!
A stack of two mentor's is still cheaper than one single HPA4. Would you recommend a stack of mentor or one single HPA4? Also, how does one mentor compare to HPA4, Ragnarok, Burson Soloist Voyager and Topping A90. Appreciate your response. Thanks
Thank you for the review. Seems to be a great cost/benefit product. But I wonder if you really need all that power, specially if your headphones are not hard to drive (Audezee LCD-X and Meze Empyrean in my case). I have an old Topping A90, that was well received at the time (2020), and I am really unsure about investing in something more expensive for amplification. Any thoughts about that?
As someone who doesnt have any experience owning a higher end amplifier. I can blindly say, Burson, Vioelectric, Flux, Audio Gd are on a whole another level than Fiio, Topping ,Aune etc. its just not about measurements and power. Its also about Tone, Timbre etc.
Thank you Sandu for your candid and informative review. I’m glad to see your always excellent and exhaustive evaluations continue as you are truly in the highest eschelon of reviewers online.
epic review, Sandu! I dont have any experience with dual amps for headphones - how does it work? Do I need a special cable or can I use my xlr cable like I would with one of these?
You'll need a special adapter cable - dual 3-pin XLR to a single 3-pin XLR (which Flux offers separately), or you can go with two cables separately - like Abyss offers for their headphones, one cable (3-pin XLR to mini 3-pin XLR) goes to one headphone driver and another cable powers the other driver. Nuts :)
Hi Sandu, thanks for your detailed reviews, I still keeping and using the KINKI - EX-M7 that thanks in great part to your review sealed my deal with it, I sold my DENAFRIPS T-II DAC and got a Lampi Baltic 4, that saiid, I'd like to ---maybe-- go back to an Integrated and just saw this, my actually PRE- AMP COMBO is very good, I m wondering around the same money, a 1000 USD less or more aprox, do you know some INTEGRATED that outclass my COMBO ( Denafrips Athena + Kinki EX-M7 ) ? , I use PMC Twenty5 26s All the best ! Cheers
Hey, 86dB 1W at 1m - ouch, these are hard to tame and control. I'm sorry, but I don't think you can do that at $1000 or less, maybe only with entry to mid-fi equipment, which would be a major downgrade. Keep on using your setup, or just swap it with a Kinki EX-M1+ at some point.
@@Soundnews Thanks Amigo, i Have had the EX-M1 before and this combo outclass it, do you believe that having a less expensive DAC and perhaps invest that money in better speakers would be a major upgrade ?
Another great review! From previous review Trafomatic Head 2 was on top of my buying list. Now I am debating... Between 2 x Mentors vs Trafomatic Head 2, what are the main differences? What about soundstage? Thanks!
Head 2 should be better, different flavours though. If you have power hungry headphones then flux, if you want a more romantic and natural and refined sound then head 2
Hi, the major difference would be their tonality and power output. Head2 isn't that powerful, so forget about super heavy loads. However, it's punchier sounding, offers a higher fun factor and a nicer layering. There's plenty of tube warmth and sweetness with the Head2, which obviously is not there on the Mentor. It really depends of what you want to achieve with your setup. Mentor is all about power, unlimited headroom, revealing every intricacy and nuance from your music. While head2 is all about headbangs and toe-taps.
I saw the review, ordered it from the flux team and waited 2 months for the product to complete, but yesterday it was my turn and I paid for it. ^^. I believe in your review.
Thank you for your review, I'm looking to buy. I have a question. What is the percentage of susvara's ability for one mentor and two mentors? Please let me know Sandu's personal thoughts. ^^
Flux certainly loves power...TONS OF POWER! Excelent build, good sound, but...two in one? I loved the simetric vibe and clean architecture inside the unit. Let's take a moment to appreciate the channel that gives a clear image of the WHOLE PRODUCT! Would love to own one!
high price to performance needs to be small not high. Price/performance if high means hi price and low performance, and if it is small means low price and high performance... in arbitrary number at 2 price and 5 performance it is 0.4, but at 5 price and 2 performance it is 2.5 😂... but we get it, it is a very good price/performance
A fully discrete, fully symmetrical and dual-mono amplifier, that uses two linear transformers, a relay based volume control, while providing 11 Watts per channel and having a price point of $1299 (with mono input) in my mind has a very high price to performance ratio. Can you mention a single headphone amp that has better specs, nicer components and sounds better at this price?
@@Soundnewsperhaps the schiit Mjolnir 3 would be a good comp at a similar price. It’s gotten some reviews the MJ3 matches a fully upgraded soloist 3gt 2023.
Great rewiev im still kinda torn cos i got exellent vioelectric v222 amp and severeal dozens headphones most expensive being hekse. Should i buy one mentor or should i sell my v222 and go with 2...
@@YTjuanchicod Two times better? Certainly not, but it's moderately better especially with harder loads, plus it's operating at a much lower temperature (longer service life).
