PREMIERE

⌈ FEZZ AUDIO is a company specializing in the production of tube amplifiers. It is an audiophile part of the parent company, TOROIDY.pl, which produces toroidal transformers. Fezz Audio was established in 2014, and its first product was the LAURA integrated amplifier. For some time now, it has been expanding its offer - we are testing the SCULPTOR REFERENCE AC power strip. ⌋

HEN IN SEPTEMBER 2020, we tested the AURIGA power cable, it was clear that this was just the beginning of a lineup expansion of the FEZZ AUDIO company into territories related to its main field of interest, i.e. tube amplifiers (see HERE).

Probably every audio producer commits such "side-steps" from time to time, because on the one hand they allow him to present the mainstream products in the conditions controlled by him, and on the other hand they are a source of additional income. I think that Fezz Audio's focus on power devices is the result of both of these efforts - which is completely understandable.

In this case, however, it also comes from, or at least I think so, the need to emphasize the advantages of this company's amplifiers. Ultimately, the power supply is one of the essentials of any audio system, as important as a source. If you think about it for a moment, you will understand that the current delivered to the loudspeaker terminals is exactly the same current, of course modulated and filtered, but still the same as in the power outlet, and the signal from the source serves only - precisely - to modulate it.

Knowing this, the presence of an AC power cord and now a power strip in the manufacturer's lineup becomes not so much an option, but a requirement. MACIEJ LACHOWSKI, co-owner of the company, will tell you about the origins and design details of the SCULPTOR REFERENCE power strip.

| A few simple words…

MACIEJ LACHOWSKI Właściciel, konstruktor

The idea of designing and building a power strip was born quite a long time ago, three years ago during the High-End Show in Munich to be exact and there is an anecdote related to it. When packing for the trip, we forgot a power strip we were supposed to use to connect the whole system presented there. We found out about its lack when we were already in Bavaria. We had to improvise quickly, which was not easy on the eve, or actually at night, before the show started. And then someone said that "if we had our own power strip, we would certainly not have forgotten about it". That was the beginning.

We engaged the largest team of engineers and beta testers ever in our factory to design and build our AC power strip. Never before, during the design work, did we built such a big number of prototypes, each of which was to become the "final" version. However, we kept improving something, refining it and checking new functions. It took us 11 months to go from the first prototype to the finished product!

There was one goal - to give future users an uncompromising power strip with a maximum range of applications, built using top-class components. I hope it was worth the wait and the SCULPTOR will become a true sound creator of many great audio systems.

And who is the "father" of this product? - There are many fathers, if I can say so, so it would be unfair to name one person. There is a whole team of people who could jointly undersign this product. ML

SCULPTOR REFERENCE IS THE NEWEST PRODUCT from Fezz Audio. It is an AC power strip, which is something like a "splitter" of the AC supply voltage. But it is not its only function - it is also a supply voltage filter. It offers six outputs, in three independent sections:

• with DC filter DC BLOCKER,
• high-current DIRECT,
• SEPARATED.

The user can then experiment with the power supply - the sources can be connected to the socket in each of the three sections, and the amplifiers to one of the two.

When viewed from the side of the IEC power inlet, the first section comprises of two sockets with a DC filter with the common name DC BLOCKER. We can connect to them similar devices as to the high-current section. That’s what manufacturer says about its purpose:

The DC power component (direct current) has become part of our lives since a long time, but few of us are aware of its impact on the operation of audio systems. Undesirable effects caused by the occurrence of this factor, i.e. excessive overheating and loud operation of transformers, power distortions, etc. negatively affect the operating conditions of audio devices and an increased level of electricity consumption. A frequently observed negative effect of the DC component is also uneven operation of turntable motors, which translates into the transmission of vibrations to the platter.

Next is the HIGH CURRENT section, dedicated to integrated amplifiers, receivers, power amplifiers and subwoofers. These are three star-connected sockets that are powered directly from the mains. And finally, there is a single socket for the third section, the SEPARATED 60 W sockets. This socket is symmetrized and separated from the mains with the possibility of breaking the GROUND loop (the switch is located on the side of the strip). Suggested use: streamers, preamplifiers, CD players, D/A converters with power consumption up to 60 W.

On the wall opposite the power inlet one finds a precise, backlit LCD voltmeter with an analog bar graph, which measures mains voltage as frequently as three times per second with 0.5% accuracy. The strip is large and extremely solid. It features four feet with rubber rings. All sockets, both IEC and Schuko, have gold-plated contacts and are sourced from FURUTECH.

| SOUND

HOW WE LISTENED The listening session of the AC SCULPTOR REFERENCE power strip was carried out in the "High Fidelity" reference system, where it was compared to the reference strip, the ACOUSTIC REVIVE RTP-4EU ABSOLUTE. The AR power strip stood on an anti-vibration platform, and the Fezz Audio on the floor - unfortunately I did not have a long enough platform to accommodate it.

