believe that the cover of the January issue of "High Fidelity" (January 2016, No. 141), turned out very nice. That was mainly attributed to the beautiful sculpture of the Silver Luna integrated amplifier, a photo that we placed there. Bearing a large logo of the Fezz Audio brand, it sounded just great, it was very nicely crafted, and for a low – as for this type of device - cost. It utilized classic vacuum tubes operated in push-pull, AB class, the EL34 pentodes, driven by equally classical low power triodes, the ECC83. Both types of tubes were originally designed for application in audio systems.

The amplifier looked particularly good, due to its red housing. The company offers four basic colors of the chassis paintwork. Attention was also drawn by the low profil cans, covering the power and output speaker transformers. This is where the secret of Fezz Audio is nested: toroidal transformers. This type of transformers is rarely used in tube amplifiers, mainly because of their excessive cost. A yet other important reason is simply plain habit - historically it were the E-I based sheet iron core transformers that were first to the market, and so it stayed.

But Fezz Audio proposes a vastly different solution, mainly because it is a brand owned by a manufacturer of toroidal transformers: Toroidy Transformers Lachowski. Therefore, they can produce exactly the transformers they need, and whats more important – at the best possible price – the price of own production costs. Other producers have to buy them from external suppliers, relying on their reputation. This is the reason that Fezz Audio amplifiers are relatively small - especially the covering cans, which are enclosures for the transformers, can really be low in profile.

TITANIA

The Silver Luna – the model which opened the initial offering of this manufacturer, has quickly found supporters among both reviewers, shops, and among the most important of groups, ie. Music Lovers. But along with the popularity, also came the challenges, however. It turned out that in some systems, this amplifier has a too high power, and in others, its power was too low. For the former, the company has now designed an amplifier called Mira Ceti, which is based on 300B tubes and works in Single-Ended mode. An amplifier, the premiere of which is planned for the November exhibition, the Audio Video Show 2016. This indeed shall be a unique device - it too will be based upon toroidal transformers at its output. Whats more, the manufacturer represents that such will be the world's first tube amplifier with this type of transformer output! As for latter systems, in need of higher power, a different model was created, with the meaningfull name Titania.

At first glance, Silver Luna and Titania look very similar. But suffice to give them a second glance, to recognize that we are dealing with a different project. This amplifier is larger than its predecessor - broader and much deeper - but its height is almost identical, and that is why it still seems so light, at least optically. Its bigger depth was enforced by much larger transformers, which needed be used here. In place of the EL34 pentodes, the output stage now uses the KT88 streaming tetrodes. They require stronger transformers: both for power supply and output. On "paper", the power increased only but slightly, from 35W to 45W, but there is a trick here – The power of the Silver Luna is specified at 1% distortion, whereas for the Titania, at only 0.2%. So, if we were to apply similar criteria as typically adopted for tube amplifier specifications, i.e. power measurements at THD = 3%, then the difference in power would be much greater.

The power transformer has been sealed in a round shielding/damping cover, just as in the Silver Luna, but the output transformers have now received stylish triangular covers. The finishings are very good, and only the transformer covers could have been better (specifically at the joints). The large transformers have enforced placing all the tubes in a line. Two of the push-pull KT88, working in class AB, with the single ECC83 placed between them; This small double triode operates both as a preamplifier section, but also serves as a driver for the output tubes.

The amplifier has three line inputs, unbalanced (RCA), the choice between which is made with the aluminum knob on the front panel. The second knob changes the volume. The amplifier does not have a remote control. In its construction, high-quality, low-voltage Nichicon Gold capacitors are used, high-voltage Vishay capacitors, and polypropylene WIMA as coupling capacitors. The output transformers have a wide bandwidth, so the frequency response of the entire amplifier is as high as 103 Hz (at -3 dB). The Total Distortion of the unit at full output power of 45 W is a small 0.2%. The Titania looks very nice and neat. For the test, we prepared it together with the RCA FAC01 interconnects, also produced by Fezz Audio.

MACIEJ LACHOWSKI
Constructor

The Titania is, thus far, the most powerful amplifier within the Fezz Audio offering. We decided to create such a construct, because feedback has reached us with indications that in combination with the Silver Luna, issues were occasionally experienced when driving low efficiency loudspeakers. But still, it was our aim so that the purchase of a Fezz amplifier does not ruin the budget of a potential customer. For this reason, we used inexpensive KT88 tubes, the Russian production by Electro-Harmonix. They are characterized by a very good quality to price ratio.

As in the case of Silver Luna, the Titania is based on toroidal output and mains transformers as produced by Toroidy.pl. With the experience gained whilst designing transformers for our previous amplifier, we can now boast about even better parameters. The bandwidth - below 20 Hz at the lower end of the frequency range, and above 100 kHz at the top, with a very low THD of <0.2%. Such results we consider to be more than satisfactory.

