Fezz is owned by a company named Toroidy that makes nothing but transformers. Since [the transformers are made] in house they can match the transformers exactly as needed for a specific design. Most companies have transformers come from outside suppliers and they do their best to pick the right one, or it might be made to spec, but it’s not as good as having it made in house. So their toroidal output transformers and their toroidal power transformers are one of the standout features of Fezz electronics.

The knob feel is really good. The chassis is a really well-crafted all-metal chassis, the details of the chassis are super-nice for an amplifier of this price. That price is less than I would have thought so that is a huge plus.

The sound was not that of a tubey amplifier; not super warm, not flabby, it’s high end was extended, it is a very clear sounding amplifier. The bass definition and clarity was extraordinary. It sounds really good and 35 wpc goes really far when you have a high sensitivity speaker. I was playing it darn hard and shaking up the room and having a really good time with the Fezz.

Then I played a Randy Newman LP, a big production, him on piano with strings and brass. I closed my eyes and I felt like I could see Randy Newman, I could feel his hands on the piano. I just felt so connected to the music that I’m thinking – damn that’s what this is really all about – feeling that closeness to a recording and I’m there, I’m there. Usually something that produced gets in the way of the connection to the music but that’s what I was getting from this recording.

You just hear more into the harmonics of the piano, every hammer hitting the string is an event, you hear all the sound coming off the piano floating in free space – it was absolutely extraordinary. This is the kind of stuff that tubes do better than solid state. It just released the music in that way it doesn’t feel stuck to the speakers; it just occupies the room – that’s a beautiful thing. Then I played this electronic music, pop, with a lot going on, a dense recording with a lot of deep bass. I felt like the amp and speaker were making love to each other, it was that kind of experience.

So Steve, What do you really think? 

The very first thing is it has that ideal balance between tube goodness; the warmth, the body, the soul, and yet at the same does it does pretty well in terms of clarity and detail and resolution. It’s right in the sweet spot and that’s a rare talent to be able to do that. It’s exactly where I’d want it if I was buying a tube amp. Then you throw in the fact that it is made in Poland, and the price is less than I would have guessed, so it’s definitely a value.

Steve Guttenberg, The Audiophiliac, July 2023