Audia Flight: History & Technology

Thirty years of Italian amplifiers built to add nothing of their own, and to take full control of the speaker.

A Thirty-Year Idea, Built in Italy

Founded 1996 in Civitavecchia, Italy by engineers Massimiliano Marzi and Andrea Nardini, after two years of research (1994 to 1996). Their first amplifier, the Flight 100, shipped in 1997. 2026 is the company's 30th anniversary.

Audia Flight has spent thirty years on a single idea: an amplifier should pass the music through untouched and add nothing of its own.

The company was founded in 1996 in Civitavecchia, the old port city about 70 kilometers up the coast from Rome, by two engineers, Massimiliano Marzi and Andrea Nardini. They had a topology in mind from the start, current feedback, and they had it working on paper well before anything shipped.

What took the time was the listening. The circuit measured the way they wanted, but the first time they sat down with it, it sounded a little clinical. So they went part by part, swapping a capacitor, listening, swapping a resistor, listening, asking one question each time: did that make the music better? That back and forth ran from 1994 until the first amplifier, the Flight 100, shipped in 1997.

Thirty years later the method has not changed, and neither has the premise. Everything is still hand-built in Italy, with as many parts as possible sourced in Italy, and most of the range, all of the flagship Strumento, is built to order. 2026 is the company's thirtieth anniversary.

Marzi and Nardini still run the engineering, with Henry Shelton as creative director on the design side. The way they describe the company is as a piece of Italian culture rather than a factory: art and handicraft, the art in the emotion the sound carries and the handicraft in building a beautiful object by hand. They call the sound the soul of the product. It is a romantic way to describe a power amplifier, and then you hear one and it makes sense.

The original name was Audia, but we wanted to add a second word. A friend of ours suggested "Flight" simply because the company, just born, needed to fly.
- Massimiliano Marzi, co-founder, in Hi-Fi News

Do No Harm, Then Control the Speaker

The design goal is an amplifier with no sound of its own that takes absolute control of whatever speaker you connect. Three technologies get them there: current feedback, serious power supplies, and constant-impedance volume control.

Marzi and Nardini are engineers, and they are the first to say they did not invent any of the technology in an Audia Flight amplifier. What they did was pick the harder, better version of each choice and make it work together. The goal is an amplifier you do not hear. What you hear instead is the speaker, fully controlled, in the room you put it in.

Three decisions carry that goal, and they are the spine of everything below. First, current feedback, the amplifier topology almost nobody uses because it is difficult. Second, power supplies far larger than the specification sheet requires, because current feedback will not work without them. Third, a volume control that holds a constant impedance so nothing is lost as you turn it down. Take them one at a time.

Massimiliano Marzi, Co-founder, Audia Flight (SoundStage! Australia factory tour)

Here at Audia Flight we like using very big transformers and massive power supplies. Much bigger than needed. Our amplifiers provide high current, high dynamic headroom when required.

Massimiliano MarziCo-founder, Audia Flight (SoundStage! Australia factory tour)

Current Feedback

Everything starts here. Audia Flight built the entire range around current feedback, the amplifier topology almost nobody uses, because of how it handles the fast, transient edge of music. What follows is what that choice buys, and what it costs.

What Current-Feedback Amplification Is

Feedback means sending part of the output back through the amplifier to correct itself. Voltage feedback (used by roughly 99% of amps) is cheap and measures very low distortion. Current feedback is rarer, harder, and better at the fast, transient part of music.

Every Audia Flight model uses current feedback, from the Strumento monoblocks down to the entry Flight Three S.

What Current-Feedback Amplification Is

Every modelCurrent feedback, down to the entry Flight Three S

Almost every amplifier ever made uses voltage feedback. It is well understood, cheap to build, and can sound excellent. Audia Flight went the other way and built the entire range around current feedback, a harder and more expensive topology.

Nearly every amplifier uses feedback: it takes a portion of the output signal, inverts it, and runs it back through the circuit to cancel errors. Done well, feedback lowers distortion, smooths the frequency response, and gives the amplifier a firm grip on the speaker. The question is which kind.

