The Feliks Audio Bliss combines incredible build quality and components with an unusual circuit design.
This is a headphone story for a non-headphone hi-fi enthusiast.
Headphone enthusiasts already know what they're looking at with the new Feliks Audio Bliss. This blog post is for audiophiles who've got a perfectly set-up speaker system, and are eyeing that extra desk space in the home office or hobby room, wondering if a flagship headphone setup could be a fun auxiliary system. Your ears have been spoiled by high-end loudspeakers, perhaps a stereo pair of subs, and excellent, well-matched electronics. Getting a pair of plastic cans and an amp with an afterthought headphone-out is not an option.
The Bliss in the stunning Zebrano finish. This view clearly shows the unusual power tube complement.
The Electrostatic Way
Note that the Feliks Audio Bliss represents just one route into high-end headphone world. We thought it was a good place to start, as the first headphones were electrostats, and this technology offers a detailed, airy, lightning-fast delivery that's both impressive and engaging.
Once you experience the sound that many consider the pinnacle of personal audio, it becomes easier to decide whether you want to change headphone technology or amplifier technology, experimenting with dynamic drivers, push-pull tubes, solid-state, and IEMs.
The fundamental difference with electrostats is that they're voltage-driven, while dynamic drivers, similar to standard speaker drivers, are current-driven. This means electrostats can be extremely quick and detailed, but are potentially thin-sounding and lean on the bass. This is a stereotype that Feliks addresses with the Bliss.
Bliss's Unusual Topology
Examining the Bliss's tube complement, you can see that something unusual is happening here. There are two sets of 300B power tubes, but also, two sets of EL34 power tubes. In a design that Feliks refers to as Hedge topology, the 300B are the heart of the output stage, with the EL34 working as current-control and heat-dissipation elements to bring stability to this transformerless, high-voltage circuit. It's a design that's fully symmetrical and linear, thereby harnessing the speed of vacuum tubes, as well as their tonal density.
This results in a classic electrostatic performance where the sound is spatial, detailed, airy, and holographic, and Bliss also preserves and conveys tonal density, impact, and an impressive low-end kick. We spent a long time listening to the Bliss with the excellent Meze Audio CRBN2 headphones.
One of our long-time speaker enthusiasts and reluctant headphone listeners (we feel that describes a lot of you reading this) was struck by how "not in your head" the Bliss + CRBN2 experience was. Talking way too loudly as the music played in his ears, he said, "It's as if the headphones open out into a large space where the actual musicians are playing. It's pretty amazing."
The Feliks Audio Bliss is available exclusively from Upscale Audio in the US. We have the Bliss and many other headphone amplifiers always available for demo at the store, along with a host of matching headphones. You are, of course, free to bring your own cans. Since there isn't much set-up, walk-ins can be accommodated for headphone demos, but we strongly recommend making an appointment. (The units you want to hear may be in the video studio or shipped out to a show or a reviewer.) Call us today!
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