I compared both strips by switching the entire system between them, with the Ayon Audio CD-35 HF Edition SACD player and the RCM Audio Sensor Prelude IC phono preamplifier in case of the Polish product were plugged into the DC BLOCKER sockets, and the preamplifier and power amplifier were connected to DIRECT sockets. I devoted a separate session to the comparison of the sound of the turntable and power amplifier plugged into different sockets.

In both cases, i.e. with the Acoustic Revive power strip and Fezz Audio, the voltage from the Furutech NFC wall socket was connected using a two-meter long ACROLINK 7N-PC9500 AC power cord and the ACOUSTIC REVIVE RAS-14 Triple-C. During the test, the voltmeter showed 234 V.

Recordings used for the test | a selection

→ SACD/CD
⸜ ANTONIO FORCIONE, Tears of Joy, Naim Label naimcd087, CD (2005)
⸜ PATRICIA BARBER, Companion, Premonition Records/Mobile Fidelity Sound Lab UDSACD 2023, SACD/CD (1999/2003); ⸜ PERFECT, Live, Savitor/Damian Lipiński Pro-Audio Mastering (niepublikowana wersja remasteru), MASTER CD-R (1983/2017)
⸜ YO-YO MA & BOBBY McFERRIN, Hush, Sony Music/Sony Music Hong Kong Ltd. 543282, K2HD Mastering | No. 0441, CD (1992/2012)

→ LONG PLAY ⸜ DIANA KRALL, This Dream Of You, Verve Records 602507445416, 2 x 180 g TEST PRESS LP (2020); ⸜ ELLA FITZGERALD, The Lost Berlin Tapes, Verve Records | UMe B0032590-02, 2 x 180 g TEST PRESS LP (2020); ⸜ SKALPEL, Transit Extended, PlugAudio/No Paper Records R128LP, 2 x 180 g RED WAX LP (2014/2020)
⸜ THE MONTGOMERY BROTHERS, Groove Yard, Riverside/Analogue Productions AJAZ 9362, „Top 100 Fantasy 45 Series”, 45 rpm, 2 x 180 g LP (1961/?)

SWITCHING THE ENTIRE SYSTEM FROM ACOUSTIC REVIVE, i.e. a strip that I chose from dozens of others, adapted it to my requirements and my system, to a completely new product (for me) introduced some big changes. However, taking into account what I wrote about a moment ago, as well as the fivefold difference in price (AR: 25,000 vs FA: 5,900 PLN), the changes I am talking about were surprisingly insignificant. And in several elements, the Polish strip added something to the sound that I had not had before.

COMPACT DISC What we get with the Sculptor Reference is, above all, the density and darkness of the presentation. You see, it is so that products that power audio systems often have flashy qualities that do not work in the long run. And what's the easiest way to attract one’s attention? - one needs to show them something in a clearer and stronger way, maybe even louder and they will convince themselves that this is the better version - it's just psychoacoustics.

The Polish strip goes in an exactly opposite direction, which is a sign of high-class solutions and engineering. Only by going deeper into the sound we get more resolution. And resolution is equal to, in the end, truth. And that is why the reviewed strip surprised me so positively already after the first two albums - by PATRICIA BARBER and ANTONIO FORCIONE.

In both cases the reproduced sound featured deep timbres and a tonal balance set quite low. The treble was strong, present, clear, but somewhat behind it - exactly as I would expect from a high-end product.

The presentation gained credibility, although it lost some of its aggressiveness. The most expensive and best power strips I know have both of these elements at an equally high level. But there is nothing to regret, we are talking not about 20 or 30 thousand zlotys, but about six, right? Anyway, emphasizing the price of the Polish power strip is unnecessary, because its sound can be considered completely detached from the price point.

