⊚ WORLD PREMIERE ⊚

⌈ FEZZ AUDIO is a company specializing in tube amplifiers. It is an audiophile branch of the renown manufacturer of toroidal transformers, TOROIDY.pl. Fezz Audio was established in 2014, and its first product was the LAURA integrated amplifier. We are testing its top system, consisting of the SAGITA preamplifier and TITANIA power amplifiers in the form of two monoblocks. ⌋

EZZ AUDIO IS Associated with mid-range products. It must be said that the company has found its perfect niche in the price range between 5.000 and, say, 10.000 zlotys, and its tube amplifiers are sold in many places around the world, including the demanding Korean market (interview with Maciek Lachowski about this adventure HERE | PL |; accessed: 24.06.2021).

It seems to me that they achieved success thanks to elaborate designs, but also due to the back-up provided by their mother company, Toroidy.pl, which produces power transformers for many other companies. It has developed its own types of transformers for audio applications, which is why Fezz is one of the few manufacturers whose output transformers are wound on toroidal cores, not EI shaped cores.

Until now, all the amplifiers in the lineup were integrated tube designs. A slight breakthrough in this practice was brought about by the GRATIA phonostage, because it was an external device in relation to the amplifier. Moreover, it was the first device in the company's history to use semiconductors instead of tubes for amplifying the signal, namely OP-AMPs, i.e. operational amplifiers from BURSTON.

▌ SAGITA + 2 x TITANIA

THE COMPANY DECIDED TO USE THE EXPERIENCE gained while designing the Gratia when developing the first linear preamplifier in its history. So SAGITA is a semiconductor design. Along with it, a version of the TITANIA integrated amplifier is also introduced to the market, in the form of a power amplifier. This is a classic push-pull device with 6550 tubes in the output stage, but with something "extra" - namely each of the stereo amplifiers can be bridged (in parallel) which allows them to be used as monoblocks, which in turn offers an output of 80 W per channel.

Such a system, consisting of the SAGITA preamplifier and two TITANIA amplifiers, each in mono mode, is what we got for this review.

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| A few simple words…

MACIEJ LACHOWSKI
Owner, designer

⸜ MACIEJ LACHOWICZ in „High Fidelity”

PRACTICALLY FROM THE BEGINNING, when Fezz Audio appeared on the map of the hi-fi world, customers asked us for tube monoblocks and preamplifiers. As it happens in out company, we first listen, then think about it, and then we start working on it in order to finally offer music lovers and audiophiles something completely different than what they asked for. We don’t do it against them, we just want to offer them something ... exceptional.

Just look at the Titania power amplifier. Thanks to the CRGO (Cold Rolled Grain Orientated Steel) technology used in the production of power and output transformer cores and our proprietary AGTC Technology (Air Gap Toroidal Core Technology) specification used in the chokes, we were able to develop two exactly identical tube power amplifiers in one device.

There would be nothing extraordinary about it, if not for the fact that they are in fact identical, so they can be connected in parallel thus becoming a high-power monophonic tube amplifier (80 W). In short: the customer can buy one Titania power amplifier first and use it in stereo mode, and then, if he/she wants, buy another one, bridge both to mono and use them as monoblocks. It makes sense, doesn't it?

But what would the power amplifiers be without a quality preamplifier? That is why Sagita was developed. And it is not a tube device at all. Why not, you may ask? Our answer is: because this is the best line preamp we have ever built and we already have many prototypes behind us.

The Sagita is a top-class line preamplifier featuring 8 RCA inputs, including one direct. Two pairs of RCA outputs allow the device to be used in hi-fi systems based on up to 4 monophonic power amplifiers. It is a perfect complement to tube and transistor sets and provides linear sound without unnecessary coloration.

The Sagita pre-amp is built around high-end Burson V6 Vivid op amps. Using the new remote control, made entirely of solid aluminum, it is possible to adjust the volume (blue Alps potentiometer) and select the sources (Takamisawa relays with silver-plated contacts). An important part of the power section is the audio class Toroidy.pl transformer. ML

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⸜ SAGITA IT IS A LINE PREAMPLIFIER, equipped with as many as eight RCA inputs, including one 'direct' one, thanks to which the device can be used also in a home theater system; the signal then bypasses the volume control and the gain path. The signal is sent to the power amplifiers with two pairs of RCA outputs. The device has an unbalanced, semiconductor circuit, based on Burson V6 Vivid modules. These circuits are mounted on two audio boards and are enclosed in fairly tall, measuring 14.5 x 12.4 x 29 mm, red plastic poles.

The design of the preamplifier is simple and utilitarian on the one hand, and elegant on the other. It repeats the design line of Fezz Audio that has been known for years, although it is otherwise known that works on a new design are under way for all the company's products. There are three knobs at user’s disposal - volume control, output selector and input selector - the knobs are made of aluminum. The inputs and outputs are switched using relays.

