Feliks Audio ENVY

[Evangelist]

Is that your loose kenrad?

Yes , Both were just a tiny bit loose.

 

[Evangelist]

Yes , Both were just a tiny bit loose.

Just tested right channel is dead must be the tube , already talking with the seller he seems ok to resolve the issue let’s see ..

 

[Ike1985]

Fantastic work from Deyan, as always, the 12AU7 adapters are here, weekend will be fun.
This was the second to last gear purchase for this year (hopefully), the last thing will be the stabilized Aeolus which i'm eagerly waiting for.

Great more impressions.

Very hard to give you an answer for that.
It just depends.
The 1266TC is the bass king, and if you crave its bass, the Immanis will not replace it. If you are using the new pads (no seal break) or are ok with losing that subwoofer bass, you can sell the TC.
The Unveiled is a super specialist when it comes to midrange / vocals / intimacy etc. It can truly touch your heart like the Immanis can never do. I think it is an excellent companion to the Immanis.
The Immanis is faster and more detailed than those two and has a different tonality, rather U-shaped. Mids are recessed, it won't sound truly intimate like the Unveiled, its bass is very good, but can't reach the 1266TC's bass.
So: Do you want a TOTL, estat like experience when it comes to technicalities (and with a fantastic bass, which estats can't deliver), or are you super happy with the tonality of the ultra bass slamming TC and the heart-touching mids of the Unveiled?
If you think that you won't miss the mids of the Unveiled: Sell it.
If you think that you won't miss the bass of the 1266TC: Sell it.
The Immanis is more of an allrounder in terms of tonality, and a pure master when it comes to technicalities. In terms of objective technicalities, it wins, hands down. In terms of subjective tonality, the TC and the Unveiled have both one single feature (bass / mids) where they outshine the Immanis.
You may be able to substitute the Unveiled for the OG Susvara or even a completely different headphone, like a ZMF Aeolus (sounds ridiculous, but it has the same tuning in the midrange as the Unveiled, extremely rich and full mids, but of course it's way behind in technicalities). You won't be able to substitute the bass of the 1266TC though.
Hope that helps a bit. You can always tune the Immanis more to your liking with the chain (different tubes). Immanis is extremely good with the Envy and gets even better if you have found the perfect tube pairs for you taste with it.

Edit: I see that you already have some ZMF's, so you probably won't miss the midrange of the Unveiled that much, i don't know if you would miss the 1266TC's bass, only you can decide that.
Do not keep the Unveiled just for its technicalities (details, resolution, separation, speed, etc) the Immanis stomps it in this regard. Same with the TC, if you only have any of those because of their technical abilities, sell them and try to get an Immanis / Magna. The Magna is less expensive and also stomps those two in terms of technicalities. It has a slightly weaker bass than the Immanis (still very good, better than OG Susvara) and a very OG-Susvara like tonality (less recessed mids, a more normal, less speaker-like presentation).

The valvos made my Immanis much more intimate, a lot. But pay to play, stupid expensive and rare.

 

[Doug2507]

Quick test of these to make sure they work! Initial thoughts on a cold amp, quiet, great spatial presentation, nice height, good imaging, good clarity, bass well defined, could maybe do with a little more treble texture, mids a touch neutral for my pref (prefer them slightly thicker, maybe due to being cold) , nothing is bright / harsh. Looking forward to an extended session this evening once properly warmed up. Better than I thought they'd be for sure, thumbs up for initial ears on and definitely interested to hear a pair mid / late 50's now.

 

[kajetanjazz]

Not fair. We want to know....now

So it’s the Red October

There have been talks about this being another tier of amps compared to an Envy. Which I am sceptical about, as it seems to be a hype talk driven by guys like CMA. Especially that suddenly Envy AE belongs to that conversation - even though, as I remember from @Exekuhtor comparison, it is a refined Envy but not greatly different sounding

Nevertheless RO is supposed to be an outright organic/warmer sounding, what suits my wants with 1266 and will allow for more tube diversity I hope. From the start I have 5 extra NOS 12A*7 tubes and possibly GEC u52 rectifiers incoming. Never seen RO in person, total blind buy. Will take it for a spin tonight with 1266 and Unveiled!