The FAC series Interconnects - we make them by ourselves. The detailed design is also of our authorship. The main objective was to create a high quality, low cost interconnect, but one that does not imprint its signature on the music, but rather one that highlights the characteristics of the actual implementation of the content and which faithfully reflects the width, depth and multilayered attributes of the sound scene. We believe that we have achieved this.

The Discs used for the test (a selection):

• Art Pepper, Art Pepper Meets the Rhythm Section, Contemporary Records/JVC VICJ-42524, K2 CD (1957/2006)
• Barney Kessel, Fire, Interplay Records MYCJ-30538, HQCD (2009)
• Franc Schubert, 4 Impromptus D899 & D935, wyk. Maria João Pires, Deutsche Grammophon/Universal Music Japan UCCG-50095, SHM-CD (1997/2011)
• John Foxx and the Belbury Circle, Empty Avenues, Ghost Box GBX019CD, CD (2013)
• Laurie Anderson, Homeland, Nonesuch 524055-2, CD + DVD (2010);
• Lisa Ekdahl & Peter Nordahl Trio, Back To Earth, BMG Sweden AB 614632, CD (1998)
• Milt Jackson Quartet, Statements, Impulse!/Universal Music (Japan) UCCI-9088, „More Best 50 | No 38”, CD (1961/2001)
• Monteverdi, Quinto Libro De Madrigali, wyk. Concerto Italiano, pod dyr. Rinaldo Alessandrini, Opus 111 OPS 30-187, CD (2000)
• Novika, Tricks of Life, Kayax 013 CD (2006)
• Ornette Coleman, The Shape of Jazz to Come, Atlantic Records/ORG Music ORGM-1081, SACD/CD (1959/2013)
• Suzanne Vega, Nine Objects of Desire, A&M Records 540 583 2, CD (1996)
• Thelonious Monk, Tijuana Moods, RCA Records/ORG Music ORGM-174-3, SACD/CD (1962/2015)

Japanese issues available at

There are discs that I like, thanks to the music contained thereon and to how they sound. And although I know perfectly well why I like the music, it is often not fully understandable what is it that is so good about the way it sounds, why it captivates me to such an extent.

From the methodological point of view, the issue is usually simple - the sound is described using specific expressions, as developed over the years and these types of discs undergo such descriptive procedure with ease. But from time to time, it just so happens however, that there is a ‘Beyond’ beyond the known, objective description (as within the framework of the adopted methodology), there is yet something else that we discover only after quite some time, often years later. It happens to me every once in a while and usually it is one of the two, and very rarely both of the cases: the specific skills of the people responsible for the recording and the mix of material and/or the people responsible for the mastering, if necessary. Or maybe for the remastering.

Here I recalled this phenomenon after the second or third song being listened to, from a disc called “Tricks Of Life” by Katarzyna Nowicka, a Polish artist using the stage nick ‘Novika’. Released in 2006 under the ‘Kayax’ label, the album includes compositions, amongst others, by Artur Rojek and Smolik. Specifically, within the title track, Novik is vocally supported by Sqbass. And it is this very song that has accompanied me for years during various tests, because it presents electronic instruments very well, and these combined with a low reverb of a bass clarinet (by Pablo Pełczyński) and vocals. It sounds sounds simply amazing and is one of the better examples of how you should record club music.

Such execution we owe to the attentive implementers – Mr. Bogdan Kondracki, Sebastian Witkowski and Mariusz Szypura - but not only. As it turned out, while listening to this CD on the Titania amplifier, there is yet another "secret" ingredient. Secret in the sense that it probably puts the cherry on top of the pie, and not because it is something you need to seek out specifically. As a matter of fact, it is clearly stated in the accompanying publisher’s booklet: “Mastering: Jacek Gawłowski JG Mastering Lab". And now all became clear…
(I would add that it is a similar case with two other discs, which have also been prepared by Jacek: “Grand Piano” and “Anhelli”, both by Wlodek Pawlik, from a time long before the “Night in Calisia”, or the “99” by Abraxas).

I reached for the detailed description from the booklet, because it sounded so extremely pleasantly and engaging. I knew, of course, that it will be a fine performance - although I have not listened to it for quite some time now. But non-the-less, it belongs to the "tent-pole". Titania, however, did something special: it extracted the chords, the harmonics, the timbre, in the way which is usually attributed to, executed by, high-end amplifiers. Mind you, this is still a device from the mid-range shelf, and high-end - it is not quite yet, because it neither has the resolution, the selectivity, nor the differentiation, of the higher treble and the lower bass, as in, for example, the Audio Alto DMI 3H. But none of these I have expected. The thing is, that the tonality of this device stems from a completely different story, not something that would be reasonably expected of an amplifier from the less than 10 000 zł price range.