This is because the density and fullness that I am talking about are simply exceptional with the Fezz Audio. The sound is deeply embedded with it and extends very low, which was audible both with the double bass in Use Me on the Barber disc, and with the percussion sounds of The Long Winter on the Forcione. Ah, how beautifully the Vivaldi’s Andante sounded in the unforgettable interpretation of YO-YO MA and BOBBY MCFERRIN from the album Hush! I was a bit afraid of this comparison, because it was a difficult case - the voice and the cello in a large space - but, as it turned out, unnecessarily.

| Our albums

⸜ YO-YO MA & BOBBY McFERRIN Hush Sony Masterworks SK 48177/Sony Music Hong Kong Ltd. 543282

K2HD Mastering | No. 0441, COMPACT DISC (1992/2012)

HUSH IS AN EXCEPTIONALLY BEAUTUFIL ALBUM, recorded by the cellist YO-YO MA and the vocalist BOBBY McFERRIN in 1992 and it contains thirteen pieces arranged for these two "instruments". It includes works by Bach, Rimsky-Korsakov and McFerrin. The album was produced by Bobby McFerrin, Steven Epstein and Linda Goldstein, and the recording and mixing was done by CHRIS TERGESEN, who worked on McFerrin's previous albums. Although there is no information about it, I assume that mastering also was done by him.

The recording session lasted only four days - from 22 to 25 August - which is a phenomenon in the music industry and in such large labels as Sony Music. The material was digitally recorded at 20-bit resolution at Dreamland Recording Studios in Woodstock, New York. This studio is located in the former church of St. John, consecrated in 1896. It has a huge cubature, which can be heard on the disc as a long, very nice reverb.

The SPARS DDD code was marked on the disc, suggesting that the mix was done in the digital domain. This is interesting because digital mixers were an absolute rarity back then, and the studio had an excellent API Discrete 48x48 analog console.

The album was originally released on CD and vinyl, and was reissued only twice - in 2004 on the K2HD CD and in 2015 on the SACD. I would like to recommend you the K2HD CD version, mastered in the JVC FLAIR studio with the participation of the K2HD encoder by Mr. HAKAMATA TAKESHI. Its sound is detailed, but above all warm. The release itself is also nice, in a form resembling XRCDs, with an additional plastic dust jacket. This is a numbered version, limited to 1,000 copies. ♦

INTERESTINGLY, THE PRESENTATION WITH THE SCULPTOR WAS A SLIGHT QUIETER than with the reference strip. This was revealed by another feature of the tested product, namely a slight calming down of the sound. It is a kind of deeper listening to the sound, taking a closer look at it - and rush is not recommended. Acoustic Revive does the same, but keeps the high energy of the recordings unchanged. Fezz Audio offers an amazing dynamics, I will come back to that in a moment, but the energy is slightly tempered and smoothed.

This is a completely different effect than the flattening of the dynamics, which is the case with most AC power conditioners, which use isolating transformers. This is one of the better ways to protect your audio system and when applied well, it offers great results. But the black background, darkness, etc., comes at a cost of slightly calmed down dynamics.

The tested AC power strip behaves differently - the dynamics is perfect. This is something that I have heard before, but which was confirmed by listening to the never-released version of the remaster of the Perfect concert. This is a spontaneous recording in which the energy of the audience "carries" the whole. Fezz Audio moderated the energy a bit, but not much, but the dynamics did not diminish. And at the same time it added what I talked about earlier, this is density and inner calm.

LONG PLAY Therefore, I was waiting with curiosity for the next stage of listening sessions, i.e. for LPs. In their case, everything I wrote about was even 10% stronger. The SKALPEL duo, from the recently re-issued album Transit, extended with additional recordings, sounded smooth, dense and low. I was able to increase the volume a bit, which made everything even „heavier” and larger.

The Fezz Audio shows large phantom images, it also captures the momentum of the music, although - it must be added - the most expensive power strips go a step further, opening everything up even more. Here and now the Sculptor Reference does it all perfectly, just right. The timbre is darker with it, placed in the lower midrange. It was audible with the digital source, but it was stronger with the analog source. And again - there was a lot of treble, they were smooth, slightly warm, but very vibrant. However, since our attention is focused on the lower midrange, they seem a bit more hidden in the shade.

It sounded really great with the two albums I played from Test Presses - The Lost Berlin Tapes by ELLA FITZGERALD and This Dream Of You by DIANA KRALL. With the latter, you can hear a slight grit in the vocal, something like a hard "throat" - this is a feature of the recording. The Fezz Audio power strip delivered it in a smoother, nicer way, slightly withdrawing the upper midrange.

I didn’t hear it in this way before, that is, when I listened to the previous albums, I did not have the impression of calming down this particular section of the band, usually very irritating and problematic, but with the Krall it came out brilliantly. Of course, we are talking about a modification of the sound, a departure from purist fidelity, but - the result was definitely cool.