The common answer, in about 99 percent of amplifiers, is voltage feedback. It is easy, cost-effective, and measures extremely low harmonic distortion. Its weakness is high-speed transients, the sharp leading edge of a note, where it can hesitate or add a little phase shift that smears the image. Audia Flight uses current feedback instead. It is far less common because it leans hard on the power supply and costs more to build, but it does not stumble on transients and it holds lower phase shift, so timing and imaging stay intact. They use it across the entire range, down to the entry Flight Three S.

The gain stage itself is a proprietary Audia Flight design: an entirely Class A current-feedback circuit fed by four independent stabilized supplies per channel, two for the input and two for the output. The whole stage is sealed inside an aluminum box and encapsulated in epoxy resin, so it runs isolated from vibration and from its own power supply. It is the same core circuit in a Flight Three S and a Strumento monoblock; what changes up the range is how far the supply and the parts around it are taken.

Our new approach would allow for both higher speed responses (risetime and bandwidth) and better load control, and thus produce a more accurate signal.
- Massimiliano Marzi, in Hi-Fi News

Why Transients Are the Whole Point

Total harmonic distortion (THD) is usually inaudible until around 1%. What you hear is transient intermodulation distortion (TIM), the smearing of fast attacks. Clean transients place instruments precisely in space, which matters most in dense music.

A transient is the initial burst of a cymbal, a drum hit, the leading edge of a voice. Reproduce it cleanly and the sound lands in a specific place in the room.

Why Transients Are the Whole Point

0.3 Hz - 1 MHzFlagship Strumento bandwidth

The distortion you actually hear is not the harmonic distortion on the spec sheet. It is transient intermodulation distortion, and it is exactly what current feedback is built to avoid.

When people quote a distortion figure they usually mean THD, total harmonic distortion, which most amplifiers hold at 0.01 to 0.1 percent. You do not actually hear harmonic distortion until it reaches roughly one percent. The distortion you hear is TIM, transient intermodulation distortion, the smearing of the sharp attack at the front of a sound. That is the problem current feedback is built to avoid.

A transient is the initial burst: a cymbal crash, a drum strike, the leading edge of a voice. Reproduce it cleanly and two things happen. You hear what the instrument actually is, an upright piano rather than a grand, one violin rather than another. And you hear where it is. Transients place a sound in space, in front of or behind, left or right of the speakers. That separation is what holds a dense mix together, so you can still pick the first violins on the left and the timpani at the back of a full orchestra. The bandwidth helps: the flagship Strumento is rated from 0.3 Hz to beyond 1 MHz, and every line runs far past the audible range, so gain never squeezes that performance.

The Trade-offs They Accepted

Current feedback costs more and demands a far better power supply, which is why roughly 99% of makers use voltage feedback instead. Audia Flight thinks the transient performance is worth it, and they are not the first to agree; Accuphase and older Marantz designs used it too.

The Trade-offs They Accepted

Current feedback is not free. It carries slightly higher inherent noise and it is very sensitive to the quality of the power supply. That sensitivity is the reason most companies never go near it.

None of this is magic and Audia Flight does not pretend it is. Current feedback brings slightly higher inherent noise and, more importantly, it is very sensitive to power-supply quality. Feed it an ordinary supply and the advantage disappears. That is the whole reason most manufacturers choose voltage feedback: it is easier, cheaper, and forgiving.

There is a simple analogy for it. Getting more from an engine, you can turbocharge it or supercharge it. Turbocharging is easier and cheaper and nearly as effective, which is voltage feedback. Supercharging is harder to do but better, which is current feedback. Audia Flight decided the transient performance was worth the extra difficulty and cost, and then built the power supply to match. They are in good company: Accuphase and, years ago, some Marantz designs used current feedback too. What Audia Flight added was the discipline to do it across an entire range and to voice every model by ear.

Fully Balanced, Dual-Mono

Audia Flight runs a fully balanced signal path and, in the FLS and Strumento preamps and integrateds, a dual-mono layout: each channel on its own board with its own supplies. Signal-path parts are gold-plated, with ultra-pure copper bars for ground and power in the output stages.

