Feliks Audio Euforia AE Review

Box and Packaging

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I never tend to talk about the box the amplifier was delivered in but both Euforias are so well boxed up that it deserves a special mention.

Accessory wise the Euforia only comes with and AC cord, a user manual and a warranty card next to the tube sets, if you ordered them. The gold PSVane tubes did come in a very nice box as well.

Tube Galore

The Euforia (AE) is designed around two 6AS7G power tubes and two 6SN7 driver tubes. The amplifier is equipped with automatic bias circuit, therefore no re-tuning is required after changing tubes. Feliks Audio claims the optimal sound quality will be reached after approximately 30 – 50 hours of run-in.

The stock driver tubes are 6SN7 and the power tubes are 6N13S. That means the driver tubes can be switched out for 6N8S, CV181, ECC32, 5692 and 6F8G tube types. For the power tubes you can use 6080, 5998, 6N5P, 6N5S, ECC230, 7236 and CV2523 tube types.

The 6SN7 is a dual triode vacuum tube with an 8-pin octal base and you can find out more about the tube type here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_6sn7.html and here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/6SN7

The 6N13S is the Russian name for the 6AS7G( 6Н13С) and it is a dual power triode. I have a lot of amps running these tubes and there still are very good affordable ones available. For the more famous NOS tubes you can spend a lot of money though. You can find out more about this tube type here: https://www.radiomuseum.org/tubes/tube_6n13s.html

 Stock tubes & replacements

The Euforia (AE) is originally equipped with a matched pair of NOS Russian 6N13S power tubes. I’ve heard good and bad Russian 6N13S power tubes but the winged Svetlana actually are quit nice depending on the amp design. I have to say I only listened to the stock tubes for a very short while and I swapped them out for a set of Tung-Sol 7236 tubes. These tubes are hard to find nowadays but together with the Bendix 6080WB they’re my favorite high end power tubes of this tube type. You could also use a nice set of 6AS7G black plates from Chatham or RCA as well, or you can stick with the Russian tubes, these are just not as smooth sounding but they’re more than just ok. For the part on sound and the Euforia comparison (later in this article), I used identical RCA 6AS7G power tubes in both amplifiers as they sound great and are easily available at acceptable prices.

The driver tubes that came with the amp are a matched pair of PsVane CV-181 Mk2 “Gold” 6SN7 tubes and I have to admit they really surprised me in a good way. I didn’t expect them to sound these detailed and dynamic and in combination with the 7236, they just sound absolutely great and as a result I didn’t swap these out. The PSVane tubes are well constructed and they look very nice too. These are selling for $290 for a matched set directly from PSVane.

Design & Build quality

From the box and packaging to the amp, the logo, the LED, the feet, the tube sockets, the volume dial and the in/outputs: everything is top quality. An extra mention goes to the casing the amp is housed in as Feliks now is using a high gloss sparkling space grey using the highest quality automotive painting process (think Bentley!). the only downside? Fingerprints!

This is the build quality you expect from a top of the line high end unit, no matter if it comes from Poland, Russia, the USA or China. The design itself is simple yet sexy, with the smaller input tubes upfront and the bigger 6AS7G style power tubes behind them. They nicely hide the big transfo compartment at he back but at he same time that doesn’t bother me at all. In fact, with the smaller 7236 tube type I’m using, the power tubes are smaller than the driver tubes and so the back shows even more. It’s all good, it’s pretty. The AE edition of the Euforia is slightly bigger in size. More correct would be to say the AE is “higher” because of the new casing.  The vent system on the top of the case is different (perforated instead of “lines”) and the feet have an extra layer of protection. The Feliks Audio logo on top of the case now is more shiny.

As before the AE has a basic, yet well executed design in which the golden PSVane tubes give it that extra special look. I really dig the simple yet elegant presentation and the AE version, compared to the original, looks more classy, more high-end.

Amp layout

As said the amp design is basic and as a result so is the lay-out. But it’s done in such a way that it all just fits in nicely and making the amp easy to use.

On the front panel you on the left have the engraved “Euforia” name with the white-yellowish LED right next to it. The 6.3mm headphone connector is right above. There is no “safety net” around the connector, so make sure you don’t scratch that beautiful case while plugging in your headphones. In the middle we have the smooth and precise volume dial (no channel imbalance to be found) and on the right you have the beautifully engraved Feliks Audio 20th anniversary logo.

On top as said you have the 6SN7 tubes upfront, behind it the power tubes and then the transfo “cage” which features a silver colored Feliks Audio logo in the middle. A nice touch. On the back of the unit you from left to right have the switch to activate the cross-feed-circuit, the power connector, the main power switch, the RCA-inputs and the RCA-outputs.

Underneath the amplifier you’ll find the 4 beautiful feet and a sufficiently big “hole” for aeration and that’s about it.

Specs

Model 2018

• Input Impedance: 100 kOhm
• Frequency response: 8 Hz – 75 Khz +/- 3 dB (300 ohm)
• Power output: 250mW
• THD: 0.4 % (300 ohm, 20 mW)
• Supported headphones impedance: 32 – 600 ohm including planar magnetics
• Premium PsVane CV-181 Mk2 “Gold” /or “Silver” PsVane 6SN7 driver tubes *
• Improved noise cancelling construction
• High grade power transformer
• 100% pure silver signal wiring in teflon jacket
• Heavy duty teflon gold-plated tube sockets
• High quality Mundorf and Nichicon capacitors
• Dale and Caddock resistors
• Preamp safety circuit
• Gold plated RCA inputs
• Headphones output: Jack 6.3mm
• Dimensions: 310x205x175[mm]
• Weight: 7kg
• 3 years warranty

The part on sounds starts on the next page, right HERE