[L0rdGwyn]

Review now up on Head-Fi: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/feliks-audio-espressivo-mkii.22896/reviews#review-19780

Great review! Looks like a nice piece of kit

I have some questions if you don't mind my asking:
1) the price increase between the original and MKII Espressivo is substantial. Listening to them side-by-side, is the increase in sound quality proportional to the price hike?
2) I am interested in rolling my 5670 tubes into the MKII (Western Electric JW 2C51, Tesla 6CC42, CBS 5670, etc.). Did you try your iFi GE JAN 5670W's in the MKII? If so, how do they compare to the stock Electro Harmonix?
3) Have you by chance heard the Bottlehead Crack, and if so, how would you say they compare?

Thanks for checking out my questions, I enjoyed your review!

 

[ostewart]

Great review! Looks like a nice piece of kit

I have some questions if you don't mind my asking:
1) the price increase between the original and MKII Espressivo is substantial. Listening to them side-by-side, is the increase in sound quality proportional to the price hike?
2) I am interested in rolling my 5670 tubes into the MKII (Western Electric JW 2C51, Tesla 6CC42, CBS 5670, etc.). Did you try your iFi GE JAN 5670W's in the MKII? If so, how do they compare to the stock Electro Harmonix?
3) Have you by chance heard the Bottlehead Crack, and if so, how would you say they compare?

Thanks for checking out my questions, I enjoyed your review!

I was worried about the price hike too, but they changed a few things and the Mk II is more stable when tube rolling.

It also seems more stable when powering planars like my HE-500, and a bit better when using lower impedance headphones.

With the new stock tubes it's lush, smooth and sweet, the original is a little bit more neutral but also a little more closed in sounding.

The 5670 work really well, sound very detailed and open but with a slight hint of tube warmth. Definitely my favourite driver tubes.

I haven't compared it to the crack unfortunately.

So overall it's still good value for money in my opinion.

The stock tubes are fine for brighter headphones but there are much better tubes out there which really bring out the best in this amp.

The Elise always steals the spotlight from the Espressivo, possibly due to more tube rolling options. But the 3 inputs on the Espressivo and the sound and build all make is a superb amp.

From my German maestro GMP400 to the Sennheiser HD800 and Beyer T1, all higher impedance headphones sound wonderful out of it.

The preamp stage is also excellent, I'll try it at some point with my keces S125 power amp driving the HE-500

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I was worried about the price hike too, but they changed a few things and the Mk II is more stable when tube rolling.

It also seems more stable when powering planars like my HE-500, and a bit better when using lower impedance headphones.

With the new stock tubes it's lush, smooth and sweet, the original is a little bit more neutral but also a little more closed in sounding.

The 5670 work really well, sound very detailed and open but with a slight hint of tube warmth. Definitely my favourite driver tubes.

I haven't compared it to the crack unfortunately.

So overall it's still good value for money in my opinion.

The stock tubes are fine for brighter headphones but there are much better tubes out there which really bring out the best in this amp.

The Elise always steals the spotlight from the Espressivo, possibly due to more tube rolling options. But the 3 inputs on the Espressivo and the sound and build all make is a superb amp.

From my German maestro GMP400 to the Sennheiser HD800 and Beyer T1, all higher impedance headphones sound wonderful out of it.

The preamp stage is also excellent, I'll try it at some point with my keces S125 power amp driving the HE-500

Thanks for answering my questions, I appreciate it! If/when I purchase the MKII, I can write up Bottlehead Crack comparisons. Most of my headphones are high-impedance Sennheisers, since I do most of my listening out of an OTL (Crack).

Like I said, I have quite a collection of 5670's, not surprised they sound more open, that has always been my experience when comparing them to 6922's.

I've reached out to Feliks to see what the cost of shipping the MKII to the USA would be (and also how to claim the VAT tax). I will most likely purchase without the stock tubes, use my 5670's as the drivers and pick up some 6N6P types off Ebay.

Will post here if I buy, thanks again!

 

[ostewart]

Thanks for answering my questions, I appreciate it! If/when I purchase the MKII, I can write up Bottlehead Crack comparisons. Most of my headphones are high-impedance Sennheisers, since I do most of my listening out of an OTL (Crack).

Like I said, I have quite a collection of 5670's, not surprised they sound more open, that has always been my experience when comparing them to 6922's.

I've reached out to Feliks to see what the cost of shipping the MKII to the USA would be (and also how to claim the VAT tax). I will most likely purchase without the stock tubes, use my 5670's as the drivers and pick up some 6N6P types off Ebay.

Will post here if I buy, thanks again!

6N6P-I gold grids are cheap and work better than the stock tubes

Would be awesome to have another owner here and one to compare to the Crack.

Its a beautifully made amp that sounds as good as it looks in my opinion.

 

[Vigrith]

I was worried about the price hike too, but they changed a few things and the Mk II is more stable when tube rolling.

