Fell Audio Fell Amp

Ambitious, keenly priced and well-featured – but does it sound good?

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Fell Audio is backed by British retailer Peter Tyson and currently makes just two products, the Fell Disc CD player (£499, see p20) and the integrated amplifier on test here. At the time of writing, the Fell Stream music streamer is shown on the company's website but is not available to buy.

All are pitched at the affordable end of the market, which is relatively sparse in terms of quality products. It seems that Fell Audio has identified a genuine gap in the market. On paper, the Fell Amp should be a winner. It is as though Fell, no doubt with insights offered by its retailer parent, has come up with the ideal template for the ultimate affordable stereo amplifier, and ticked just about every box.

Unlike most of its competitors, this amplifier is made in Britain and, where possible, uses locally sourced parts and materials. Fell’s products used to be UK retailer Peter Tyson exclusives, but are now available on Amazon UK as well.

It’s always good to have plenty of power, and the Fell Amp duly obliges. Its Class D modules deliver a claimed power output of 89 watts per channel into an 8-ohm load, supported by a relatively chunky 170VA mains transformer. Most of the class-leading alternatives at this level tend to produce around 40-60 watts per channel, so the Fell seems to have a solid advantage here.

There is a moving-magnet phono stage to accommodate the steady growth of interest in playing records and a Bluetooth 5.0 input for those who prefer to use a smartphone, computer or tablet as their source. In addition, the Fell Amp includes a trio of standard analogue RCA line-level inputs, optical and coaxial digital ins and, on the front panel, a 6.3mm headphone output. That's a pretty comprehensive set of features, all told.