There are no LEDs next to the volume knob and it has a clear start and end point as it is a classic rotary knob. In turn, the input and output selection is executed by means of knobs that are part of the microprocessor control system. There are LEDs next to these knobs. We can also adjust the volume with a flat aluminum remote control. There are buttons on it to change the volume, select an input and switch the device to standby mode.

⸜ TITANIA IT WAS DEVELOPED AS an integrated amplifier - it was presented for the first time in 2016 during the Audio Video Show 2016. We are presenting for the first time its version without a preamplifier.

The device has in the input a low-power double triode, 12AX7, here in the Russian version by the Electro-Harmonix. They are used to switch the phase for one of the output tubes and to drive it. And in the output section there are KT88 beam tetrodes by Mullard, another brand belonging - together with Electro-Harmonix - to the EHX group, along with the following brands: Tung-Sol, EH Gold, Genalex Gold Lion, Svetlana & Sovtek.

The amplifier is similar to other Fezz Audio tube devices, i.e. it has a steel housing with a low profile painted in one of several colors. The front is doubled and it features the company's logo illuminated in white. There are tubes on the top panel and transformers behind them.

The shielding housings have an unusual shape, as if the company wants to move away from a round or square outline. Although the box for the power transformer is round, the output transformers’ one are shaped like triangles. They are all low because the company uses Toroidy.pl toroidal transformers everywhere made using proprietary, techniques developed in-house.

On the back panel there is a single pair of RCA inputs and two sets of speaker terminals. There are separate taps for 4 and 8 Ω with gold-plated connectors. In the monophonic version, we connect the outputs of both channels in parallel with three jumpers (included) and change the position of the small toggle switch from 'mono' to 'stereo'.

In stereo the amplifier outputs 2 x 50 W, and in monophonic mode 1 x 80 W. The power is rated with a THD lower than 1%, which is the same as for transistor amplifiers. For tube designs, the assumptions are milder and the power is given with a distortion of 3%. The real power output of the Titania is even greater. Looking at other technical data, attention is drawn to the very wide frequency response, the result of using toroidal transformers, amounting to 18 Hz-103 kHz (-3dB) range.

▌ SOUND

⸤ HOW WE LISTENED The three-box Fezz Audio amplifier was tested in the HIGH FIDELITY reference system. Since I do not have enough space on the shelf to accommodate so many additional devices, and I wanted all elements of the system to have the best working conditions, I decided that this time the source of the signal would be the MYTEK BROOKLYN BRIDGE file player.

The signal from it was sent to the Sagita preamplifier with the Crystal Cable Absolute Sound interconnects, and then to the power amplifiers with the Acoustic Revive Absolute cables. The amplifier and the loudspeakers were connected by NOS speaker cables from the 1940s by Western Electric. Power was supplied by the Acoustic Revive Absolute (power amplifiers) and Harmonix X-DC350M2R Improved-Version cables. The preamplifier was placed on the Fezz Audio Accessories Ceramic Disc Classic feet, and on its top panel I placed the Verictum X Block passive EMI / RFI filter.

Recordings used for the test | a selection

⸜ BRODKA, Brut, [PIAS] Recordings | Kayax Production & Publishing PIASR5076CD/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (2021).
⸜ CHARLIE HADEN, KEITH JARRETT, Last Dance, ECM Records ECM 2399, 378 0524/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA Studio 24/96 (2014).
⸜ DUSTIN O’HALLORAN, Silfur, Deutsche Grammophon 4839881/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA 24/96 (2021)
⸜ GARBAGE, No Gods No Masters, Stun Volume, Infectious Music INFECT644CD/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA Studio 24/96 (2021).
⸜ MAROON 5, Jordi, 222 Records | Interscope Records B0033864-02/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA 24/44,1 (2021).
⸜ MARY KOMASA, Degenerate Love, Warner Music Poland/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (2019).
⸜ PAULA COLE, American Quilt,675 Records 538656191/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA 16/44,1 (2021).
⸜ REDI HAS, The Stolen Cello, Ponderosa Music & Art | Decca 0872295/Tidal Master, FLAC MQA 24/44,1 (2020).
⸜ STEPHAN MICUS, Winter’s End, ECM Records ECM 2698/Tidal, FLAC 16/44,1 (2021);

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BRITISH HISTORIAN AND POLITICAL PHILOSOPHER John Acton was supposed to say: "Power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely." This statement is as relevant today as it was when it was first made. When it comes to audio needs, they are mentioned by supporters of low power amplifiers, usually SET, and they are partly right. But those who believe that there is never too much power are also right to cite the example of a car that drives much better with a powerful engine. And it's not even about achieving high speeds, but about control. In my experience, they are both right - it all depends on the context and expectations.

