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.