This reminds me so much of my (currently unused) NuForce HA-200 monoblock stack, which had similar implementation and topology, but on the more affordable range. The HA-200B's are long discontinued, and you also needed to volume match each pot on each amp precisely, or set at unity gain (max volume) and use either a source or preamplifier for volume control. Now, based of specs and reviews, including this one, I consider the Flux Mentor stack superior, especially with volume control over both units and remote! I have no doubt sonically that the Mentor, either by itself or in a mono stack, are sublime. I do, however, wonder if Mentor or Mentor stack may come across as sterile sounding, but at the price asked it seems to be a terrific deal regardless. Certainly overtook my considerations for the Burson Soloist Voyger! Fantastic review, thank you for introducing me to a new cool headphone amplifier, and one to shortlist too!
Power cable makes it richer and more dynamic? ... while all the wires in the wall are ordinary wires... this guy is tripping... he has no idea about how electricity works or he is lying on purpose
As practice has shown, the greatest effect from the use of purified copper is achieved when applied directly in front of the device’s power supply. In the wall it will be sufficient to use a ordinary copper cable (even aluminum cable can be used). The main thing is that it has a sufficient cross-section.
This is a great review. Thank you
How it compares to Aune S17 Pro?
S17 PRO doesn't provide as much power and it gets considerably warmer. Some even reported that it might move from 100mA to 50mA bias due to overheating (arriving at 69 degrees Celsius). Mentor never went past 40 degrees Celsius, even after 48 hours of non-stop music playback. Mentor provides more power, more headroom, a wider soundstage, a slightly tighter grip over headphone drivers (especially with planar headphones) and it is also by a hair more technical sounding (clearer, faster, having a better timing). The Mentor is also more expensive, so that shouldn't be a surprise. The only thing which people might prefer on the S17 PRO versus the Mentor via regular dynamic/planar headphones, would be its warmer/sweeter tonality vs the serious & transparent nature of the Mentor.
@@Soundnews ok, thanks!! I own S17, I have no overheat problem even if my unit works all day at 100ma mode.
I would love to hear more 3D layering from S17. But yeah, I guess it's in the next price tag level :)
@@kopczaswhat dac ?
@@wazzupi-pubg holo audio cyan 2
One of these matched with the modhouse tungsten double sided be an interesting value prop. Flux makes solid stuff!
Agree, the Tungstens would be rocking hard with two Mentors. Unfortunately, as far as I know, all men from 18 to 60 years old can't leave the country due to Martial Law...so moving to Poland right now is out of the question. It breaks my heart knowing their situation.
I was negotiating a special price with Flux, on one of these amplifiers, in order to use it with the Mod House Tungsten that I just purchased.
However, I ended-up buying an iFi Phantom and I am glad I did!
Seems like the obvious amp to compare to is the Schiit Mjolnir 3.
Thoughts?
How does this compare to the Burson Soloist Voyager? Power wise, they seem comparable, both being Class A amps
A stack of two mentor's is still cheaper than one single HPA4. Would you recommend a stack of mentor or one single HPA4? Also, how does one mentor compare to HPA4, Ragnarok, Burson Soloist Voyager and Topping A90. Appreciate your response. Thanks
I'm in Love.....................
Acid Jazz, Funk & Brass 🔈🔉🔊
Thank you for the review. Seems to be a great cost/benefit product. But I wonder if you really need all that power, specially if your headphones are not hard to drive (Audezee LCD-X and Meze Empyrean in my case). I have an old Topping A90, that was well received at the time (2020), and I am really unsure about investing in something more expensive for amplification. Any thoughts about that?
As someone who doesnt have any experience owning a higher end amplifier. I can blindly say, Burson, Vioelectric, Flux, Audio Gd are on a whole another level than Fiio, Topping ,Aune etc. its just not about measurements and power. Its also about Tone, Timbre etc.
Thank you Sandu for your candid and informative review. I’m glad to see your always excellent and exhaustive evaluations continue as you are truly in the highest eschelon of reviewers online.
epic review, Sandu!
I dont have any experience with dual amps for headphones - how does it work? Do I need a special cable or can I use my xlr cable like I would with one of these?
You'll need a special adapter cable - dual 3-pin XLR to a single 3-pin XLR (which Flux offers separately), or you can go with two cables separately - like Abyss offers for their headphones, one cable (3-pin XLR to mini 3-pin XLR) goes to one headphone driver and another cable powers the other driver. Nuts :)
Hi Sandu, thanks for your detailed reviews, I still keeping and using the KINKI - EX-M7 that thanks in great part to your review sealed my deal with it, I sold my DENAFRIPS T-II DAC and got a Lampi Baltic 4, that saiid, I'd like to ---maybe-- go back to an Integrated and just saw this, my actually PRE- AMP COMBO is very good, I m wondering around the same money, a 1000 USD less or more aprox, do you know some INTEGRATED that outclass my COMBO ( Denafrips Athena + Kinki EX-M7 ) ? , I use PMC Twenty5 26s
All the best !
Cheers
Hey, 86dB 1W at 1m - ouch, these are hard to tame and control. I'm sorry, but I don't think you can do that at $1000 or less, maybe only with entry to mid-fi equipment, which would be a major downgrade. Keep on using your setup, or just swap it with a Kinki EX-M1+ at some point.