The context for the tested system with Titania amplifiers would be, in my opinion, classic loudspeakers of medium or low efficiency placed in a large room. The expectations, in turn, would focus on the best possible driving of these loudspeakers and on not having to worry about tube-introduced distortion, lack of bass, sharpness, etc. freedom. The tested Fezz system offers all that effortlessly.

High power is associated with playing loud, playing rock or symphonic music at full blast. These are justified associations, and we will also get that with Fezz Audio. However, if that’s the only thing you’re after, I would suggest, even though I do not want to give Maciek a heart attack, that you look for a different system, preferably a solid-state integrated amplifier. And it will do great, really. The tested system, however, does something more that we cannot get with "ordinary" amplifiers - together with power and might it also offers incredible finesse.

Although I started the listening session with the latest No Gods No Masters album by GARBAGE, a project by Bryan David "Butch" Viga, a musician and music producer responsible - among others - for the Nevermind by Nirvana, after some time I reached for recordings from a completely different musical spectrum. Garbage showed that the Titania in the form of monoblocks is a rich reservoir of power and that it can deliver quite a slam, it goes low in the bass, it is quite fast, it also has something that, remaining for a moment with car associations, leaves the "steering wheel" to the music, instead of "dragging" it behind it. What was even more interesting for me was the fact, that many chamber, small ensemble, quiet, internally focused recordings sounded great with this system.

This was the case with the Silfur by DUSTIN O'HALLORAN, just released by Deutsche Grammophon, Winter’s End by STEPHAN MICUS (ECM), and with The Stolen Cello by REDI HASA. The latter offers a higher volume level and you can hear that it uses a lot of compression and is more "produced". But even with it, the sound was silky and smooth. I do not call it "warm", because that is not the point. It was effortless and dense, which made it neither cold nor “transistor-like”. If the opposite of these terms is for you "warm" and "tube-like" - no problem, so be it. However, this is not a system that would be so unambiguous. It's too sophisticated for that.

The refinement I return to is in this case the effortlessness. The sound we get is dense, but it is also not focused on warm bodies. It has an open treble, but there is never too much of it, it is smooth, silky, perfectly follows the midrange in such a way that we do not even notice it. And yet listening to the latest BRODKA’s album entitled Brut, excellently produced and musically brilliant, it could not be said that the treble was withdrawn. I would even say that the system showed a stronger midrange and the sound was not as deep as - for example - from the Last Dance by CHARLIE HADEN and KEITH JARRETT, which I listened to a moment earlier.

It turns out that the Fezz Audio in the configuration I listened to it in is a really good differentiating system. It does not impose itself with information, but sooner or later it will provide it to us. So if the sound is brighter, like on the Brodka album, the whole tonal balance will move up. On the other hand, if we get such silky sound as - from the already mentioned - Dustin O'Halloran album, it will settle down. It's amazing how well such a powerful amplifier goes from the bright, distinct Hi disc by the TEXAS group to the low, spacious PAULA COLE recordings (American Quilt).

Each time we get a different musical world, a different perspective of producers and a different sound. It is not unpleasant, because the amplifier perfectly controls the level and class of treble, which will never, never sound bright and sharp. After some time, however, we will notice a tendency to reach for better recorded albums, for better releases, and simply for more valuable music.

But let's go back to the output/power, which - as we said before - degenerates. There is a lot of it with Titania, so we get a great bass. It is a bit soft, rounded, but also perfectly controlled, if it hits, like - nomen omen - in the Degenerate Love by MARY KOMASA from the Disarm in a strong, point-sharp way, then we will hear exactly that. The Harbeth M40.1 showed this ability of the Polish amplifiers very nicely, making me realize that the tested devices have a deep sound, at least when it comes to timbre.

The system is also fast, although not in the same way as with SET amplifiers, even the Audio Reveal Junior, an amplifier based on a single 6550 tube per channel, not to mention 300B tubes. But this is also not what we expect, that's not why we buy a high-power amplifier, right? But it is also the case that the Fezz Audio plays fast enough to play incredibly effortlessly with such a reserve of power, more freely than most SE amplifiers - that’s a paradox, but it is true.

On the other hand, with the tested system, we focus more on what is in the foreground. Stereophony is very cool because it doesn't draw attention to itself, events are just thrown in front of us, and we don't have to analyze them. On the other hand, however, the depth of the stage is rather conventional. The bodies are presented well, they are rich, saturated sound sources with real mass and size. But also behind them there is not as much micro-information as from SET devices, and even with some EL34 amplifiers. This is why the sound of the system was rather smooth than detailed, fluid, but not particularly vivid, without clear 3D rendering. But, as I said, it all depends on expectations.

