Few years ago, a dear audiophile friend of mine said that it was possible to enjoy the “Big Aural Presentation” of my audio system through headphones,…what a proposition?…mine you,…in my mind,…
High End Headphones (at US $ Thousand) comparable to High (or Ultra) End Audio System (at US $ Million)?!
-seemed like a case of David against Goliath (from the Bible)
It sounded like I could have a pair of high end headphones replaced my entire audio system and, at much lower financial cost, lesser occupied space, lesser consumption of power, manageable transportation, family friendly, etc…(Even I tried my best to obtain the highest possible sound quality of my preferred coloration at the lowest possible price…?)…
…too good to be true?

That ‘challenge’ got me purchased the Sennheiser HD800 headphone and a simple IFi ICan headphone amplifier to power it. I seriously listened to that combo,…chance upon chances, I had given to them,…in short,…
…I was not satisfy (?)
However, I did try the Stax SR-X9000 Electrostatic flagship Earspeakers with its dedicated amplifier SRM-T8000 at Japan, which pleasantly impressed me. Eventhough impressed, I decided not to go into that ‘exclusive route‘ of the Stax.

Therefore, I did informed that audiophile friend of my dissatisfaction, he replied that that combo was not compatible (?). Henceforth, I accepted the challenge (again), I contacted AV Designs (Malaysia) Sdn Bhd for review two [2] of their represented branded and dedicated headphones amplifiers, the Bryston BHA-1 balanced solid state (reviewed separately) and Feliks Audio Echo Mk.2 tube based OTL (Output Transformer Less). Both headphones amplifiers have received positive reviews and enjoy some commercial successes.

Feliks Audio Echo Mk.2
Feliks Audio from Lubliniec, Poland have been the,…
“premium boutique manufacture“…
…”(with its roots designed and built various made to order tube amplifiers) hand-crafted tube amplifiers, with over 25 years of audio solutions development experience“.
The Echo Mk.2 (retail at €899) that utilised a pair of the 6N6P and a pair of 6N1P tubes to output at maximum 350mW, which was quite a significant figure in the headphones world,…to accomodate most mid to high sensitivity headphones.

Through the Echo Mk.2 powering the Sennheiser 800, I found the vocal of Ms.Miki Imai to sound organic (human), fluid and with details of nuances in her expression of emotions,…
but not as much the usual tube assosiated sounding such as plushy and fleshy.
As for the main instrument, I found the piano to be presented with dimensions (instead of flat), delineation and layers of air around it. Even each piano note played by Mr.Satoru Shionoya, was strengthened with palpability, density and weight.

Here I found the good resolution…
…of the Echo Mk.2 as evidenced by Ms.LiSA‘s rendition of the track ‘Gurenga‘ from the hit anime, ‘Demon Slayers‘ with…
multiple layers and differentiation in emotions.
I could hear her nuances in tempo, volume, breathing and voiceation, all to express the aboves that were poured into the lyric.
Not to mention that even the accompanied piano was played and presented with similar differentiations of…
intensity, power and tempo to flow with the vocalist’s.

Interestingly, at the…
“right volume“
…with the Echo Mk.2, it could rightly powered the Sennheiser HD800 to present the Kit Drum with energy, power and at the right tempo. I could…
not detect any over-hang or sluggishness or loss of steam…
throughout the aggressive passage at the track, ‘Claustrophobia‘ by Antonio Sanchez. Each hit at the Kit Drum was clearly distinct, articulated and separated.
I noticed that the Echo Mk.2 has the sound quality of a solid state amplifier,…some may argued that such was…
…the sound quality of modern tube electronics.

The enveloping sensation…
of an orchestra around my head throughout the track, ‘Wonder Woman’s Wrath‘ was a testament of the Echo Mk.2’s (enough) OTL tube power. In addition, at the “right volume“, I could easily enjoy the…
distinctiveness of instrument(s)…
…even at complicated passage with bombarbment of bass/ low frequencies.

Headphoning Satisfied.
After having heard the Echo Mk.3 powering the Sennheiser HD800, I found myself able to enjoy with satisfaction what headphoning was all about, (without the acoustical hazards of room boundaries),…with the details, resolutions, emotions and sensations that…
…rivaled even the High End Audio System!

TECHNICAL SPECIFICATION
- Impedance: 100 k ohm
- Frequency response: 15 Hz – 45 Khz +/- 3 dB
- Power output: 350mW
- Amplification level: 20dB
- THD: 0.4 % (300 ohm, 20 mW)
- Optimal headphones impedance: 80 – 600 ohm
- Headphones output: Jack 6.3mm