Dave McNair has a blast listening to an reasonably priced 45-watt-per-channel built-in amp cooked up à la polonaise.

Glass Bottle Love, Polish Style

For audiophiles on a restricted price range the alternatives have by no means been extra incredible. Especially for the oldsters who need to discover out what all of the noise is about concerning vacuum tubes.

A glut of reasonably priced (some ridiculously so), vacuum-tube-based, built-in amps have lately appeared available on the market. Most are from corporations positioned in China, South Korea, and different components of East Asia, however within the final a number of years, increasingly more of those glowing glass bottle beauties have been popping out of Poland.

Fezz Audio out of Poland joined the get together round 2015 however now has American distribution via Bluebird Music, and issues are heating up. Their lineup and costs present that Fezz has probably the most reasonably priced and complete collection of vacuum tube amplifiers of all of the East Euro choices, together with a variety of single ended triode outfitted designs of varied flavors.

The EVO Titania is the newest model of Fezz’s built-in, push-pull KT-88 pentode, 45 wpc design. A primary EVO Titania, as examined, has an MSRP of $3,995. It’s out there in seven coloration schemes. Additional particular order choices at $300 every embody Home Theater enter, Bluetooth enter, and subwoofer outputs.

It’s no secret that straightforward tube circuits constructed cost-efficiently can sound nice. It’s not solely more difficult to make a musically satisfying built-in amp utilizing solid-state; it’s important to attempt onerous to mess up a easy, tube-based design. And when good ears within the design group are concerned in assessing and deciding what’s most necessary for sonics, inevitable compromises for a worth level can produce an incredibly good amplifier—working example: the Audio Research i50. 

My curiosity began when a great good friend and trusted native hifi vendor, Chris Livengood, proprietor of Ember Audio + Design, hipped me to the Titania. I borrowed one to take residence from the store, and shazam, I heard sufficient to need to do a full evaluation. Many because of Jay Rein, Richard Colburn and the crew at Bluebird Music for facilitating.

Back Story and Design Concept

Maciej Lachowski of Fezz Audio was form sufficient to reply my questions concerning the corporate and the EVO Titania.

Dave McNair: How did you get into making amplifiers, and what have been the circumstances round beginning Fezz?

We’re all music lovers. From our very early years, our father, Lech, founding father of the corporate, and our mother, Barbara, paid nice consideration to music. We had an enormous assortment of vinyl records and cassettes. Our dad and mom additionally took us to many concert events. Me and my brother Tomasz at all times tried to ensure that the music in our residence sounded nearly as good as potential. As we grew up and completed Technical Academy within the metropolis of Bialystok (the place we nonetheless dwell) this fascination was a want to construct our personal hifi. In 2015, we offered our first built-in amplifier, Silver Luna, beneath the model Fezz, on the Audio Video Show in Warsaw.

Today, Fezz hires over 40 individuals to work throughout every shift in our manufacturing corridor and use state-of-the-art gear and software program to supply and design our amplifiers, in addition to to supply the transformers for them.

D.M: Does the design course of embody listening to and adjusting a circuit or components to get a desired sonic end result or is it primarily arrived at with measurements? Who is the first designer behind the Titania?

There isn’t any major designer.  It is a really complicated course of wherein many individuals are concerned. Listening classes are basic to reaching a ultimate, common sound. Every change within the circuit might be essential. That is why soundcheck is a should. Our purpose is to attain the proper stability that enhances the musical style of most audio lovers. Measurements are necessary, however the sound is important.

What influenced using toroidal transformers? Why don’t we see them extra usually in vacuum tube designs?

At Fezz, we imagine the output transformers are crucial factor in a vacuum tube amplifier. We’re manufacturing transformers for all Fezz amps in our manufacturing facility. All of them are toroidal. Toroidal output transformers introduce the advantages of toroidal cores to the tube output. Through using an progressive, internationally patented winding know-how, we’ve got achieved distinctive electrical parameters, similar to flat frequency bandwidth inside the acoustic vary, very low THD distortion, and a excessive sound high quality issue.

So, why don’t we see them extra usually in vacuum tube designs? We see toroidal transformers in an influence provide fairly usually, however not as output transformers. The first cause is that toroidal output transformers are difficult to wind. Second, toroidal output transformers for single-ended constructions have to be air-gapped which can also be not easy and wishes a particular, patent-covered know-how, Third, we’re the house owners of this patent. 

D.M.: How is it potential to get such a excessive degree of sonic efficiency at such an affordable worth?

At Fezz, we’ve targeted on independence and the flexibility to supply as many components as potential on our personal. Thanks to this, we’ve got achieved a really constructive worth/high quality ratio for our gadgets.