 

[Exekuhtor]

So it’s the Red October

CONGRATZ!
Tell us how it sounds compared to the Envy!
I hope it can handle the hot DAC output.
I thought about the Ampsandsound amps, but they're gigantic and tube changes seem to not matter that much compared to the Envy.
For me, who owns multiple, very different sounding headphones, the Envy is perfect, because i can just plug the tube pairs in which synergize the most with the headphone i want to listen to.

Especially that suddenly Envy AE belongs to that conversation - even though, as I remember from @Exekuhtor comparison, it is a refined Envy but not greatly different sounding

The AE (or custom) Envy hits harder and has a quieter noisefloor. That doesn't sound like much, but it surely lifts the Envy up on another level. Yesterday i read a bit through the Cayin Soul 170HA thread, and oh boy, while this amp seems to be very punchy and powerful, a lot of people talk about a significant noisefloor. And i'm not talking about IEM's, i'm talking headphones like an Utopia. Personally i hate background noise and need my amps to be as silent as possible (the Valkyria is a sensitive headphone, that was the original reason the seller sold it to me, because it had a noisefloor on his Egoista 845). And sure, the increased dynamics (which some people think are a weakness of the base Envy) are also very nice to have.
I think the Envy (especially the AE) is one of the very best tube amps available, alongside those bigger monsters, like the Ampsandsound or Viva Egoista stuff. It just has different advantages, while the others have different drawbacks. I think it just depends what you want.

 

[ThanatosVI]

So it’s the Red October


There have been talks about this being another tier of amps compared to an Envy. Which I am sceptical about, as it seems to be a hype talk driven by guys like CMA. Especially that suddenly Envy AE belongs to that conversation - even though, as I remember from @Exekuhtor comparison, it is a refined Envy but not greatly different sounding

Nevertheless RO is supposed to be an outright organic/warmer sounding, what suits my wants with 1266 and will allow for more tube diversity I hope. From the start I have 5 extra NOS 12A*7 tubes and possibly GEC u52 rectifiers incoming. Never seen RO in person, total blind buy. Will take it for a spin tonight with 1266 and Unveiled!

Well that's one of the choices one can make.
Let us know how you Like it

 

[Leto Dal]

So it’s the Red October


There have been talks about this being another tier of amps compared to an Envy. Which I am sceptical about, as it seems to be a hype talk driven by guys like CMA. Especially that suddenly Envy AE belongs to that conversation - even though, as I remember from @Exekuhtor comparison, it is a refined Envy but not greatly different sounding

Nevertheless RO is supposed to be an outright organic/warmer sounding, what suits my wants with 1266 and will allow for more tube diversity I hope. From the start I have 5 extra NOS 12A*7 tubes and possibly GEC u52 rectifiers incoming. Never seen RO in person, total blind buy. Will take it for a spin tonight with 1266 and Unveiled!

I suspected it would be a RO when you kept those WE300b. Congrats and very curious about your feedback on it!

 

[Exekuhtor]

Well that's one of the choices one can make.

Not impressed, i see.
Yeah, i also honestly think it's probably more of a sidegrade in general, but it could be a total upgrade when it comes to the TC specifically.
I wish there had been a Red October in Munich. But the sheer size would probably be a turn-off for me, as it was with the Egoista. US amps (especially big ones) are crazy hard to experience if you're on the other side of the pond.

Oh, btw, is it oficially safe to use the Ampsandsound devices? Do they have the CE certificate for the EU that the Woo audio amps lack?