Wow, I've been out of the loop for a while as I've had no budget to indulge myself in upgrade-land when it comes to audio related gear of late - as a prospect Elise buyer now that my financial situation is recovering I almost went into anaphylactic shock upon checking their website you linked above. Not only has the Elise literally doubled in price, the Espressivo (which I was also curious about) is now more expensive than the Elise was like a year ago.

I know they're new/upgraded versions and I also am aware the Elise was probably slightly underpriced back then for the performance but not in a million years would I have thought something like this would've happened, makes me wish I'd made the sacrifice and gotten one when the prices were reasonable.

Seems like a weird decision too from a business stand point, their products were selling like hot cakes getting nothing but love through all the forums I frequent; surely they were profitable as a company seeing as they went on with the prices as they were for what, 2 or 3 years, why change so drastically now? Kinda reminiscent of how Audeze just upped the price of their LCD2C from $599 to $799, they went from having the best bang for the buck offering since the HD650 to being "just another good sub 1000 pair of headphones". Would be sad to see the Elise go from the revered unit it was since its inception to being just another nice amp that responds very well to tube rolling in the 1-2k category. Shame, really, but maybe I'm just not well informed enough about their revamped versions - I'm just not a fan of gatekeeping to this extent.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Wow, I've been out of the loop for a while as I've had no budget to indulge myself in upgrade-land when it comes to audio related gear of late - as a prospect Elise buyer now that my financial situation is recovering I almost went into anaphylactic shock upon checking their website you linked above. Not only has the Elise literally doubled in price, the Espressivo (which I was also curious about) is now more expensive than the Elise was like a year ago.

I know they're new/upgraded versions and I also am aware the Elise was probably slightly underpriced back then for the performance but not in a million years would I have thought something like this would've happened, makes me wish I'd made the sacrifice and gotten one when the prices were reasonable.

Seems like a weird decision too from a business stand point, their products were selling like hot cakes getting nothing but love through all the forums I frequent; surely they were profitable as a company seeing as they went on with the prices as they were for what, 2 or 3 years, why change so drastically now? Kinda reminiscent of how Audeze just upped the price of their LCD2C from $599 to $799, they went from having the best bang for the buck offering since the HD650 to being "just another good sub 1000 pair of headphones". Would be sad to see the Elise go from the revered unit it was since its inception to being just another nice amp that responds very well to tube rolling in the 1-2k category. Shame, really, but maybe I'm just not well informed enough about their revamped versions - I'm just not a fan of gatekeeping to this extent.

As I'm sitting here contemplating an Espressivo MKII purchase, this really hits home. It's disheartening reading reviews of the original and seeing that it cost half the price! @ostewart feels like the price increase is matched by the increase in performance, glad to hear it, but info on the new Espressivo is still very limited

 

[ostewart]

Wow, I've been out of the loop for a while as I've had no budget to indulge myself in upgrade-land when it comes to audio related gear of late - as a prospect Elise buyer now that my financial situation is recovering I almost went into anaphylactic shock upon checking their website you linked above. Not only has the Elise literally doubled in price, the Espressivo (which I was also curious about) is now more expensive than the Elise was like a year ago.

I know they're new/upgraded versions and I also am aware the Elise was probably slightly underpriced back then for the performance but not in a million years would I have thought something like this would've happened, makes me wish I'd made the sacrifice and gotten one when the prices were reasonable.

Seems like a weird decision too from a business stand point, their products were selling like hot cakes getting nothing but love through all the forums I frequent; surely they were profitable as a company seeing as they went on with the prices as they were for what, 2 or 3 years, why change so drastically now? Kinda reminiscent of how Audeze just upped the price of their LCD2C from $599 to $799, they went from having the best bang for the buck offering since the HD650 to being "just another good sub 1000 pair of headphones". Would be sad to see the Elise go from the revered unit it was since its inception to being just another nice amp that responds very well to tube rolling in the 1-2k category. Shame, really, but maybe I'm just not well informed enough about their revamped versions - I'm just not a fan of gatekeeping to this extent.

The new Espressivo is more on par performance wise as the old Elise, but its more limited tube rolling wise.

For me the Espressivo is great for just getting, listening to and enjoying without the need to tube roll all the time. For me 6N6P-I power tubes + GE 5670 driver tubes and happy days.

The Elise is more for those that like to tinker and tube roll more.

Prices across Europe have gone up on multiple goods, as the exchange rates have not been great. Biggest hit being in the UK where I live due to the idiotic Brexit malarkey.

I believe before they were making them as a passion for making good value for money tube amps, but the margins were likely to be low. Now they have room to have resellers of their products which may help them in the global market.

But who knows, if you don't have the money for the Elise, the Espressivo is far from being 2nd best, its excellent in its own right and well worth looking in to.