In the top lines each channel is built on its own board with its own supplies, a true dual-mono layout inside one chassis.

Fully Balanced, Dual-Mono

One board / channelTrue dual-mono construction

The signal path is balanced from input to output, and in the preamps and integrated amps each channel is built as its own mono unit.

Balanced circuitry runs the signal as a matched pair from input to output, so noise picked up along the way cancels itself. Audia Flight builds it that way through the range, and in the FLS and Strumento preamps and integrated amps they go further, assembling each channel on its own board as a self-contained mono unit inside one case. The left channel never shares a supply rail or a ground path with the right.

The attention carries down to the metal in between. Signal-path hardware, the bars and spacers, is gold-plated, and the output stages use ultra-pure copper bars for ground and power. None of this shows on a spec sheet. It shows in the silence between the notes.

Power Supplies

Current feedback only works on a power supply that never flinches, so Audia Flight over-builds here, far past what the specification sheet asks for. This is where the speaker control and the 2-ohm ratings come from.

Why Current Feedback Demands Serious Power

A good power supply lowers the noise floor, improves signal integrity, holds steady into difficult speaker loads, and runs cooler for longer life. Because current feedback is so supply-sensitive, Audia Flight over-builds here, and rates many amps down to 2 ohms.

A better power supply lowers the noise floor, holds difficult loads, and runs cooler. Audia Flight rates many models down to 2 ohms because of it.

Why Current Feedback Demands Serious Power

2 ohmsFLS and Strumento are rated into 2-ohm loads

Current feedback only works on a rock-solid supply. That constraint turned into a signature: Audia Flight power supplies are far larger than the numbers require.

Current feedback needs a supply that does not flinch, whatever the wall gives it and whatever the speaker demands. That is a hard constraint, and Audia Flight turned it into a habit of over-building. The general benefits of a serious supply are not exotic: a lower background noise floor, better signal integrity, the ability to hold a steady grip when the load gets difficult, and less heat, which means longer life.

You can see the result on the spec sheets. Where many makers rate an amplifier into 8 and 4 ohms and stop, Audia Flight measures FLS and Strumento models down to 2 ohms, because the supply can actually deliver there. Good amplifiers tend to start with good power supplies. Audia Flight starts there and keeps going.

Inside the Strumento Power Supply

The Strumento monoblock runs a custom 3000VA output transformer, double-boxed and epoxy-filled to kill resonance and mounted on a decoupled base. Separate stabilized supplies feed the input and current-feedback stages, with a dedicated transformer for the logic. Storage is roughly 200,000 microfarads per monoblock.

In the Strumento, the output transformer sits in a double box, epoxy-filled and decoupled from the chassis so its vibration never reaches the audio circuit.

Inside the Strumento Power Supply

~200,000 uFStorage capacitance in a single Strumento monoblock

The flagship shows what the philosophy looks like in metal: a custom 3000VA output transformer, separate stabilized supplies for each stage, and roughly 200,000 microfarads of storage per monoblock.

The Strumento monoblock is the clearest example. Its output stage is fed by a custom 3000VA transformer that sits inside two nested ferromagnetic shields so power-supply noise never reaches the electronics, and the whole assembly is filled with epoxy to kill resonance. It rides on a decoupled section of the chassis so vibration has its own path to ground and never joins the audio.

That is not even the whole supply. There are separate, stabilized supplies for the input stages and the current-feedback stages, with a dedicated transformer for the logic and control circuits, so no one supply is asked to run everything at once. Then there is the storage: roughly 200,000 microfarads in a single monoblock, banked on either side, ready to deliver the instant a transient asks for it. That reserve is exactly what lets a monoblock hit 500 watts into 8 ohms, 1000 into 4, and 2000 into 2.

