To sum up all of the above, what should be really emphasized is that the new LUNA sports many interesting and, above all, clever design solutions. To add to all of those, I’d like to mention that the delayed anode voltage switching has also been implemented. This allows the cathode in the tubes to reach its optimal emission temperature before high anode voltage appears. Such approach is not only very beneficial for the overall well-being and thus life-span of the tubes, but also ensures a much more stable start-up of the amplifier. The use of anti-vibration feet is also quite important, as they prevent the microphonic effect. In summary, LUNA is truly a world-class amplifier design, with several really well-thought-out solutions.
FEZZ Luna – sound
Please allow me to begin the description of the sound of the new Luna by mentioning a rather interesting correlation that often appears somewhat out of the blue in the world of audio. Whenever I receive a certain gear for a review that stands out with its a particular technology, I am often asked (usually by my friends) how much of that technology can be heard in the sound of that particular gear. This most often applies to tube amplifiers, where at some point someone will inevitably ask: “How much tubey is the sound?”.
However, tube amplifiers are not alone in this respect, as this can also be said of the recently popular digital-to-analogue converters based on various implementations of R2R architecture. Here, in turn, one often expects a sound that is somehow reminiscent of those TDA1541 or PCM63P ICs, or generally a sound that has “flow” and is organic in general. Why do I mention this? When people see a specific technical or circuit solution, they expect certain characteristics in the sound. Not only the positive ones, but they are also somehow biased to hear the appearance of those that are slightly less desirable. Obviously, there are quite a few tube amplifiers on the market that, strictly sonically speaking, clearly lean towards that typical (or rather stereotypical) tube sound. The new Luna is not such an amplifier. It is an amplifier that goes beyond most of those stereotypes that circulate around.
Of course, we will get to how much “tube in a tube” question just a bit later, but for now let me refer to something else. It’s worth asking one important question: whether this (or any other, be it solid-state Class A or whatever) particular amplification technology should strictly imply a specific sound aesthetic, or whether it should actually serve more to convey music as in its essence? I am bringing this up, since I must admit that I listened to the new Luna for a really long time, over a month in fact, and I find it difficult to resist the interesting impression that this amplifier is primarily playing and conveying music as it is. This is really important, since it somewhat pushes the “technological” considerations I mentioned earlier into the background.
Sure, you can hear that we are dealing with vaccum-state amplification here, but the effect is actually quite subtle, especially in triode mode (we will come to that later). The Luna does not colour the sound in a classic, stereotypical tube way. And certainly not as much as one would expect from an amplifier operating in push-pull mode, in class AB and with EL34 tubes. The first conclusion that can be drawn from longer listening sessions with a truly diverse repertoire is that the FEZZ Luna sounds, above all, extremely clean, subtle and undisturbed.
However, before we get down to specifics, allow to point out just two things. The description of the sound will refer to an amplifier playing on Electro-Harmonix tubes, in triode mode. As far as the tubes are concerned, that is the amplifier I received. As for the operating mode itself, of the two available, the triode mode sounds better (and I am assuming here that better means: “closer to the wire with gain”) overall, and that should come as no surprise to anyone. At the same time, the difference in power between the two modes (which is actually twice, ie. 20W in triode and 40W in UL mode) is not as significant in practice as it might seem. Or to put it another way: I will venture to make the bold claim that triode mode should be the default here, and UL mode should be an interesting addition, but still just that – an addition.
I started listening to Luna with electronic repertuire, namely the album “Inks” by AES Dana. It has that combination of synthetic, low bass impulses and a textured tonality. Already on the title track, the Luna showed that it do not only bass control, but it is also capable of generating a very evocative, close and tangible soundstage. At the same time, it was neither the soundstage nor the bass, but the ability to perfectly combine micro and macro dynamics that was most surprising on this particular album. Luna is exceptionally good at rendering that sonic plankton, all that micro-information that sometimes is lost, even with some tube amps. It is so good, in fact, that I reached for the “Celestial Echo” trach from the album “Convergence” by Malia and Boris Blank. Malia’s vocals in this were phenomenally rendered and placed in an airy space, considering the price of this amplifier.
The point here is that Luna has one feature that is rarely found in this price range. Please also consider this a very important advantage of this amplifier and a possible hint for anyone interested in this amplifier. On good recordings (especially those where the vocals were recorded with care), the new FEZZ amplifier does not add that extra haze that sometimes appears in some tube designs in this price range. Yes, you can hear that you are dealing with a tube, but you also get a very strong sense of directness in the sound.