Feliks Audio Envy

As you'd expect of a statement amplifier, Envy can have no weaknesses. Depending on output transformers for brute power, this Feliks flagship still retains all the purity that this brand has come to be defined by. It's a champion of frequency extension both up and down; chunks of iron in the signal path or not.

Running in single-ended Class A to preserve the all-important even order harmonics triode enthusiasts crave from such topologies, Envy is inherently linear. Its high operating voltage and high bias means that its entire circuit operates stably with zero feedback.

That's aided by the use of 300B tubes providing Feliks Audio access to square law and load-line characteristics to push distortion down from the drawing board. Triode plate impedance also means that any clipping is soft and graceful, veering from harshness.

Running in the open loop doesn't stop Envy from producing enormous frequency extension up to 100Khz at -3dB. The preservation of high-frequency triode transparency is certainly no mean feat without the aid of negative feedback.

Meanwhile, the finest coupling capacitors and its large output transformers sees low frequencies plumb down to 8Hz – truly subterranean levels, for a tube amplifier of any sort.

WATCH ALSO Timelapse: the painstaking hand-assembly of Envy

This Feliks frequency extension pays off in truly flat phase reproduction in the audible human hearing range, for impactful bass and realistic portrayal of musical images. Dynamics are life-like and on par with the best solid-state amplifiers.

Indeed, none of the resolution Feliks Audio has been associated with from its OTL work has been lost in Envy, bearing uber-revealing CV-181 drivers from Psvane.

But users wanting to squeeze the final drops of detail have the opportunity to build this behemoth in its Performance Edition, featuring UPOCC point-to-point copper wiring, and upgraded 300B power tubes from Electro-Harmonix to Full Music for the ultimate signal path.

Inside and outside, Envy is a prestige product that belongs in a reference Hi-Fi rack. Its balanced pre-amplifier outputs allow you to operate it just that way into a full-sized, stereo power amplifier, passing through the entire 6SN7-300B stage and out through the rear.

Definitely place Envy somewhere prominent: you won't be able to tear yourself away from gazing upon its beautiful wood build, nor hearing this pinnacle, for long. Otherwise, seek Feliks Audio's other OTL builds if you're looking for a smaller footprint here, and our other amplifiers here.