Available color options are black and gray. (There's also an F35 version housed in a larger chassis, primarily for US customers, that was presented at last year's Capital AudioFest.) These integrated amps display an aesthetic that melds classic tube-and-transformer with more modern style and conveniences, such as touch-sensor buttons on the front panel, a headphone jack right off the output transformer, and an included tube-biasing tool that's easier to use than the typical tiny screwdriver. Both amps were created around Jim Fosgate's Odyssey dual-phase V drive circuit, a fully balanced differential push-pull design. The F11 ($1499) delivers 18.3Wpc and uses new-reissue 7189 output tubes, said to allow more voltage to be applied for more sonic sparkle, weight, and punch. The F22 ($1699) uses EL34s for output and 12AX7s for the preamp stage and features a Hafler hybrid design on the output transformers that's been tweaked to enable these amps to drive relatively lower-efficiency speakers, such as the 87dB Vienna Acoustics Beethoven Concert Grands seen and heard in this demo room.
The system also included an F360 tube preamplifier/controller with controls for EQ, soundstage tweaking, and other fine-tuning, plus outputs for a surround system. Digital sources were a Glass FX DAC DSD WiFi DAC and a Fusion DAC Transport ($2499), a dual-mono design with fully balanced DAC and CD transport.