 

[OctavianH]

I guess this amp has 2 big advantages, at least for me:
1) 3 inputs
2) compatibility with some tubes used on the Little Dot family amps
I always wanted 2 ore more inputs to connect a CD player and also an USB DAC to the same amp and pair of headphones and took it very seriously as an upgrade to my LD MK2.
In the end I went for Elise, but who knows if I will not consider it as a secondary amp just to use some of my existing tubes. I guess this is my most important feature when thinking about Espressivo: a tube amp for your CDs, Vinyls and digital music.

 

[Vigrith]

The new Espressivo is more on par performance wise as the old Elise, but its more limited tube rolling wise.

For me the Espressivo is great for just getting, listening to and enjoying without the need to tube roll all the time. For me 6N6P-I power tubes + GE 5670 driver tubes and happy days.

The Elise is more for those that like to tinker and tube roll more.

Prices across Europe have gone up on multiple goods, as the exchange rates have not been great. Biggest hit being in the UK where I live due to the idiotic Brexit malarkey.

I believe before they were making them as a passion for making good value for money tube amps, but the margins were likely to be low. Now they have room to have resellers of their products which may help them in the global market.

But who knows, if you don't have the money for the Elise, the Espressivo is far from being 2nd best, its excellent in its own right and well worth looking in to.

Glad to hear the Espressivo is now up to the Elise's standard at least - I'm not very knowledgeable when it comes to tube rolling and I definitely do not own a big arsenal of them like some people do so having a better offering out of the box is actually more beneficial to me. Yet I'd have no use for the 3 input functionality so that slightly kills part of the deal.

I know prices have risen but I expected something more along the lines of maybe 850 for the stock Elise and 500-550 for the Espressivo; I didn't meant to imply that I think Feliks was ever out there for the money, I know they are a family business who takes pride in what they do and that they enjoy it, I just meant that if such a drastic price hike was in order I didn't expect it so suddenly. Going from 680 or however much the Elise was at its lowest to 1200 without tubes is pricing a lot of people out of their products and that's a shame because they're one of the few respectable manufacturers within Europe that worked with sane prices for their gear. Additionally, whilst being on the topic of currency, buying from the US is actually not too bad now due to how weak the dollar is but yea, still rather buy as "local" as I can for obvious reasons.

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Just placed my order today! Got some assistance with my order from Feliks, they were super friendly and accommodating. Getting the Espressivo MKII without tubes, walnut finish. Going to be rolling my collection of 5670's as the driver tubes and I am picking up a set of 6N6P-IR gold grids on Ebay. Like I said before, I own the Bottlehead Crack + SB with some very good tubes (Mullard CV4003 input, Tung Sol 5998 output, among others), so it will be interesting to see how they compare. I'm hoping they are comparable in sound quality but different in character, that would be ideal

Will post here with some thoughts when it arrives, probably going to be two weeks at least.

 

[ostewart]

Just placed my order today! Got some assistance with my order from Feliks, they were super friendly and accommodating. Getting the Espressivo MKII without tubes, walnut finish. Going to be rolling my collection of 5670's as the driver tubes and I am picking up a set of 6N6P-IR gold grids on Ebay. Like I said before, I own the Bottlehead Crack + SB with some very good tubes (Mullard CV4003 input, Tung Sol 5998 output, among others), so it will be interesting to see how they compare. I'm hoping they are comparable in sound quality but different in character, that would be ideal

Will post here with some thoughts when it arrives, probably going to be two weeks at least.

I am looking forward to your impressions

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Hey @ostewart , do you know what the type/year/manufacturer of the stock power tubes are in the Espressivo MKII? I saw on your review that they are 6N6P types, odd that Feliks lists them as 6N30Ps in the manual, even if they are interchangeable. I can make out on one of the stock photos '89 on one of the tubes...just curious as I am buying without the tubes included. Thanks!

 

[ostewart]

Hey @ostewart , do you know what the type/year/manufacturer of the stock power tubes are in the Espressivo MKII? I saw on your review that they are 6N6P types, odd that Feliks lists them as 6N30Ps in the manual, even if they are interchangeable. I can make out on one of the stock photos '89 on one of the tubes...just curious as I am buying without the tubes included. Thanks!

I'll have to check this evening, but they are not NOS, they are new tubes from Electro Harmonix

 

[L0rdGwyn]

I'll have to check this evening, but they are not NOS, they are new tubes from Electro Harmonix

Ahh okay, then probably the Electro Harmonix 6N30Pi:

https://www.upscaleaudio.com/products/russian-6h30pi-gold-pin

 

[Oscar-HiFi]

Ahh okay, then probably the Electro Harmonix 6N30Pi:

https://www.upscaleaudio.com/products/russian-6h30pi-gold-pin

I believe that is likely to be them I shall check in a couple of hours. I may well pair those with the Tesla E88CC tubes I have, over the stock 6922 Electro Harmonix tubes.