Afsa
Head-Fier
well thats perfect thank you very much
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Feliks-Audio EUFORIA - A Wolf in "Sheep's" Clothing...
- Thread starter hypnos1
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- euforia feliks audio
well thats perfect thank you very much
Or if you prefer to order an adapter from Europe you can contact @Deyan
These are adapters made by him:
Hi OH...and thanks for showing us these particular adapters. I must admit I do like that he uses wire instead of PCB in them, but I personally have never liked the type of pin receptors used in those sockets. This type was in the early Elise's sockets (don't know if they were later changed - hope they were lol!), and due to the receptor's basic design proved especially unsuitable for extensive tube rolling...grip would gradually reduce and provide less than good connection with the tube's pins. I personally got fed up with prising the 'jaws' back together to ensure a nice tight fit, and made sure that one of my recommendations to F-A for an upgraded amp (which became Euforia) was for much better sockets, with receptors that made and maintained a much better pin contact...(and actually, they supplied Euforia with some of the best gold plated sockets [Teflon] you can buy).
And so, something folks might want to watch out for if doing a lot of tube rolling lol
Hi Afsa and a belated welcome from me too.
Congrats on getting the Euforia, and again for going straight to the top of the class with 4x KT88s lol!
...it's taken the rest of us years to get here!! 
Glad to see others have already answered your question re. the need for adapters...so GOOD LUCK in the near future (not that you'll need luck...it's a sure fire thing
). Please keep us informed as to progress when the time comes...CJ
Afsa
Head-Fier
Hi Afsa and a belated welcome from me too.
Congrats on getting the Euforia, and again for going straight to the top of the class with 4x KT88s lol!
Glad to see others have already answered your question re. the need for adapters...so GOOD LUCK in the near future (not that you'll need luck...it's a sure fire thing
Thank you for the welcome. I've had the Euforia for a bit under a year now. I thought that it's time to go to the next level.
After following this thread on and of looking for the next step. And now with the topic of these KT88 coming up and all reports being very positive.
Maybe early next year I can upgrade!
I will post here if it happens.
penguinofsleep2
100+ Head-Fier
Borrowed this amp for 2 weeks in the summer. Used with and without an upgraded PSU, stock tubes. Below based on previous stream of consciousness notes:
Summary:
Not called Euforia by accident - has a very relaxing and euphoric feeling to the sound. Very bloomy, lacks a little resolution and sound stage in the same way a BH Crack with SB does (but I also still really like BH Crack with SB). Stereotypical tube coloring, distortion, etc. all very audible here. Slightly warm sound. Mind blowing synergy with Focal Clear and Utopia. I think Feliks very deliberately made a bloomy and colored amp that doesn't chase technicalities and succeeded.This amp is a great example of maybe not measuring well with metrics or yardsticks (see number below), but still sounding good overall. It could also be viewed as when you put too much of a good thing or too much main ingredient, like soda that is a little too sweet or a mixed drink with too much of the alcohol component. All demonstrating that audio cannot be compressed into a few check boxes and numbers. I'm actually fine with this and don't think every amp should try to play the same game - variation in amps is needed. I haven't heard any other amp that sounds like this one. Great tonality and voicing and not fatiguing at all, better than pretty much anything I've ever tried $1k-2500 in this respect.
Miscellaneous sound problems such as running too hot, poor user interface, background noise, hum, channel imbalance, volume knob issues, tube socket issues, etc are mostly non-existant. Great desktop size. Would also be a great pre-amp if you want the color and Feliks knows this with it's addition of pre-amp outs.
I don't think this should be $2600 (+ possible tax and shipping) though. It would compete well against other amps at approximately $1500 though and from what I understand, that's what they used to cost.
Categories out of 10. Not all categories mentioned so if something seems to be missing or in the wrong category, oops. Note 5/10 means average (think bell curve normal distribution), not 50% meaning you get a F.
Low Level Detail / Plankton / Texture - 3 - missing some. I can hear say an acoustic guitar or cello string reverberate, but I can’t clearly hear say all the weird nuances in an individual cellist’s plucking, bow pull, cello itself, etc.
Microdynamics - 3-3.5 - Imagine graininess or vocal fry in a voice. You can hear it here, but you can’t hear all the little changes in the vocal fry. All the color, vibrato, and natural unevenness and variation in a voice isn't really there. Imagine pulling on a cello on a long note without perfectly even pressure during the pull - it’s harder to hear on this amp.
Macrodynamics - 4 - Impacts enough that you enjoy the music, but it seems purposely suppressed (is it even possible to suppress only this?) to better match the overall sound of the amp. As a matter of fact, I actually think with the voicing of this amp, it’d be weird if were closer to a 8.
