Despite the waves of fun that tube technology causes in nearby people, headphone amplifiers built on vacuum radio tubes have long and firmly won their place under the sun. Usually they fall into two categories: expensive and Chinese (there are, however, expensive solutions originally from China). But recently, I got into the hands of a wonderful example of European products, pleasing an affordable price (about $ 400) and very high quality. Today I will talk about the tube amplifier for headphones .
The company that manufactures Espressivo, Felix Audio, is a family-owned company from a small Polish town of Lubliniec. For more than 10 years they have been manufacturing tube audio equipment, including expensive piecework amplifiers, which are made according to the special wishes of customers. Espressivo-E is the only headphone amplifier in their lineup, but it incorporates all the company's achievements, and it is made with pleasant care for details.
The amplifier is built on two 6N1P and two 6N6P lamps, the power supply is based on a custom toroidal transformer with additional filtration circuits. The amplifier uses an automatic bias adjustment circuit, so you do not have to adjust it with your hands when changing lamps.
Despite the fact that the developers recommend using high-impedance headphones (from 100Ω) with the amplifier, it works very well even with 32-ohm solutions. Espressivo-E can also be used as a preamp for lamp and semiconductor power amplifiers.
Specifications
- Impedance: 100 KΩ
- Frequency range: 15 Hz - 45 KHz ± 3 dB
- Output power: 400 mW
- Total harmonic distortion: 0.4% @ 300Ω, 20 mW
- Optimal headphone impedance: 100Ω - 300Ω
- Headphone output: 6.3 mm
- Power supply: 230V (power cord included)
- Weight: 3.5 kg
- Dimensions: 330 mm x 220 mm x 140 mm
Design and management
The first thing you understand, getting an amplifier out of its packaging is how beautiful it is. Not the slightest touch of handicrafts, often inherent in even many tube amplifiers of large companies. Espressivo is a great example of a combination of modern and retrodesign. The black metal of the main part of the body is nicely shaded with lacquered wood of rounded side panels. The amplifier is quite small in size - it will easily be located on the table near the computer, complementing your setup. Build quality is very high, there is not the slightest hint of backlash or other flaws.
On the top panel there is a protrusion in which the power transformer is hidden (on top of it is decorated with a brass plaque with a company logo) and sockets for lamps. Lamps you have to install yourself, they go in their own packaging. The packaging clearly shows that the lamps are used from those that are made a long time ago.
On the front panel there are: 6.3 mm headphone output, volume control and a three-position input selection switch. The fact is that Espressivo has as many as three pairs of inputs, and you can switch between them. Volume control - very high quality with a smooth input, rotates silently.
The rear panel contains a power cord connector, three pairs of RCA input connectors and two RCA output connectors, if you use the Espressivo-E as a preamplifier.
Sound
To listen to the amplifier, I used the following equipment.
- MacBook Pro Retina Late 2013 as a source
- Yulong DA8 via USB as a DAC, connected to an Espressivo RCA Audio-Gd cable
- Fidelia as a player
- Headphones Philips Fidelio X1, AKG K702, ZMF Fostex, Fischer Audio FA-003 Bog Oak Limited Edition, Fischer Audio FA-011 Limited Edition
- Lossless Records
Like most tube technology, Espressivo-E requires warm-up to achieve operating parameters. When you first turn on the amplifier, you need to let it work for at least a couple of days, in the future it will be enough for the amplifier about 5 minutes after switching on.
The sound "Espressive" can be described as a whole as very detailed, and at the same time musical. The amplifier shows the best features of tube sound without losing resolution. Pleases a very low level of background noise, which is beneficial to listening in sensitive headphones. Despite the unprecedented performance in power, the amplifier copes well with high impedance and tight headphones. He is fully able to control the isodynamic models of the primary and secondary levels, and even the capricious AKG K702 - are revealed almost at the maximum of their capabilities.
Bass is sufficiently assembled, it is transferred with a good beat and pressure. There is no merging of instruments that fall into this range. Thanks to a well-designed power scheme, the amplifier has enough energy to transmit sharp sounds in the low frequencies, without too much hum. On strong bass headphones, slight redundancy of bass is felt, but even on relatively dark Philips Fidelio X1 this effect is already gone.
Mids - traditionally for lamp solutions are good. The sound of the midrange is very lively, with a lot of emotions that cannot be heard without an amplifier, filled with details. High-quality live recordings, rock music classics, jazz and blues enjoy listening. Thanks to the detailing and resolution of the midrange, the instruments sound separate, without merging into porridge, they can be easily distinguished from each other, this, in turn, contributes to the construction of a three-dimensional virtual scene.
The upper frequencies are slightly softened. I like it very much, because the sound loses sharpness and cold barb, but I admit that someone might not like it. Instead, we get the almost complete absence of sibilants and the pleasant sound of even the brightest headphones.
findings
Wonderful and very solid product. In addition to its main function - amplification of sound, - Espressivo perfectly copes with another task - the decoration of space. Due to the small size and stylish design, the amplifier can be used as a gadget element of the decor. Of course, all this is not to the detriment of the sound, it is more than good. The sound of the amplifier is more like a music lover, not an audiophile, therefore, having completed it with good headphones (the same Sehhneiser HD 600/650 or Philips Fidelio X1), you can get a set for the ages that will please the music lover for many years.
The article is based on materials .
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