D.M.:Can you inform me concerning the design of Titania? The handbook talked about auto bias so I assume a cathode bias circuit. Does the Titania use any native suggestions in spots? If so, how a lot?  What influenced using KT-88s on this design? Does the output transformer and energy provide have sufficient capability to run different energy tubes? KT-120-150-170? Do you encourage or approve of “tube rolling”? 

The design of Titania is kind of easy. Our purpose was to not decelerate sound dynamics in an excessively difficult design. The complete circuit consists of three levels: RC-coupled voltage amplifier (1/2 12AX7), break up load part inverter (1/2 12AX7), and ultra-linear energy amplifier (2xKT88). Cathode bias is used primarily as a result of it’s inherently self-balancing, due to this fact any mismatched tubes, inserted by the person as a substitute or as an improve don’t trigger the output transformer core to saturate. Its goal is especially person comfort – though mounted bias permits extra energy from the identical tubes, it might require periodical checks and changes.
Local suggestions is used generously: in 1st and 2nd levels there’s cathode degeneration, and within the output stage, there’s ultra-linear coupling. The diploma of native suggestions within the voltage amplifying stage is reasonable, nonetheless, the part splitter works with 100% degeneration (its amplification issue is 1). Consequently, its frequency response is large, and nonlinear distortion is extraordinarily low. UL faucets are positioned at a 43% flip ratio, offering a deep discount of output impedance and non-linear distortion, additionally enhancing frequency response.

The selection of KT88 is predicated on a number of causes. It is without doubt one of the most interesting audio tubes ever made, contemplating the facility capabilities and excessive linearity. It is effectively fitted to an amplifier able to a number of dozen watts, simply offered. Of course, it will probably do extra – nevertheless it was not the case to squeeze each final watt out of it – we insist on the very best potential sound high quality as an alternative. Other beam energy tubes from the KT household (KT120, KT150, and KT170) are appropriate. It is solely protected to insert them into the Titania amplifier. However, one receives no extra energy than with preliminary tubes, as a result of the facility provide, output transformers, and remaining circuitry are designed for 45 W.

For the motive force tube (12AX7/ECC83) there are additionally quite a few potential substitutions from completely different producers which critically have an effect on the sound.

D.M.: What are your ideas a few single-ended as an alternative of a balanced output (or enter)? Is the Titania all single-ended to maintain the construct price low?

In fashionable hifi, many of the connections between sources and built-in amplifiers use unbalanced RCA connections. XLR balanced connections are extra usually utilized by customers of extra superior hifi techniques which include energy amplifiers or mono blocks. We plan to implement XLR connections in future fashions of Fezz energy amps.

D.M.: What type of music do you take pleasure in? What is your most popular supply, vinyl or digital? What does your house system include?  Is there a system arrange at Fezz for evaluating designs? What does it include?

I don`t have any particular music style that I hearken to. I’ve a various musical style. I actually take pleasure in well-recorded rock or blues, and exploring new genres like world music, high-quality pop, and digital music. I usually take note of the manufacturing high quality of the music. I respect albums, which were fastidiously engineered and produced, with a deal with capturing the essence of the artist’s efficiency. The supply kind will not be essential for me, crucial is high quality music.  Of course, vinyl provides an additional layer of enjoyment to my music-listening ritual, and I take pleasure in it very a lot.
My residence system consists of  Fezz Titania, Fezz Gratia phono stage, Klipsch Cornwall audio system,  turntable, CD participant, and Fezz Equinox DAC.   

Put On A Record And Pass Me A Pierogi

Warsaw restaurant Pierogi

Before I get into sonics, a fast practical overview. Three RCA inputs, with entrance panel knob selector, a quantity knob, and binding posts for 4ohm and 8ohm output transformer faucets. A distant for quantity is included. That’s it! The Titania is self biasing so no meters or take a look at factors.

I first used the Titania with a pair of Qln Prestige Five loudspeakers. Then later my system underwent a dramatic shift once I acquired a pair of Acora Acoustics VRC audio system. So, I acquired to listen to the Titania driving two completely different speaker techniques. 

Several listening impressions emerged on each loudspeakers. Even because the efficiencies of the P5s and VRCs differ, the Titania had no issues powering the 89db or so P5s. The amped laughed at driving the 94db VRCs (though I believe that’s fairly a conservative ranking).  After a fast A/B, I used the 4ohm posts for each audio system.

