Hardware Reviews

Fell Audio Amp: a tough new kid on the budget scene

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier review https://the-ear.net

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier

New audio companies appear all the time. Every time Munich rolls around, we’re usually treated to one or two newcomers aiming to take on the established order with a product that is usually enormous, wildly ambitious and extremely expensive. The product you see here is rather different though. Fell Audio is a brand new company but it has arrived at the entry level of the market with products that – at first glance at least – show a commendable appreciation of reality.

This should not be less of a surprise when you learn that the party responsible is Peter Tyson; longstanding hi-fi retailer and not an organisation given over to flights of fancy. The Fell Amp, together with its matching Disc CD player and upcoming Stream network streamer gives them a trio of devices they can sell without having to compete with other retailers while they do so. The products themselves are the result of a careful appraisal of what this corner of the market needs but not to the exclusion of what enthuses the people involved. Of no less significance is that the units are built in the UK which is very unusual indeed at the price.

The Fell Amp is built around a Class D power amp module. This module is from ST Microelectronics and it produces 49 watts into 8 Ohms which rises to 79 watts into 4.  Fell has partnered it with a toroidal transformer based power supply, so not switched mode, and there is a healthy quotient of smoothing caps in there too. A variety of topologies and different hardware were tested but this is the configuration that Fell has settled on. This power is made available to a single set of reasonably sturdy speaker terminals.

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier review https://the-ear.net

The connectivity that this amp offers is a combination of trad and modern and reflective of what owners seem to regard as useful for affordable integrated amps. In traditional terms, there are three analogue inputs, all on an RCA connectors, and a moving magnet phono stage (which Fell has labelled ‘Vinyl’, seemingly in the pursuit of winding up men of a certain age on the internet). There is then a small digital board that offers up an optical and coaxial input with support from a Bluetooth module based on a v5.0 platform. Decoding is via an ESS 9018K2M DAC equipped with its own power supply arrangements for best performance. A full fat headphone socket and separate pre and subwoofer outputs complete the connections.

It’s possible to argue that Apt-X, USB audio or even an HDMI ARC input would have been a nice addition, but these connections allow for the Amp to connect with the Disc and Stream over RCA, handle your turntable and still have inputs left over for a TV and another digital source. Something that the Fell can also do that isn’t always the case on amps that cost a great deal more than this is select all of these inputs directly via the front panel (the remote has to cycle through the inputs) which is a nice touch.

In fact, the only feature I truly haven’t got on with while testing the Fell Amp is the volume control. This uses a rotary encoder and it’s pleasingly linear in its application but it mutes each time the amp is switched back on. This is theoretically a useful safety feature but something that has happened, more than once, is that I’ve started the amp, got a source playing, not had any sound, changed the input, remembered there is no volume at start-up, raised the volume before returning to the correct source and it being a bit on the loud side. I am increasingly old and generally confused so it might be an issue specific to me but I’m not wildly keen on it.

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier review https://the-ear.net

By contrast, I am quite fond of how the Fell Amp looks and I think that the company has played a bit of a blinder with the styling. It manages to subconsciously remind you of a few differing devices from the past but does this without being overtly retro. Nothing is actually ‘old’, it simply has cues that remind you of devices that have gone before. It does this while not being so different to other contemporary electronics that it won’t sit happily with them either. It does look absolutely fantastic in partnership with the matching Fell Disc though, an example of which was supplied with the amp for testing and, if purchased at the same time as the amp, drops the price to £1,000 for the pair.

I selected a pair of Q Acoustics 5020 standmount speakers to partner the Fell Amp as they are price comparative, simple to drive and usefully revealing. As well as the Fell Disc, a Bluesound Node Nano was connected to both an RCA input and the coax on the digital board to act as a comparative source. I then employed a Rega Planar 3 RS as a vinyl source.

Sound quality

It didn’t take a huge amount of listening to determine that the Fell displays a character that is in keeping with what many will associate with the ‘British’ sound. This is a tonally dark sounding amplifier that, without actively rolling off the top end at any stage, draws your attention to the lower registers in such a way as to make you perceive that the Fell has more low end shove than is actually case. The effortlessly retro Out on the Town by DeWolff is delivered with the potent percussion and bass work front and centre. I suspect that in a comparative listening with other affordable amps, you could find yourself thinking that the Fell has better bass than its rivals. This might not actually be the case in reality but the perception is certainly helpful.

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier review https://the-ear.net

The clever bit about this is that it is achieved without actually rolling the top end off in any way. Listening to the charmingly bizarre Ness by Hayden Thorpe shows the Fell to be able to handle his striking falsetto and the dense instrumentals that underpin it with no loss of detail or energy. There have been moments where the Fell has reminded me more than anything else of previous generation Naim amps; and I do mean that as a complement. Really lean on the Amp and it does harden up a little and lose some of its composure but the levels involved will be fairly antisocial.

Something that is decidedly impressive is that this performance holds up very consistently across the analogue and digital boards. Some comparisons with the Node Nano (at £300 not exactly a high end digital source but a well implemented one) suggests that the digital board of the Fell is roughly equivalent to the one that the Node Nano possesses (and has virtually the same DAC) and doesn’t alter that dark tonal balance. Transparent Eyeball by Leila Moss is a brooding, potent and thoroughly engaging listen and the Amp captures the intensity of the material without being overcome by the limitations in the recording.

The phono stage also puts in a more than decent showing. It is a little down on gain compared to the other inputs, so if you are using extremely insensitive speakers, you may find absolute volume an issue but the performance on offer here is pretty good for a relatively affordable amp. A spirited run through Decksanddrumsandrockandroll by The Propellorheads has low noise levels and enough of the deeply funky time signatures present in what you hear to be entirely convincing. A relatively affordable external phono stage like an iFi Zen Phono 3 will still outperform it but you won’t need to rush to add one to your system. The headphone amp by contrast can only really be content with delivering a performance that is good enough for late night work but not as good as the unit in the venerable Rega Brio at similar money. The Rega lacks the digital inputs of the Fell and it remains to be seen if its much anticipated successor can hold a similar price point.

Fell Audio Amp integrated amplifier review https://the-ear.net

Conclusion

It’s this matrix of price, features and performance that makes the Fell Amp a very impressive new arrival. It has very clearly been the result of studying what the competition is up to and triangulating the best response to them, but the care and enthusiasm with which this has been done and the strength in depth that the Fell Amp demonstrates as a result is something I’ve been very taken by. New arrivals in the industry are always a good thing and when their output is as good as this, they are very welcome indeed.

Specifications:

Type: Integrated stereo amplifier & DAC
Analogue inputs: 3x RCA, phono
Phono input: moving magnet
Digital inputs: coaxial, optical
Analogue outputs: pre-out RCA, sub-out RCA
Bluetooth: v5.0
Headphone output: 6.35mm/¼ inch
Speaker outputs: 5-way binding posts
Power Output: 49W into 8 ohms; 79W into 4 ohms
Dimensions (HxWxD): 75 x 440 x 300mm
Weight: 6kg
Finishes: black
Warranty: 5 years

Price when tested:
£599
Manufacturer Details:

Fell Audio
fellaudio.co.uk

Type:

integrated amplifier with DAC

Author:

Ed Selley

Distributor Details:

Peter Tyson
T 01228 546756
petertyson.co.uk

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