Review: Feliks Audio Espressivo MKII OTL Tube Headphone Amplifier
Firstly I would like to thank Feliks Audio for this loan
unit for review.
*disclaimer: This sample was provided on loan for the
purpose of writing a review, no incentive was given to write a favourable
review. All opinions expressed are my own subjective findings.
Gear Used:
Topping D30 > Espressivo MKII > German Maestro GMP400
/ Wood Grado SR60e / Hifiman RE2000 / Ether Flow / HD650 / HD800.
Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories:
Feliks Audio have slightly revised their packaging, there is
an outer shipping box, and another inner box which has stiff foam inserts that
hold the amp in place. The tubes are packaged in their tube boxes, in a special
cut-out on the top part of foam before you get to the amp below. The packaging
is very sturdy and provides very good protection to the amp during shipping,
the outer box is not a fancy retail box, but the packaging does feel very good
and is definitely up to the job of keeping the amp safe.
The Espressivo MKII much like the original is superbly
built, being hand made in Poland you can see the passion that goes into making
these amps. Everything is perfectly put together, the wood panels on the side
are perfectly cut, the finish is now matte black and not as much of a
fingerprint magnet. The design is the same externally, with 3 sets of RCA
inputs on the back and a set of RCA outputs for use as a pre-amp, on the front
you have the 6.3mm headphone output, the large aluminium volume knob and the
input selector knob.
The tube sockets are upgraded over the original Espressivo,
and they feel a little tighter and more secure when installing the tubes.
Overall the amp is perfectly put together, and from 2 years of no hassle
ownership of the original Espressivo (still going strong), I expect the MKII
will last equally as well. Be warned that like all tube amps, this one heats up
substantially during use, it would be easy to burn yourself on the power tubes,
but I have had no issues with leaving these amps on for periods of 8 hours or
more.
Accessory wise the amp comes with a power cable, that is all, and that is all that is needed in my opinion, you also get a manual and
warranty card.
Tube Rolling:
One of the upgrades of the Espressivo MKII is the optimisation
of the circuit to work best with 6922 driver tubes, this to me is excellent and
6922 tubes are readily available with plenty of NOS flavours out there. The
power tube are 6N6P type, also easy to find on eBay with NOS gold grid 6N6P-I
versions being very cheap. This means it is cheap and easy to replace any worn
out tubes in the future, but from my experience the tubes last a long time in
this amp anyway.
It comes stock with Electro Harmonix tubes, which are not
NOS, they sound great in this amp and add the tube warmth that makes this amp a
pleasure to use with slightly more neutral/thin headphones like the GMP400 /
HD800.
I changed the tubes out to NOS 6N6P-I gold grids and Tesla
gold pin 6922 tubes to see what difference it would make, and it really changed
the character of the amp. Now vocals took centre stage, the bass became tighter
and there was a little more air and detail up top, this worked wonders with
slightly thicker headphones like the HD650. The Espressivo MKII can be tuned
with tubes to the sound you want out of it which is great. For my main
headphones, the GMP400, the stock 6922 tubes with the NOS 6N6P-I gold grids was
an excellent pairing.
Sound:
Reviewed with stock tubes.
Well the Espressivo MKII is really made for high impedance
full-size headphones, using them with lower impedance headphones like the
Grados works fine but the sound is not as tight and controlled as when used
with a solid state amp with lower output impedance. This amp did however work
well with the Hifiman RE2000, I did have to lower the DAC output a little
though due to the high gain of this amp. I do however think that anyone buying
this amp knows that most OTL amps are not designed for use with sensitive, low
impedance headphones.
This amp is also not designed to be used with the hardest to
driver planars like the HE-6, as the volume starts to clip when pushed hard,
but again this is not what this amp was designed for. It does do a fair job at
driving more sensitive planars like the HE500 and Ether Flow, but I do still
prefer their synergy with a high powered solid state amp.
Now when paired with the right headphones (HD800 / GMP400 /
HD650 etc....) this amp just oozes sound effortlessly, the quality of sound
that comes out of this amp is superb. It is not a slow sounding amp, but it is
not harsh in the slightest, just like the original Espressivo it produces a
very clean and punchy sound but with a little added warmth to it. The MKII is a
little smoother than the original, which with the stock tubes, did not sound
like your typical OTL amp. And you can make the MKII sound like that with
certain tube combinations, but this review is of the amp in stock form. The
MKII is a full sounding amp, but devoid of any bloat that is often wrongly
associated with tube amps. The Espressivo MKII is devoid of any veil, it is a
detailed amp but the details are not forced upon you in an analytical manner,
instead they are there for you to pick up on should you want to.
The lows are full bodied with excellent articulation and also
layering, they come out of a deep background giving the sound real depth and
body but without sounding overbearing or boosted. This is where is amp injects
most of its magic, bringing out the soul and body in slightly colder sounding
headphones. The midrange is devoid of colouration from the lows, it is crisp
and open with a very natural tone to it, you never miss out on any detail in
the recording. The highs are well presented with effortless air and extension,
but they are ever so slightly smoother than some of the more neutral solid
state amps. The highs are all there, it is just they are not as sharp which
helps again smooth out any slightly harsher headphones.
Yes this is a slightly fuller, smoother sounding amp, but
compared to the many cheaper tube/tube hybrid amps, the Espressivo MKII has
much better layering, detail and soundstage. It is not a muffled sounding amp;
it has a subtle warmth to it, that you just want to keep listening to. It pairs
so well with many higher impedance dynamic headphones, the Beyerdynamic Amiron
Home, DT880 600 Ohm and the T1 2nd Generation all sound incredible out of the
Espressivo MKII.
As said before the sound can be tuned with different tubes,
but in its stock form it sounds wonderfully smooth, articulate, dynamic,
detailed and open.
Conclusion:
When I saw the price increase from the original Espressivo,
I was worried the MKII would be very similar and thus not as good value for
money as the original was. Since getting the MKII my thoughts have changed, the
MKII is indeed a real upgrade and not just a subtle side step with a higher
price slapped on it.
It may look the same on the outside, but they have really
tweaked the internal design and it now works better with lower impedance
headphones (my SR60e sound better out of the MKII than the original) and also
made it so 6922 tubes work best.
The Espressivo MKII is slightly fuller, better layered and
overall a step closer in sound to the Elise. It just wants you to enjoy the
music, it wants you to listen until the early hours of the morning, it does not
try to fatigue you with any emphasis on any particular part of the frequency
response.
I could go on and on about this amp, but to me what sums it
up is my willingness to just listen out of it for hours on end, with nothing
but pure joy. So is it worth the money? Well at €799 it is not cheap, but it is
an investment, and also a work of art. It is expertly hand crafted, and built
to bring you years of service. So if you have some higher impedance full size
headphones that you will be holding on to for a few years, then the Espressivo
MKII should be on your list of amps to pair with them.
Sound Perfection Rating: 10/10 (This really is an improvement over the original and worth the money)
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