Regardless of the speaker system, my ears have been greeted by an immediately obvious show of dynamic prowess. 45 watts? Really? Large-scale dynamic shifts within the music nearly appeared accentuated as a lot as delicate,  microdynamic shades. I hate that time period, nevertheless it serves its goal for descriptions. I’ve written earlier than that you do not know what you are lacking till you hear a system able to reproducing an unconstrained sense of dynamic distinction. The Titania dominated on this division, but with a way of ease generally present in solely one of the best vacuum tube and solid-state designs. 

I listened primarily to my drug of selection, you guessed it, vinyl. The present rig is a TW Acustic Raven LS, Raven 10.5 tonearm, and largely a Dynavector XV-1t. Of course, I streamed a good quantity of digital to get all the lay of the land, however taking part in records on my present system is a chic expertise that I can’t appear to get sufficient of. The Fezz Audio built-in amp took nothing away from my platter get together classes by way of enjoyment. Some nights, I’d have to change again to my reference VAC Master and Ampsandsound Zion Monos, simply to ensure I wasn’t loopy. Yep, these parts offered my favourite tunes in a extra refined, linear, and detailed method, however the Titania was embarrassingly shut.

Using digital was useful as a result of I may use the identical supply for both setup to make a good comparability. Most of my impressions have been buttressed by taking part in digital sources. Since the Titania doesn’t include a phono pre, when spinning records, I used a Lab 12 – Melto 2 phono pre as a result of it was the one factor I had in hand outfitted with unbalanced outputs. Still, the Melto 2 ain’t no slouch, and I loved taking part in vinyl greater than streaming. 

It didn’t matter whether or not I performed one of the best of minimally miked, traditional analog recorded classical materials, or closely compressed fashionable rock a la Radiohead, the Fezz amp appeared to adore it all.

The massive dynamic functionality, particularly when utilizing the Acoras, was a thrill on large-scale orchestral items from Mahler to Stravinsky. 

The Titania’s shortcomings are sins of omission moderately than an excessive amount of coloration, which is usually heard in tube amps as too thick and chunky soup. This was extra obvious when listening to fashionable compressed music, which is already a thick stew. I may simply select the numerous Ed O’Brien guitar components on even the densest tunes on OK Computer simply as simply as I may hear back-of-the-stage percussion or viola components in well-recorded symphonic choices. 

Tonality and texture have been portrayed with a well-known tube mojo that contributed to the to-die-for string tone of Heifitz on the Classic Records reissue of the Reiner/CSO Tchialkovski Violin Concerto. 

Imaging-wise, the Titania anchored middle picture vocals on par with one of the best I’ve heard whereas taking nothing away from wide-panned musical components on tunes similar to Michael Jackson’s "Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough" from Off The Wall. 

I did discover a slight extra of high-bass power within the 100-200hz space. And the wispy air above 10-12Khz will not be fairly as obvious as in some pricy tube amps. This is to not say the Titania sounds rolled off or romantic, however it’s positively musically listenable as an alternative of mission-critical accuracy.

Another factor of the sonics that was much less within the class of correct or clear (but participating and addictive) was Titania’s tendency to make midrange components in a recording extra instant. Not ahead in a detrimental sense, nor remotely strident, and never an apparent frequency response aberration, however within the time-honored Pro Audio terminology referred to as In Your Face. Maybe it was concerning the elevated sense of dynamics, coupled with a typical .2% THD versus .002%, nevertheless it was NICE.

Okay, for completeness, the low finish was lots managed for my likes, however not fairly the grip and pace of a top quality solid-state amp or a high-end tube job, however hey – whadda ya need for $3,995? The bass guitar/bass drum combo on just about all of XTC’s Engish Settlement was massive however outlined sufficient to listen to when Colin Moulding and Terry Chambers often do not completely mesh. It was after all of the pre-Pro Tools days.

Both audio system I used have fairly a benign impedance curve, so I can’t touch upon how effectively a Titania will drive one thing with 1 or 2-ohm dips. Try before you purchase is my mantra.

Wrap It Up

This built-in amp is an unqualified slam dunk for somebody trying to get into what one of the best of vacuum tubes can do. The entry-level worth is solely the proper milk froth on high of a killer espresso shot. Make mine an oat milk cortado.

I think the Fezz Audio EVO Titania will transform fairly a gateway drug for an unsuspecting music lover who doesn’t understand they’re about to turn out to be immersed in The Hobby. It’s nearly unfair to the Titania to think about it solely by way of entry-level gear, however throw in a pair of respectable used audio system, a Technics or Rega ‘desk, and certainly one of many stable sub-$1,000 phono pres or days (should you should) and also you’re off to the races. Enjoy!