In the power amp we have an exclusive system to reduce any vibrations caused by the transformers. They're on an independent chassis that's decoupled from the audio circuit PCB, and thus any physical noise has a separate route to ground.
- Massimiliano Marzi, in Hi-Fi News

Total Control of the Speaker

Damping factor is how firmly the amplifier starts and stops the driver. Higher is tighter bass and cleaner transients. Strumento is rated above 1000, the FLS4 and FLS10 above 650, the FLS9 above 500, the FLS8 monoblock above 200, all a direct result of the oversized supplies.

Damping factor is the amplifier's grip on the driver. Audia Flight rates the Strumento above 1000.

Total Control of the Speaker

> 1000Damping factor, Strumento into 8 ohms

Audia Flight's whole goal is to control the speaker rather than color it. Damping factor is the number that measures that grip, and theirs is unusually high.

An amplifier does not just push a driver out; it has to stop it and pull it back, exactly on time. Damping factor is the measure of that control, the ratio of the load to the amplifier's own output impedance. A low number lets the cone overshoot and ring, which smears bass and blurs the leading edge. A high number holds the driver on a short leash.

This is where the oversized power supplies pay off in a single figure. The Strumento is rated with a damping factor above 1000. The FLS4 stereo amp and FLS10 integrated sit above 650, the FLS9 above 500, and the FLS8 monoblock above 200. In practice that is why an Audia Flight amplifier can take a hard-to-drive speaker, one with a wild impedance curve, and simply run it, the same reason the amps are rated down to 2 ohms in the first place.

No Fuse in the Signal's Path

A fuse is effectively a small resistor in the current path and can degrade the sound. On the Strumento and FLS power amplifiers there is no fuse in the output-stage supply. Instead a microprocessor reads current sensors and protects the amplifier without sitting in the signal's way.

On the larger amplifiers there is no fuse in the output-stage supply. A microprocessor watching current sensors does the protecting.

No Fuse in the Signal's Path

Zero fusesIn the output-stage supply of the larger amps

A fuse is a resistor sitting in the power path, and it can be heard. On the bigger Audia Flight amplifiers there is no fuse in the output-stage supply at all.

Protection has to come from somewhere, and the usual answer is a fuse. The problem is that a fuse is a small resistor placed directly in the current path, and in a design this obsessive about the power supply, that resistance is audible. So Audia Flight took it out.

On the Strumento and the FLS power amplifiers there is no fuse in the supply feeding the output stage. In its place a microprocessor watches dedicated current sensors and steps in only if something is genuinely wrong. The amplifier is fully protected, but nothing is left sitting in the path the music takes. It is a small, expensive decision that tells you how the company thinks.

Edgar Kramer, 6moons, on the Strumento No.1 and No.4

Among the most refined, tonally sophisticated, nuanced and texture-rich solid state amplifiers I've ever had the pleasure of auditioning. Built to spectacular standards on par with the very best.
Edgar Kramer6moons, on the Strumento No.1 and No.4

Volume Control

The volume control is the most overlooked part of a preamplifier, and one of the few places Audia Flight refused to cut a corner. Here is why it matters and how theirs works.

Why a Standard Volume Control Costs You Detail

A normal wiper-style volume pot changes its output impedance as you turn it. Turn it down and you can lose detail and add hiss. In high-end gear that matters more than it sounds like it should.

Why a Standard Volume Control Costs You Detail

In about 95 percent of gear, the volume control is a wiper on a resistive strip. Its output impedance changes depending on where you set it, and that costs you sound.

The volume control is easy to overlook, and most of the industry does. In roughly 95 percent of electronics it is a wiper riding on a strip of resistive material. The problem is that its output impedance changes with position. Turn the volume down and that impedance climbs, and as it does you can lose fine detail and pick up a little hiss. The sound goes slightly dull at low levels, exactly where you often listen.

It does not seem like it should matter much. It does. A good volume control is one of the quiet differences between competent gear and gear that lets a sound emerge from a truly black background, and it is one of the places Audia Flight refused to cut a corner.