What we get is a deep, saturated sound. I have been somewhat preconditioned for this by the model Silver Luna, but here it goes on, even further, deeper, harder. When listening, in such a manner, to Laurie Anderson on the “Homeland” disc, or – staying with the electronic music – to John Foxx in “Empty Aveniues”, these recordings sounded interesting and therefore very much engaging.

The amplifier builds the soundstage by showing a strong midrange, with particular attention applied to the border of midband and low frequencies. On top of that, you get a powerful, meaty, energetic bass. There are also some nice treble, which are not muffled in their presentation, but you need not have to have a lot of experience, to conclude that it is only but a complement to what is happening down below, and not a fully equivalent partner.

Interestingly, despite the whole shift of emphasis towards the center and the bass, the frequency response from the top side seems to be very broad. We pick this up mainly thanks to the exceptional naturality of the midrange, and not to the top treble. The latter is slightly sweetened and rounded up. In part, this may only be an impression, but there probably is a point in this - the amplifier is not so "open" to an extent, as we would describe the sound stemming from products such as the Musical Fidelity Norma, and Audio Research, Linear. In this regard, this one here is much closer to the representation, as in the Audio Research Corporation or QUAD stables.

The superposition of the features as described results in a big, powerful sound, which concentrates foremost on reflecting the spirit of the music, so as to fill it up with emotions. I would say that the sound is "expansive", because the one is usually associated with the nother, but here we are dealing with a slightly different interplay of these two elements. Amplifier plays a legato, showing the instruments on the line that connects the speakers and beyond. It does not push the sound forward, in our direction. It builds a wide and very deep soundstage, and additionally it captures very nicely the elements that are recorded out of phase, herewith surrounding us with sound in a natural and unenforced manner (check out the “Tricks Of Life” and “Falling” from Anderson’s disc).

Warm sounding devices tend to emphasize the shapes of instruments and the vocals that are placed in the foreground. Titania does not do this. One could therefore say that this is the perfect partner for jazz and classical music recordings - especially the latter, where the perspective is an essential element for creating the illusion of the real soundstage of a live performance. You could, if not for that something more in the sound, the something which makes it play equally well in the case of club music and old rock, which was summoned up at the very beginning.

This "something more" results from the fact that the amplifier "blooms" with each subsequent album. We would not have expected that from the device, because the dynamics at the macro level are not too high; I would even say that the Silver Luna gives the impression of an amplifier with a greater dynamic potential. But that is only but an illusion, as the Titania has a higher overall power, higher current efficiency (and you can hear that) and hence higher dynamics. But these are not that much exposed and are not a part of a thick "dense" sound, thereby they appear to be relaxed. As it seems to me, this is a direct result of the warmth, with which this amplifier charms, and the rounding up of the attack.

So this unit will not be, in my opinion, a good partner for strong rock, because it lacks the punch and the claw. Low bass is not differentiated, although we have full control over it. It is not over-extended, which has been demonstrated by the vigilant handling of it in a song from the album “Falling Laurie” by Anderson. There are some very low, electronic sounds, which are deliberately suppressed very quickly. The Titania keeps up the pace with them. The plasticity is aksi excellent and therefore the instruments take on a large volume. Their body does not have the three-dimensional "detachment", they are rather a part of a larger whole. But that would be the domain of much more expensive devices. Within these limits, the Polish amplifier beautifully highlights the forefront of instruments, giving them a distinct character.

Interconnects FAC01
Price: 279 zł/1 m

The FAC01 comes in a nice wooden box with a milled logo of the manufacrurer on the lid. The cable itself is rather inconspicous, thin, in a protective weave. At the locations, where the wires split to the left and right channels, there are small plates glued on, one bearing the company logo, and the other with an arrow indicating directivity. You can probably assume that this cable is a pseudo-balanced architecture and that the directivity is not a result from the wire manufacturing process, but rather from its electrical construction. The plugs look good. Robust amphenol connectors.

FAC01 is a robust set of interconnects with a good tonal balance. When compared with reference cables which are many times more expensive, it can be seen that it has the low bass and trebble slightly withdrawn, exposing a slightly stronger upper midrange. Rear plans are pulled up and the accent focuses on the instruments from the foreground. The depth of the sound scene is not too big. The resolution is not too high.

But we're talking about a cable for less than 300 zł, so you need to set these remarks in perspective. Because the FAC01 has a nice sound timbre, it is really vivid, and by accenting the higher midrange, it brings freshness into the sound, without exposing sibilants, nor the attack on the metal of the percussion (as an example). The bass has a very good strength and mass, and the midrange is very much tangibile.