In the recordings from the Ella Fitzgerald concert it was heard that the tested power strip also brings the foreground closer to the listener. It does not enlarge it in any clear way, so there is no exaggeration in it, but the voice was clearly placed closer to me than with the Acoustic Revive strip. I assume that it is a derivative of a warm color and is based on the midrange. This is why the sound with the Polish power strip seems so intimate and so dense.

I ended the listening session with an excellent album, simply beautiful - Groove Yard by WES MONTGOMERY BROTHERS in the Analogue Productions version on two 45 rpm discs. Everything that I have already written about coincided in its sound. So: warmth, density, dark background, close foreground, high dynamics and amazing bass extension. It sounded really good. Also this time the energy of the whole was tempered and it did not "pull" everything forward, but rather set it calmly in the following time intervals, allowing the music to flow in a pleasant, nice way.

SOCKETS The socket to which we connect the source and the amplifier is of great importance in the case of the Fezz Audio power strip. There are three possibilities for the source, and two for the amplifier.

The transition between the DC BLOCKER and DIRECT sockets was the first step. It turned out that the Direct sockets give a slightly more open, transparent sound with sound sources. Almost immediately, however, I also heard that it is less saturated, not as deep, and that it simply lacks something. As if the depth of the bodies had shrunken. The sound with the Direct socket was actually more casual, but also less ordered, it made less sense.

Plugging the phono preamplifier and SACD player into the SEPARATED socket gave different results. It was even more focused sound, but with more treble than with the DC Blocker jack. The energy was not as high as with the Direct jack, but the dynamics was excellent, better than with both previous ones.

While the increase in quality in the case of the source was considerable, the change of the socket that powers the Soulution 710 power amplifier was spectacular. The DC BLOCKED sockets gave a denser, more dynamic and energetic sound than the DIRECT sockets. With the former, everything was stronger, more saturated and denser. The only drawback I noticed was that the rear of the sound stage was presented slightly closer, because the whole presentation was now closer to me and was more “here and now”. I also got less air between the instruments.

As you can see, the tested strip offers great functionality, because you can try different configurations of connecting devices in the system. For me, the whole sounded best with a SACD player plugged into the DC BLOCKED jack, a phono preamplifier in the SEPARATED socket, a line preamplifier in the DC BLOCKED socket and a power amplifier in the DIRECT socket. It may be different for you, but it is from this setting that it is worth starting your own trials.

| SUMMARY

AND THAT’S WHAT THIS STRIP IS - extremely pleasant, and therefore addictive. After that, many other products of this type will seem shrill and exaggerated. Maybe it will not satisfy the fans of a clear contours, slam, clear attack - that is, rock lovers. But there is no such thing as an ideal product, there are only products that „are for us" or "aren’t for us". And I am certain that the Fezz Audio Sculptor Reference will be the right choice for "many of us", because it is an excellent product.

In some systems it will organize the sound, arrange it, soothe unhealthy constraints, and in others it will be the last resort against too strong upper midrange. I would not treat it as a "medicine", because in audio repairing errors by covering them is a bad way. It may turn out, however, that the Sculptor Reference is the last touch that the system lacked.

| DESIGN

THE FEZZ AUDIO SCULPTOR REFERENCE POWER DISTRIBUTION UNIT is really big - it measures 570 x 115 x 110 mm. I assume that its front is on the smaller side on which the voltage indicator is placed - the strip is more than half a meter deep. One could consider an anti-vibration platform for it, although it stands on nice aluminum feet with rubber rings.

Its rigid body is made of steel that is welded, polished and then powder coated. The walls are 2 mm thick, and the whole thing is mounted on four anti-vibration feet, made of solid aluminum. The bolted bottom is damped with a bitumen mat, which is to minimize vibrations.

The gold-plated Furutech Schuko sockets are screwed to the top cover, which is masked from the outside with an aluminum plate with markings on it. The individual sections are separated from each other by 2 mm steel sheets, and the SEPARATED slot has a separate screen that covers it almost entirely.

The current is conducted with wires made of copper braid with a cross-section of 4 mm2, which is really considerable. The individual sections are connected with each other with screw connectors - here the contacts are no longer gold plated.

It is a very well made, nice, very solid AC power strip. ■

Technical specifications (acc. to the manufacturer)

Type: power strip
Model: Sculptor Reference
Supply voltage: 220-230 V
Inlet socket: Furutech IEC60320
Output sockets: Furutech Schuko
Number of sockets: 6
Internal cabling: 4 mm sq.
Maximum load: 3.5 kW
Maximum continuous current: 16 A
Dimensions (D x W x H): 570 x 115x 110 mm
Available finishes: Black ice (black), Bleach (white)
Weight: 7.5 kg