The Constant-Impedance Relay Ladder

Instead of a wiper, Audia Flight switches a ladder of discrete metallic-film resistors with reed relays, so output impedance stays constant at every volume step. The custom attenuator spans 127 dB in 0.5 dB steps with a 3 Hz to 1 MHz bandwidth. No lost detail, no added hiss, and a black background. Entry Flight uses a high-grade Alps Blue pot; FLS and Strumento use in-house designs; Signature is quieter still.

Turn the volume on a Strumento and you hear it click. That is the relay ladder switching resistors to hold a constant output impedance at every step.

The Constant-Impedance Relay Ladder

127 dB / 0.5 dBGain range in fine steps, 3 Hz to 1 MHz, slew above 250 V/us

Audia Flight uses a relay and resistor ladder that holds the same output impedance at every step. That is the source of the inky-black background people describe.

Instead of a wiper, Audia Flight switches a ladder of fixed resistors with relays. Each step keeps the output impedance identical, which is why the detail does not fade and the hiss never arrives. Turn the volume on a Strumento preamp and you hear the relays click through their steps. That constant impedance is what people are describing when they talk about sounds emerging from a completely black stage, and you do not get it from an ordinary control.

On the Strumento the attenuator is a custom Audia Flight design built from discrete low-noise metallic-film resistors and high-frequency reed relays. It gives a gain range of 127 dB in precise 0.5 dB steps, holds a 3 Hz to 1 MHz bandwidth, and keeps slew rate above 250 volts per microsecond across the entire range. A traditional potentiometer changes impedance with position and drags frequency response and slew rate along with it. This one does not move at all.

The implementation climbs with the line. The entry Flight uses a high-quality bought-in potentiometer, the Alps Blue, as a deliberate cost decision. FLS and Strumento use Audia Flight's own constant-impedance designs. And on the Strumento Signature the volume control was redesigned again to run quieter still, with its own better resistors. Same principle throughout, executed a little further at each tier.

Build & Voicing

Where the engineering meets the hand work: how an Audia Flight is machined, isolated from vibration, tuned by ear, and taken further still in the Signature.

From Cast Aluminum to CNC Billet

The same technologies run through every line; the chassis quality steps up as you climb. Flight is cast aluminum, FLS is machined aluminum, Strumento is CNC-machined billet. Every line is available in silver or black.

Build climbs with the line: cast aluminum on Flight, machined aluminum on FLS, CNC billet on Strumento. Silver or black across the range.

From Cast Aluminum to CNC Billet

Cast to billetBuild climbs with the line

The engineering carries down the whole range, but the metal it is built into climbs. Cast aluminum on the entry Flight, machined aluminum on FLS, CNC billet on Strumento.

The current feedback, the power supplies, and the volume control run through every line. What changes as you move up is the metal they live in. The entry Flight uses a cast-aluminum chassis, a real cost decision that keeps the price down without touching the circuit. FLS steps up to machined aluminum. Strumento is machined from CNC billet, which is part of why the flagship looks and feels the way it does.

On the Strumento the process is closer to jewelry than manufacturing. Each part begins as a high-grade aluminum casting, goes through CNC finishing, and is then hand-polished to a mirror finish, shot-peened, and anodized before the silk-screening and the front plaque go on. The push buttons on the No.4 and No.8 are made by hand in the factory. It is the kind of work that only shows when you stand in front of one.

Finish is your choice. Silver or black is available across the range, including the Signature; the case is the same either way, with a Signature badge to mark it. The Listening Room typically stocks silver, and anything can be ordered in black.

Engineered Against Vibration

Vibration control runs through the mechanical design: the Strumento transformers sit on an independent, decoupled base that routes their vibration to ground rather than into the audio chassis; the FLS series adds spherical shock-absorber feet with NBR pads; and the FLS20 disc drive is built to eliminate its own vibration.

The Strumento base sends transformer vibration to ground on its own path, away from the audio circuit.

Engineered Against Vibration

Its own path to groundTransformer vibration kept off the audio circuit

Vibration is just another way to color the sound, so Audia Flight engineers it out at every level, from the transformer mounts to the feet.