 

[nfandi]

Not impressed, i see.
Yeah, i also honestly think it's probably more of a sidegrade in general, but it could be a total upgrade when it comes to the TC specifically.
I wish there had been a Red October in Munich. But the sheer size would probably be a turn-off for me, as it was with the Egoista. US amps (especially big ones) are crazy hard to experience if you're on the other side of the pond.

Oh, btw, is it oficially safe to use the Ampsandsound devices? Do they have the CE certificate for the EU that the Woo audio amps lack?

No mention of CE compliance on their website and no CE markings on any of the rear panels of the amps on their website. I did start to place an order and it did price in Euros when I set Germany as the delivery location, but I haven’t so far found any European dealers.

 

[Exekuhtor]

but I haven’t so far found any European dealers

Yup, that's normally a sign that they do not care about that certificate, same as with Woo audio. The numbers are probably too low to get it for our region.
I don't know if i would feel comfortable running such a hot and expensive device for years, well, it will most likely be no problem, but you can't be certain. I guess because it's a tube amp i would be more hesitant than normal, what if my (let's assume new) Elrog tube breaks in an amp that has no certificate...
I just checked my CFA3 and it doesn't have one either. It only has an american certificate (or i'm blind). Hmm.
My Schiit Valhalla 3 has one!
My Holo Serene has one aswell.
The Chord Dave also has one, and the Envy aswell of course, same with my Violectric.

So yeah, i think if there's an official dealer inside the EU, you gotta have it, no questions asked. If you don't have, well, tough luck i guess if something bad happens. Officially every electrical device needs one as far as i can tell, otherwise it would not be allowed to be officially sold in europe.

Edit:
"CE certification is required for all electronic devices sold in the European Union." Welp, rip my CFA3 i guess!

Edit2:
Seems it does have one, or is the CE only for that particular part?
Here you see a CE sticker on the inside on a component (upper right), but not on the big (US) certificate on the back, visible from the outside.

 

[paradoxper]

So it’s the Red October


There have been talks about this being another tier of amps compared to an Envy. Which I am sceptical about, as it seems to be a hype talk driven by guys like CMA. Especially that suddenly Envy AE belongs to that conversation - even though, as I remember from @Exekuhtor comparison, it is a refined Envy but not greatly different sounding

Nevertheless RO is supposed to be an outright organic/warmer sounding, what suits my wants with 1266 and will allow for more tube diversity I hope. From the start I have 5 extra NOS 12A*7 tubes and possibly GEC u52 rectifiers incoming. Never seen RO in person, total blind buy. Will take it for a spin tonight with 1266 and Unveiled!

Change all of those tubes immediately. TM300B is a different level with RO. Enjoy.

 

[DeeT79]

I'm interested in hearing your listening impressions. On one of the Facebook headphone groups, several people mentioned that RO and RO XL are clearly a level above Envy without a doubt. I'm not so sure, but tempted on trying RO to see for myself.

 

[Doug2507]

Melz thoughts from me will have to wait for now. Got a new cable through the door today and it's got my ears all excited (USB, flame away, I can take it... ). Need to go back my usual setup to get familiar and put melz on hold. Sorry melz...

Looling forward to hearing about RO though!

 

[kajetanjazz]

CONGRATZ!
Tell us how it sounds compared to the Envy!

Thank you! I just arrived back, busy day, I managed to listen for 20min before and.. spatially it’s sth new. Haven’t heard such complexities in that stage before, feels almost strange, but impressive. I will get to listen to it more this evening and know more, very intrigued what WE and other tubes will do.

I hope it can handle the hot DAC output.

Yes, that was my concern! I go up to 3 o’clock with 1266 or susvara on volume dial directly from May, so no problem

I suspected it would be a RO when you kept those WE300b

Yeah I might’ve given that away haha. I will force myself not to put them in right away, maybe in a few days

Change all of those tubes immediately. TM300B is a different level with RO. Enjoy.

Thank you. It just arrived, I want to get to know the amp on stock first before putting more interesting tubes in, so that I appreciate the differences