▌ SUMMARY

CONTEMPORARY SPEAKERS, which focus on flat frequency response and good bass extension, require powerful amplifiers to show what they really can do. They sound bland or shrill if they are not well enough controlled. The Fezz Audio system will be a great partner for them. Its timbre is unique, not only among high-power amplifiers, but also among amplifiers in general. It is also fast, but without showing off, it has excellent bass extension, which is also nicely controlled and rather soft than contoured.

The most important thing, however, is effortlessness on the one hand and the ability to differentiate on the other. This separates amplifier system is therefore extremely versatile and will play the latest MAROON 5 album Jordi with equal commitment as the dazzling duets of theorba and flute from the Bach: Dialogue just released by the Deutsche Harmonia Mundi label.

The system consisting of the SAGITA preamplifier and two TITANIA monoblocks is the best amplifier that Fezz Audio has produced, at least when we think about classic loudspeakers. For everyone else, it offers a 300B amplifier that will give them something different. But even it will not play with such ease, consistency and momentum as the system we are talking about. Bravo!

▌ DESIGN

⸤ SAGITA THE INTERIOR OF THE PREAMPLIFIER Sagita surprises - above all - with its emptiness. It is not the first time, nor the last time, that a manufacturer decides to use a large chassis to make it mechanically stable, and also to make the product fit stylistically with his other devices. He thus risks the accusation that he is "selling air", even though it makes sense.

The entire electronic circuit with the power supply fits on a small, longitudinal printed circuit board screwed to the rear panel. This allows manufacturer to beautifully shorten the audio path and thus reduce noise and distortion. In this case, however, the track was lengthened because the attenuator, controlled by an Alps motorized potentiometer, was placed in the front panel. Long, shielded interconnects lead to it.

The circuit itself is nice, short and based on Burson Audio V6 Vivid Dualmodules, one per channel. Earlier, the company "rehearsed" Supreme V5i version in the GRATIA phonostage. Apparently, it was decided that since it worked well in a device with a very high gain, in which you have to be extremely careful with components, because noise is the critical element, you can choose another version here. With the linear gain, the noise is also our enemy, but the gain is also lower, which gives the designers some space to breath.

Around the red bars of the Burson Audio chips you can see a few surface soldered (SMD) resistors and a couple of capacitors - and that's it. Switching inputs and outputs is handled by the relays of the Japanese company Takamisawa. The power supply is handled by a small toroidal transformer by Toroidy.pl with two secondary windings. I would like to add that the bottom and top of the housing have been covered with a bitumen mat, which significantly minimizes their vibrations.

⸤ TITANIA There are no manipulators on the front of the POWER AMPLIFIER, but the white illumination of the Fezz Audio logo indicates that the power is turned on. On the back there are two sets of gold-plated speaker terminals, three per channel. If the amplifier is in mono mode, they are joint together with copper jumpers in parallel. You still have to put the small toggle switch to the "mono" position.

The signal is fed to one of the two gold-plated RCA sockets. They look very nice, but you should only pay attention to the fact that - similarly to the preamplifier - the left channel (marked in black here) is placed below, and the right one (red) above. And there is also an IEC power socket integrated with a fuse and a mechanical power switch.

The electronic circuit is mounted on several printed circuit boards, separately for the left and right channels and for the power supply. In the signal path you can see nice polypropylene WIMA capacitors and electrolytic Nichicon capacitors. High-power cathode resistors are bolted to the housing to keep them from getting hot. The layout looks very simple, but - as usual - it takes years to get to such simplicity.

The power supply is based on a large toroidal transformer and a toroidal choke, screwed inside the housing, under a shielding section. The "Pi" circuit employs eight 220 μF and four 330 μF capacitors to filter the mains ripples. The power transformer is enclosed in a low shielding box with a round cross-section, and the toroidal speaker transformers in separate, triangle-shaped ones. ■

Technical specifications (according to the manufacturer)

⸤ SAGITA
- S/N: 98 dB
- THD: <0.005%
- Inputs: 7 x RCA + 1 x Direct
- Outputs: 2 x RCA
- Power consumption: 12 W
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 420 x 410 x 175 mm
- Weight: 6 kg

⸤ TITANIA
- Tubes: 4 x KT88, 2 x 12AX7
- Output: 2 x 40 W | 1 x 80 W
- Type: push-pull, AB1 Class
- Output impedance: 4 Ω | 8 Ω
- Inputs: 1 x RCA
- THD: <1%
- Frequency range: 18 Hz-103 kHz (-3 dB)
- Power consumption: 225 W
- Dimensions (W x H x D): 420 x 410 x 175 mm
- Weight: 17.5 kg