A transformer hums, a chassis rings, a disc spins, and every one of those is a small mechanical signal that can find its way into the audio. Audia Flight treats vibration as something to design against rather than ignore. In the Strumento the transformers ride on an independent base that is physically decoupled from the audio circuit, so their vibration discharges straight to ground and never joins the signal.

The idea repeats down the range in the parts you touch. The FLS series stands on a new foot built around spherical shock absorbers, with composite pads and NBR rubber spheres to control what comes up from the rack. Even the FLS20 SACD player's disc drive was designed from scratch to virtually eliminate its own vibration. It is the same instinct as the epoxy-filled transformer boxes: give unwanted energy somewhere to go that is not the music.

Engineered on Paper, Voiced by Ear

Every product is voiced by ear, not just measured. Marzi and Nardini listen and swap components until it sounds musical rather than merely flat, chasing emotion over a perfect graph. It is the same method that kept the first amplifier in development until 1997.

Engineered on Paper, Voiced by Ear

Audia Flight designs on paper and knows what a circuit will do. Then they sit down and listen, and change parts until the music is right. That is the step most of the industry skips.

A circuit can measure perfectly flat and still sound sterile, and Audia Flight will tell you so. So after the engineering is done they do the part most companies skip: they sit down and listen, and they change components until the music is right. It is slow, subjective work, and it is why the first amplifier stayed in development until it shipped in 1997.

It is deliberate, and it is the reason two engineers describe their own amplifiers in terms of emotion rather than numbers. The goal was never a flat line on a graph. It was a component that gets out of the way of the music, so what reaches you is the recording and the room, not the electronics.

We are not only looking for a good instrument to reproduce music; we try to convey emotion to the audience that will make a listener cry. When we work on new products, we spend a long time listening, trying different components and different brands.
- Massimiliano Marzi and Andrea Nardini

The Signature Approach

The Strumento Signature is the standard Strumento, refined. Same design, stepped-up components: higher-grade capacitors and resistors, even larger storage, and a volume control redesigned to run quieter, every choice made by listening. That is why it costs more, and why the step up is audible.

The Strumento Signature is the standard Strumento refined: higher-grade capacitors and resistors and a quieter volume control, every part chosen by ear.

The Signature Approach

Same model, refinedNot a new design, better parts chosen by ear

For the 30th anniversary, Audia Flight did to the Strumento what they did to their first amplifier in 1994: kept the design and improved it part by part, by listening.

For the thirtieth anniversary, Audia Flight asked the question that started the company: what can we do to make this sound better? The answer was the Strumento Signature, and it was built the way the Flight 100 was. It is not a new design. It is the Strumento, refined part by part, each change kept only if it made the music better.

That refinement lives in the components. The Signature preamp runs twenty ultra-fast Mundorf capacitors of 1500 microfarads each, wrapped in vibration-damping material, with Dale resistors and reed relays through the signal path. Storage grows again, the volume control is redesigned to run quieter, and every part is wrapped and shielded against its neighbors. None of it is chosen from a spec sheet. Every part is chosen for what it does to the sound. That is why the Signature costs more: not a redesign, but a great deal of better parts, each one earned by ear.

The first question we asked ourselves was: where can we make changes to a sound that already seemed practically perfect? Only by refining every single aspect can we achieve truly superior overall performance.
- Audia Flight, on the Strumento Signature

Sources & Digital

The players and the optional boards are held to the same standard as the amplifiers, built around flagship converters and the same balanced, current-feedback output thinking.

Inside the DAC and Streaming Boards

The FLS20 SACD player uses two ESS Sabre ES9038PRO converters in mono mode with an ultra-low-noise Crystek clock and a fully balanced Class A current-feedback output. The FLS DAC board runs an ESS9028PRO with five inputs and DSD512 over USB; the CD Three S uses an ES9026PRO with seven filters, one a modernized version of the legendary original Flight CD1 filter.

The digital sources and optional boards are built to the same standard as the amplifiers, around ESS Sabre converters.

Inside the DAC and Streaming Boards

32-bit / DSDESS Sabre conversion, up to DSD512 on USB

The players and the optional digital boards are not an afterthought. They run flagship ESS Sabre converters and the same balanced, current-feedback output philosophy.