This is one of the cheapest interconnects, which I have tested, and I can recommend it to all of those who do not "believe" in cables – no, it will not brake your budget, but you shall remain within the audiophile camp - and to those of you who want a low cost solution to restore the tonal balance to your system. And only if your system shows a slimming down of its bass, then I would seek for interconnects elsewhere.

Summary

The Titania seems to be not so much stronger - although it actually is - but simply a better amplifier than the Silver Luna. It is more expensive, so it should not come as a surprise, but on the other hand, one could assume that it’s simply all about the higher power, and power is something that you pay for. But here you get both the higher power and a better quality of sound. This amplifier presents an above average tonality, showing an exceptionally rich harmonic structure of the songs. It does not manifest a high resolution, although indeed it posseses it, but this is masked by the selectivity. The instruments have a big body, are part of a whole and are not extracted from the mix.

The amplifier has indeed a high power, sufficient to easily drive speakers as large as the Harbeth M40.1. Power is not, however, intended as a means to an end, but rather as a means to enter deeper into the sound, into the sophisticated sonic accuracy. The dynamics do not seem to be large, which is an aftermath of what I mentioned above. In fact, Titania lacks nothing in this respect, as long as we do not use it to listen to Anthrax, Megadeth or Marilyn Manson.

But then again, the amplifier does not discriminate any poorer quality recordings, and it even slightly "improves" them, super-charging their lower midrange and bass. This is a very successful design, not only for loudspeakers of a low efficiency, but also for those traditionally associated with few-watts-worth triodes. It pays off to conduct such a test, you may well be surprised by the results.

The Titania by Fezz Audio is an integrated tube amplifier with a solid state power supply. It was built around the KT88EH power tubes by Electro-Harmonix, working in push-pull, class AB. They are driven by the 12AX7EH triodes (one bulb per channel) from the same company. In addition to the tubes, measuring points can be seen, which serve to adjust the bias, such as after a replacement of the tubes. The tubes are not protected by any mesh or other protective covering.

The electrical system is simple and transparent. Each channel has its own printed circuit board to which the components are soldered, together with gold plated ceramic tube sockets. The components are soldered on both sides of the pcb board - from the side which was visible for me, I have observed WIMA polypropylene capacitors. The attenuator is a potentiometer of the black Alps variety, and interstingly, with motorized control. It hence would suffice to add a receiver chip, a power supply and a motor control, and we have remote control functionality. The input selector switch is mechanical, located at the front panel. There are some long interconnects, running to this selector, and then back again to the potentiometer.

The Speaker Output Transformers are based on a toroidal core. As we read in the company materials:

Toroidal signal transformers, as applied in the output stage of a tube amplifier, are products, into which the Fezz company has invested quite a significant amount of time. The construction of the measuring stations, dedicated to various types of tubes, as well as the tedious, time-consuming measurements, lasted nearly 12 months. During this period, approximately 100 prototype transformers have been built. These allowed for extensive testing, but also to gain a wide knowledge of the modus operandi of a torus and how it behaves within the output stage of a tube amplifier.

These studies have shown that the use of toroidal cores affects a number of very significant parameters, creates advantages over typical lamel steel sheet based cores, as would be employed in the same system. A structurally optimized toroidal output transformer shows above all an excellent degree of coupling between the primary and the secondary windings. This then yields an unusually low value of stray inductance. In conjunction with the very high inductance of the primary winding, these allow the amplifier to achieve a very high quality factor.

The power supply is a typical "Pi", with a large toroidal choke. Each channel has a separate set of four mains ripple damping capacitors. Yet separate capacitors, very good Nichicon Muse series, are used to suppress the ripple of the DC fillament heating voltage. The capacity of the capacitors in the power supply is 770 uF. The high tension voltage common for both channels, and the fillament voltage is provided by a large toroidal transformer, awashed in resin, for vibrations damping.

The housing is made of nicely folded and welded steel sheets. It is painted with one of the four primary colors, to a high gloss. In turn, the transformer covers are matte.

Technical data (according to manufacturer)

Type: Stereo integrated amplifier
Max Power: 2 x 45 W / 8 Ω
Architecture: Push-pull, class AB1
Output Impedance: 4 Ω / 8 Ω
Inputs: 3 x RCA
THD: <0.2%
Frequency response: 18 Hz-103 kHz (-3 dB)
Power consumption: 180 W
Weight: 17.5 kg
Dimensions: 420 x 410 x 175 mm
Tubes: 4 x KT88, 2x ECC83 (12AX7)