Transients - 5.5 - Not better because decay seemed a little fast. Transitions between notes and sounds are still clean. Also, not quite transients, but I didn't like this amp with busy music as things kind of blur together.
Stage - 3.5 - Small, kind of around my head, but not claustrophobic or so small it sounded fake
Layering - 6 mid treble and below / 5 upper mid treble and above- I can tell where things are vertically. It isn’t like 3-5 planes stacked on top of each other as it is with some amps. Depthwise a little weaker, it’s maybe 5-10 planes stacked behind each other and you can kind of tell if it's one plane or another. Fullness of sound is average.
Black background - 8. Quiet background noise audible on amp with Clears after about 3:30 - louder than I’ll ever listen. Transformers seem sufficiently isolated - did not pick up random noise or other transformers very close by.
No Fatigue - 9.5. Subjective per listener, but better than my Stellaris for me… and Stellaris is very strong here, probably a 9.
Tonal Balance - 7 for balance, 9 for "fun" and tone. Note that with forward vocals are here, there are going to be some things you just don't hear as well due to getting somewhat drowned out.
Treble - 7 - Good, but missing some ultimate clarity, microdynamics, plankton, and treble doesn’t seem to layer as well. Color that resides in upper treble (think cymbals) odd to me too.
Mids - 8. Very smooth. Clearest part of spectrum on this amp. Good overall. Upper-ish male vocals and lower to mid ranged female vocals are great and exceptionally smooth. Screams in metal lose their uummppp and power. Actually, anything that needs some bite isn't there. Vocals and enunciation all sound streeetttched out on this amp (regardless of other gear used).
Bass - 4 not much slam, doesn’t do deep bass that well, mids and upper bass OK. Bass lines not clearly separated at times. Lacked some texture. Mid bass thumps but somehow not slappy. Exception to this is Focal Clears - both get better - not in technicalities, if you listen closely, you can tell it's the signature fixing issues with Focal Clears, but who really cares that it’s smoke and mirrors as the sound is so enjoyable.
Summary:
Not called Euforia by accident - has a very relaxing and euphoric feeling to the sound. Very bloomy, lacks a little resolution and sound stage in the same way a BH Crack with SB does (but I also still really like BH Crack with SB). Stereotypical tube coloring, distortion, etc. all very audible here. Slightly warm sound. Mind blowing synergy with Focal Clear and Utopia. I think Feliks very deliberately made a bloomy and colored amp that doesn't chase technicalities and succeeded.This amp is a great example of maybe not measuring well with metrics or yardsticks (see number below), but still sounding good overall. It could also be viewed as when you put too much of a good thing or too much main ingredient, like soda that is a little too sweet or a mixed drink with too much of the alcohol component. All demonstrating that audio cannot be compressed into a few check boxes and numbers. I'm actually fine with this and don't think every amp should try to play the same game - variation in amps is needed. I haven't heard any other amp that sounds like this one. Great tonality and voicing and not fatiguing at all, better than pretty much anything I've ever tried $1k-2500 in this respect.
Miscellaneous sound problems such as running too hot, poor user interface, background noise, hum, channel imbalance, volume knob issues, tube socket issues, etc are mostly non-existant. Great desktop size. Would also be a great pre-amp if you want the color and Feliks knows this with it's addition of pre-amp outs.
I don't think this should be $2600 (+ possible tax and shipping) though. It would compete well against other amps at approximately $1500 though and from what I understand, that's what they used to cost.
Categories out of 10. Not all categories mentioned so if something seems to be missing or in the wrong category, oops. Note 5/10 means average (think bell curve normal distribution), not 50% meaning you get a F.
Low Level Detail / Plankton / Texture - 3 - missing some. I can hear say an acoustic guitar or cello string reverberate, but I can’t clearly hear say all the weird nuances in an individual cellist’s plucking, bow pull, cello itself, etc.
Microdynamics - 3-3.5 - Imagine graininess or vocal fry in a voice. You can hear it here, but you can’t hear all the little changes in the vocal fry. All the color, vibrato, and natural unevenness and variation in a voice isn't really there. Imagine pulling on a cello on a long note without perfectly even pressure during the pull - it’s harder to hear on this amp.
Macrodynamics - 4 - Impacts enough that you enjoy the music, but it seems purposely suppressed (is it even possible to suppress only this?) to better match the overall sound of the amp. As a matter of fact, I actually think with the voicing of this amp, it’d be weird if were closer to a 8.
Transients - 5.5 - Not better because decay seemed a little fast. Transitions between notes and sounds are still clean. Also, not quite transients, but I didn't like this amp with busy music as things kind of blur together.