Audia Flight buys in the streaming platform, sensibly, but the conversion and the analog output are theirs. The FLS20 top-loading SACD player runs two ESS Sabre ES9038PRO converters, one per channel in mono mode, clocked by an ultra-low-noise Crystek part, into a fully balanced Class A current-feedback output stage, the same output thinking as the amplifiers. The disc mechanism was designed to kill its own vibration.

The optional boards carry it into the amplifiers. The FLS DAC board uses an ESS9028PRO with five galvanically isolated inputs, seven PCM filters and two for DSD, and plays up to 32-bit/384kHz and DSD512 over USB. The FL CD Three S runs an ES9026PRO and offers seven digital filters, one of them a modernized version of the legendary filter from the original Flight CD1. Streaming boards add Roon, Tidal and Spotify Connect through the Mconnect platform. You can start with an amplifier and add exactly the digital you need, later, from the inside.

Awards & Recognition

STEREOPHILE

Recommended Component, Class A

FLS10 Integrated

2026 STEREOSOUND JAPAN

Grand Prix

FLS1 & FLS4

2017 STEREOSOUND JAPAN

Grand Prix

FL Three S

2016

STEREOPHILE

Recommended Component, Class A

FLS10 Integrated

2026 STEREOSOUND JAPAN

Grand Prix

FLS1 & FLS4

2017 STEREOSOUND JAPAN

Grand Prix

FL Three S

2016

Rogier van Bakel, Stereophile, on the FLS10 (Recommended Components, Class A)

It doesn't just play music, it unlocks it.

Rogier van BakelStereophile, on the FLS10 (Recommended Components, Class A)

Flight vs FLS vs Strumento

Feature	Flight	FLS	Strumento
Position	Entry into current feedback	Mid line, trickle-down from the flagship	Cost-no-object flagship
Chassis	Cast aluminum	Machined aluminum	CNC billet
What it covers	Integrated amp + CD player	Integrateds, separates, sources	Separates only (pre + power)
Rated loads	8 and 4 ohms	Down to 2 ohms	Down to 2 ohms
Volume control	Alps Blue potentiometer	Audia Flight in-house	Audia Flight in-house (Signature: quieter)
Fitting boards	Top off, ribbon cable	Slide-in, easy	Slide-in (rarely used at this level)
Feedback topology	Current feedback	Current feedback	Current feedback

The Audia Flight Lineup

Three lines, one engineering philosophy. Flight is the entry into current-feedback amplification. FLS is the trickle-down from the flagship at a more reachable price, and the widest line, with integrateds, separates and sources. Strumento is the cost-no-object flagship, separates only. Everything below is live at The Listening Room. Prices are shown per piece.

Strumento

Flagship, cost-no-object | CNC billet | Separates only | Current feedback into 2 ohms

Strumento at a Glance

Model	Type	Notes	Price (each)
Strumento no.1 evo	Preamplifier	Fully analog, in-house relay-ladder volume, modular	From $29,999
Strumento no.4 mk2	Stereo Power Amp	Monoblock voicing in a single chassis	From $34,999
Strumento no.8	Mono Power Amp	500W/8Ω, 1000W/4Ω, 2000W/2Ω	From $39,999

Flagship

Audia Flight Strumento no.1 evo PreAmplifier

The flagship preamplifier. Fully analog, with Audia Flight's own constant-impedance relay-ladder volume control and optional modular phono or DAC boards.

$29,999.00

Flagship

Audia Flight Strumento no.4 mk2 Stereo Power Amplifier

Stereo power amplifier voiced to the same standard as the monoblocks, in a single chassis, with the full Strumento power supply behind it.

$34,999.00

Flagship

Audia Flight Strumento no.8 Mono Power Amplifier

Mono power amplifier. 500 watts into 8 ohms, doubling to 1000 into 4 and 2000 into 2, with roughly 200,000 uF of storage per chassis. Total control of any speaker you own.