@@Soundnews Thanks Amigo, i Have had the EX-M1 before and this combo outclass it, do you believe that having a less expensive DAC and perhaps invest that money in better speakers would be a major upgrade ?
Another great review! From previous review Trafomatic Head 2 was on top of my buying list. Now I am debating... Between 2 x Mentors vs Trafomatic Head 2, what are the main differences? What about soundstage? Thanks!
Head 2 should be better, different flavours though. If you have power hungry headphones then flux, if you want a more romantic and natural and refined sound then head 2
Hi, the major difference would be their tonality and power output. Head2 isn't that powerful, so forget about super heavy loads. However, it's punchier sounding, offers a higher fun factor and a nicer layering. There's plenty of tube warmth and sweetness with the Head2, which obviously is not there on the Mentor. It really depends of what you want to achieve with your setup. Mentor is all about power, unlimited headroom, revealing every intricacy and nuance from your music. While head2 is all about headbangs and toe-taps.
I saw the review, ordered it from the flux team and waited 2 months for the product to complete, but yesterday it was my turn and I paid for it. ^^. I believe in your review.
Thank you for your review, I'm looking to buy.
I have a question.
What is the percentage of susvara's ability for one mentor and two mentors? Please let me know Sandu's personal thoughts. ^^
Flux certainly loves power...TONS OF POWER! Excelent build, good sound, but...two in one? I loved the simetric vibe and clean architecture inside the unit. Let's take a moment to appreciate the channel that gives a clear image of the WHOLE PRODUCT! Would love to own one!
high price to performance needs to be small not high. Price/performance if high means hi price and low performance, and if it is small means low price and high performance... in arbitrary number at 2 price and 5 performance it is 0.4, but at 5 price and 2 performance it is 2.5 😂... but we get it, it is a very good price/performance
A fully discrete, fully symmetrical and dual-mono amplifier, that uses two linear transformers, a relay based volume control, while providing 11 Watts per channel and having a price point of $1299 (with mono input) in my mind has a very high price to performance ratio. Can you mention a single headphone amp that has better specs, nicer components and sounds better at this price?
I agree I want to find the cheapest price for the highest performance not the highest price to performance ratio.
@@Soundnewsperhaps the schiit Mjolnir 3 would be a good comp at a similar price. It’s gotten some reviews the MJ3 matches a fully upgraded soloist 3gt 2023.
@@aceofspades6667 "Maximum Power, 32 ohms: 2W RMS per channel " - Not quite there yet ;)
Great rewiev im still kinda torn cos i got exellent vioelectric v222 amp and severeal dozens headphones most expensive being hekse. Should i buy one mentor or should i sell my v222 and go with 2...
Is 1 mentor 2 times better than the Aune S17pro?
@@YTjuanchicod Two times better? Certainly not, but it's moderately better especially with harder loads, plus it's operating at a much lower temperature (longer service life).
How does the detail an clarity compare to the Enleum 23R and Burson Voyager?
I wonder if the serial cable between the 2 devices has any impact on the sound quality? or is it just for volume syncing.
Great review Sandu. Based on your taste, would you take this over a Holo Bliss?
Excellent review. I am thinking of pairing it with my Pontus II.
Should be an excellent pairing
This reminds me so much of my (currently unused) NuForce HA-200 monoblock stack, which had similar implementation and topology, but on the more affordable range.
The HA-200B's are long discontinued, and you also needed to volume match each pot on each amp precisely, or set at unity gain (max volume) and use either a source or preamplifier for volume control.
Now, based of specs and reviews, including this one, I consider the Flux Mentor stack superior, especially with volume control over both units and remote!
I have no doubt sonically that the Mentor, either by itself or in a mono stack, are sublime. I do, however, wonder if Mentor or Mentor stack may come across as sterile sounding, but at the price asked it seems to be a terrific deal regardless. Certainly overtook my considerations for the Burson Soloist Voyger!
Fantastic review, thank you for introducing me to a new cool headphone amplifier, and one to shortlist too!
I just got a Ferrum OOR and I wonder how this compares, I am using a DS Tungsten and an HD600.
Can I ask what you have around the input tubes on your Primavera?
E.A.T. Cool Dampers (google search for them)
Are two mentors better than the enleum 23r for the Susvara?
TWO? 😮
Just get a single iFi Phantom.
Depends on how you define better. For unlimited power, headroom and soundstage, then yes, they will be better.
@@Soundnews Which one was the more enjoyable experience for you? Are you going to sell your Enleum now? If not, than I probably have my answer.
@@johenkay1129 I won't sell the Enleum or the Primavera. I love them both, mostly due to their wild dynamics and over worldly flow.
Fresh looks of u bra, really u looks young.. Hmm.. nice mono options.. Peace!
Power cable makes it richer and more dynamic? ... while all the wires in the wall are ordinary wires... this guy is tripping... he has no idea about how electricity works or he is lying on purpose
I never mentioned how electricity works, I only mentioned the audible difference the power cable did to this amplifier.
As practice has shown, the greatest effect from the use of purified copper is achieved when applied directly in front of the device’s power supply. In the wall it will be sufficient to use a ordinary copper cable (even aluminum cable can be used). The main thing is that it has a sufficient cross-section.