Stage - 3.5 - Small, kind of around my head, but not claustrophobic or so small it sounded fake
Layering - 6 mid treble and below / 5 upper mid treble and above- I can tell where things are vertically. It isn’t like 3-5 planes stacked on top of each other as it is with some amps. Depthwise a little weaker, it’s maybe 5-10 planes stacked behind each other and you can kind of tell if it's one plane or another. Fullness of sound is average.
Black background - 8. Quiet background noise audible on amp with Clears after about 3:30 - louder than I’ll ever listen. Transformers seem sufficiently isolated - did not pick up random noise or other transformers very close by.
No Fatigue - 9.5. Subjective per listener, but better than my Stellaris for me… and Stellaris is very strong here, probably a 9.
Tonal Balance - 7 for balance, 9 for "fun" and tone. Note that with forward vocals are here, there are going to be some things you just don't hear as well due to getting somewhat drowned out.
Treble - 7 - Good, but missing some ultimate clarity, microdynamics, plankton, and treble doesn’t seem to layer as well. Color that resides in upper treble (think cymbals) odd to me too.
Mids - 8. Very smooth. Clearest part of spectrum on this amp. Good overall. Upper-ish male vocals and lower to mid ranged female vocals are great and exceptionally smooth. Screams in metal lose their uummppp and power. Actually, anything that needs some bite isn't there. Vocals and enunciation all sound streeetttched out on this amp (regardless of other gear used).
Bass - 4 not much slam, doesn’t do deep bass that well, mids and upper bass OK. Bass lines not clearly separated at times. Lacked some texture. Mid bass thumps but somehow not slappy. Exception to this is Focal Clears - both get better - not in technicalities, if you listen closely, you can tell it's the signature fixing issues with Focal Clears, but who really cares that it’s smoke and mirrors as the sound is so enjoyable.
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Yep, I am there, in the beer shop and even if I know that Alcohol is not the answer I cannot stop trying new bottles. The potential of the KT family is very big and honestly, a game changer on the F.A. amps. I wonder what will happen if they will release an amp configured for KT88/KT66... and how many of us will buy it in the first day.
The new McIntosh MC901 dual mono loudspeaker amp uses 8 KT88 powers for mids / upper frequencies and solid state for low end (bi-amp. design). Didn't note pricing but pretty sure I won't be buying it on the 1st day or any day thereafter, but it speaks well of the KT88 that this iconic manufacturer of high-end audio components selcted it for their new amp.
Hi OH...and thanks for showing us these particular adapters. I must admit I do like that he uses wire instead of PCB in them, but I personally have never liked the type of pin receptors used in those sockets. This type was in the early Elise's sockets (don't know if they were later changed - hope they were lol!), and due to the receptor's basic design proved especially unsuitable for extensive tube rolling...grip would gradually reduce and provide less than good connection with the tube's pins. I personally got fed up with prising the 'jaws' back together to ensure a nice tight fit, and made sure that one of my recommendations to F-A for an upgraded amp (which became Euforia) was for much better sockets, with receptors that made and maintained a much better pin contact...(and actually, they supplied Euforia with some of the best gold plated sockets [Teflon] you can buy).
And so, something folks might want to watch out for if doing a lot of tube rolling lol
Ok, in this case I will not recommend them here again. In my case, I had problems with the ones from China, so I will prefer these.
Well last for at least 500-700 cycles.
Hi OH...yes indeed, there have been occasional problems with Mrsx's adapters, but given the total numbers sold, it seems that most folks are happy with them (and she does appear to replace any faulty ones without question). These things can unfortunately by their nature be sometimes prone to unforeseen problems...it's quite difficult to (try to) ensure 100% long term reliability especially. But at least one has a choice lol!
...(I personally would still never use the type of socket in question though, but then, I'm a fussy bugger!! ).Hi LW...reduced connection might be noticed by some as very slight loss in performance, but worse loosening will produce obvious distortion noise/crackling that sometimes can be cured by reseating the tube, but is only likely to be temporary...the receptor(s) will need to be prised back to make tighter contact. My advice therefore would be to not do too much tube rolling in such a socket...CHEERS!...CJ
Hi OH...yes indeed, there have been occasional problems with Mrsx's adapters, but given the total numbers sold, it seems that most folks are happy with them (and she does appear to replace any faulty ones without question). These things can unfortunately by their nature be sometimes prone to unforeseen problems...it's quite difficult to (try to) ensure 100% long term reliability especially. But at least one has a choice lol!
Hi LW...reduced connection might be noticed by some as very slight loss in performance, but worse loosening will produce obvious distortion noise/crackling that sometimes can be cured by reseating the tube, but is only likely to be temporary...the receptor(s) will need to be prised back to make tighter contact. My advice therefore would be to not do too much tube rolling in such a socket...CHEERS!...CJ
Thanks, I will be vigilant but also note @Deyan's encouraging response above. So far works a like a charm!
