The "Secret" Is Out
The Feliks Audio Envy is a masterpiece
"For those of you who have not heard what 300B triodes can do to audiophile sound, you don’t know what you have been missing."
John E. Johnson is an authority on neuroscience and is also the founder of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity, a website dedicated to providing "straightforward technical and subjective information about new products and emerging technologies."
What's not a secret, at least not anymore, is that he really loves the Feliks Audio Envy headphone amp, calling it a "masterpiece."
Currently dubbed 'emeritus editor-in-chief', John served as editor-in-chief of 'Secrets...' from its founding in 1994 until 2022. He has been involved in audio and video for over 50 years and holds four degrees, including a Ph.D. in neuroscience. He approaches his audio reviews with a mix of subjectivism and objectivism, using measurements to back up his impressions from listening tests.
We sent him the Envy along with a pair of HiFiMAN Susvara headphones, and his detailed review came out on July 31. John was particularly impressed to see how well this tube amp did on noise floor tests, finding it "stayed between -100 dBV and -120 dBV. I was surprised by this [as tube amps usually have high noise floors], but the Envy is a very special, unique product."
Handcrafted in Poland, all Feliks Audio products are renowned both for their sound and obsessive build quality.
The Unmissable Presence of 300B Tubes
The sound of the 300B vacuum tube is almost a hobby by itself, and John found that "the 300B tubes added presence (fine detail texture) that is not very prominent in solid-state circuits." He commented on this presence many times during his review, noting how realistic everything sounded.
John reviewed the Oak Performance Edition (see box 'Two Shades of Envy') and was able to test different sets of 300B tubes, writing, "The Full Music 300B’s had more of this presence than the Electro-Harmonix 300B’s. There was also more mid-bass with the Electro-Harmonix tubes."
Looking at the transparency and low levels of distortion, John commented that the Envy would "make an excellent main preamplifier in an audiophile-grade stereo system."
We dare say the Feliks Audio Envy is one of the most beautiful audio products ever, especially in the American Walnut finish. With its balanced and single-ended headphone outputs in front, and preamp outputs on the back, it's a versatile piece appealing to both headphone-only listeners and headphone-curious audiophiles who'd also like to inject some 300B magic into their speaker system.
Two Shades of Envy
The Envy ships in two editions and two finishes. The Oak Standard Edition is $7,995, and the Performance Edition is $8,795. Add $200 for the American Walnut finish.
The Standard Edition includes Electro-Harmonix Gold 300B power tubes and premium copper wiring. The Performance Edition includes Full Music 300B with nickel anode power tubes and UPOCC (single crystal copper) wiring.
Feliks Audio writes, "The Performance Edition offers some improvements to resolution and transparency, and a slightly richer and more linear tone, though both versions sound excellent."
See You At CanJam SoCal 2023
Save the date! We're finalizing our equipment list, but as always, it's going to be an awesome mix of our headphones, headphone amps, and digital sources. Come by and listen, get some advice, or just say hi. We'll share more information as we get closer to the show.
CanJam SoCal 2023 will be on September 30 and October 1 at the Irvine Marriott, Orange County, California.
Top Sales and Deals!
Here are the noteworthy sales and offers we have going right now. Note: there are further terms and conditions; this is just a summary. To get all the details, contact our sales crew on website chat, via email (info@upscaleaudio.com), or call 909-931-9686.
Upscale Labor Day Sale: Continuing until Kevin taps out. A huge range of products on sale.
Free Cartridge with Purchase: From now until October 31st, Clearaudio is offering a free cartridge with the purchase of select turntable packages. Contact an Upscale Audio sales team member for details.
JL Sale:Take $400 off the JL Audio Dominion d110 10" subwoofer.
Until September 21: Arcam summer sale. 20% and more off the SA10, SA20, SA30, and PA410.
Until September 30: Balanced Audio Technology is offering a full original retail price trade-in on your old stereo electronics for any new BAT product.