Hi @penguinofsleep2 .
As always it's interesting to hear others' personal opinions of any item of gear...here it's Euforia of course!
Coming from a DNA Stellaris in the region of $7000 or so, methinks this might just have influenced slightly your assessment of the more lowly Euforia lol?!
Whatever, I'm glad you found this amp enjoyable, but I feel duty bound to question the number of areas that you stated as below 'average'. This is in total contrast to not only many user reviews but also a good few independent ones, who definitely rate this amp above average in nearly all areas.
It's also a shame you listened only with stock tubes...very few serious listeners with amps at this level of performance stay with stock for very long. NOS conventional tubes often bring substantial improvements, and for some years now I personally have been fortunate enough to discover many non configured-for tubes that address any and all of the areas that you found below par...the latest especially taking Euforia way above stock performance, confirming this amp's true potential.
I would also be interested in knowing which $1500 amp(s) would match Euforia...I myself haven't yet seen any independent reviews on such a comparison.
True, $2600 is now quite a high price compared to the bargain we early adopters enjoyed, but this is unfortunately no doubt the price of larger scale, global retail supply with the associated commercial imperative. And as far as I know, $2600 is in fact the final retail price in the US (via UpscaleAudio), complete with taxes. The European price is about $2224 (1999 Euros) for the 'Gold' version, and $222 less without tubes.
And so for any onlookers who may be interested in the Euforia, I can only suggest you do further research on others' findings re. this extremely good amp and as usual, try to come to some kind of general concensus. Better still, try to have an audition and make your own judgment!
As always it's interesting to hear others' personal opinions of any item of gear...here it's Euforia of course!
Coming from a DNA Stellaris in the region of $7000 or so, methinks this might just have influenced slightly your assessment of the more lowly Euforia lol?!
Whatever, I'm glad you found this amp enjoyable, but I feel duty bound to question the number of areas that you stated as below 'average'. This is in total contrast to not only many user reviews but also a good few independent ones, who definitely rate this amp above average in nearly all areas.
It's also a shame you listened only with stock tubes...very few serious listeners with amps at this level of performance stay with stock for very long. NOS conventional tubes often bring substantial improvements, and for some years now I personally have been fortunate enough to discover many non configured-for tubes that address any and all of the areas that you found below par...the latest especially taking Euforia way above stock performance, confirming this amp's true potential.
I would also be interested in knowing which $1500 amp(s) would match Euforia...I myself haven't yet seen any independent reviews on such a comparison.
True, $2600 is now quite a high price compared to the bargain we early adopters enjoyed, but this is unfortunately no doubt the price of larger scale, global retail supply with the associated commercial imperative. And as far as I know, $2600 is in fact the final retail price in the US (via UpscaleAudio), complete with taxes. The European price is about $2224 (1999 Euros) for the 'Gold' version, and $222 less without tubes.
And so for any onlookers who may be interested in the Euforia, I can only suggest you do further research on others' findings re. this extremely good amp and as usual, try to come to some kind of general concensus. Better still, try to have an audition and make your own judgment!
That's good news LW...and I wish you many years of trouble-free use lol
. Given the superlative performance of these latest KT tubes, I can't help feeling it would be well worth while pulling out all the stops with the required adapters, using upgraded components...the extra cost would be worth every penny IMHO!
I started to agree with your review about the cost and I can name a few that (may / subjectively) have even better performance with stock tubes at around $1500.
But I would seriously question if you were getting the most out of the Euforia. Were any of the following conditions met?
- Was it the 2018 Euforia v2?
- Aftermarket tubes? (no)
- Did the amp have at least 150 hours burn-in?
- Which headphones were you using? Some of the better pairings are HD-579, HD-600, HD-800, Beyer. T1 and Empyrean
- Were you using a good DAC with lossless well mastered songs?
- Aftermarket RCA interconnects and headphone cable?
- Isolating power cord and/or power conditioner?
All of the above for basically everybody who tried it have brought incremental improvements, and for me in addition to all of the above I also have a custom externally-heated setup that I swear by (although still quite cautious in terms of limiting session time, current draw and external cooling with a fan). The sound I'm getting now is world class and up there with the big boys, seriously making me wonder whether I've surpassed the likes of Eddie Current Zana Deux and comparable to Quad PA One+, though not quite up to the likes of DNA Stratus or WA33.
In case anyone's interested to take the plunge for GEC TT21, here's a rare deal on a pair, no bids yet and ending in 7 hours. All these need is a custom adapter, from Deyan perhaps. I would get it but funds don't permit so I'll let someone else have 'em
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pair-Vintage-GEC-TT21-KT88-Beam-Tetrodes/143464710316
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Matched-Pair-Vintage-GEC-TT21-KT88-Beam-Tetrodes/143464710316
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