$39,999.00

FLS

Trickle-down from Strumento | Machined aluminum | Integrateds, separates and sources | Rated to 2 ohms

FLS at a Glance

Model	Type	Notes	Price
FLS 1	Preamplifier	Fully balanced, headphone stage, optional phono/DAC boards	From $9,999
FLS 4	Stereo Power Amp	Rated to 2 ohms	$11,999
FLS 8	Mono Power Amp	Monoblock for the most demanding speakers	$11,999
FLS 9	Integrated Amp	Fully balanced integrated, modular boards	From $8,999
FLS 10	Integrated Amp	More power and storage than the FLS 9	From $14,999
FLS20	SACD Player	Plays SACD and CD, optional streaming board	$21,999
FL Phono	Phono Stage	Standalone phono preamp, separate power supply	$6,999

Integrated

Audia Flight FLS 9 Fully Balanced Stereo Integrated Amplifier

Fully balanced integrated amplifier, the entry point to the FLS line. Current feedback, rated to 2 ohms, with optional DAC and phono boards.

$8,999.00

Integrated

Audia Flight FLS 10 Fully Balanced Stereo Integrated Amplifier

The larger FLS integrated: bigger power supply and more storage than the FLS 9, for a one-box system that still drives difficult speakers.

$14,999.00

Preamp

Audia Flight FLS 1 Fully Balanced Stereo Preamplifier/Headphone Amplifier

Fully balanced preamplifier with a built-in headphone stage and Audia Flight's in-house volume control. Add phono or DAC boards to taste.

$9,999.00

Power

Audia Flight FLS 4 Stereo Power Amplifier

Stereo power amplifier rated down to 2 ohms. Trickle-down Strumento engineering for a two-channel or bi-amp setup.

$11,999.00

Power

Audia Flight FLS 8 Monoblock Amplifier

Mono power amplifier, run as a pair for the most demanding loads. The FLS route to monoblock separation and grip.

$11,999.00

Source

Audia Flight FLS20 SACD Player

SACD and CD player with an optional streaming board, so one source covers discs and files.

$21,999.00

Source

Audia Flight FL Phono

Standalone phono stage with its own separate power supply, kept well away from noise. For a vinyl front end that deserves it.

$6,999.00

Flight

The entry into current feedback | Cast aluminum | Integrated + CD | 8 and 4 ohms

Flight at a Glance

Model	Type	Notes	Price
Flight Three S	Integrated Amp	100W/8Ω, 160W/4Ω, optional USB DAC + phono boards	From $4,499
CD Three S	CD Player	Matching CD player, optional digital input board	From $4,999

Entry

Audia Flight Three S Integrated Amplifier

The entry Audia Flight integrated: 100 watts into 8 ohms, 160 into 4, and the same current-feedback design as the flagship. Order it with the USB DAC or phono board fitted from the start.

$4,499.00

Entry

Audia Flight CD Three S CD Player

The matching CD player for the Flight Three S, with an optional digital input board so its DAC can serve other sources too.

$4,999.00

Add-On Boards

Modular DAC, phono and input-expansion boards for the Flight and FLS lines

FLS Board

Audia Flight FLS DAC Board

Modular DAC board for the FLS preamp and integrateds.

$2,499

FLS Board

Audia Flight FLS MM/MC Phono Board

MM/MC phono board for the FLS preamp and integrateds.

$1,499

FLS Board

Audia Flight FLS Audio Expansion Board - Balanced (XLR)

Adds balanced XLR inputs to an FLS component.

$699

FLS Board

Audia Flight FLS Audio Expansion Board - Single Ended (RCA)

Adds single-ended RCA inputs to an FLS component.

$699

Flight Board

Audia Flight - Flight DAC Board

USB DAC board for the Flight Three S integrated.

$749

Flight Board

Audia Flight - Flight Three S Add-On Phono Board

MM/MC phono board for the Flight Three S integrated.

$599

Flight Board

Audia Flight - Digital Input Board for Flight CD Three S

Adds a digital input to the Flight CD Three S so its onboard DAC can serve other sources.

$549

Modular by Design, Built to Order

Most components are modular: order DAC, phono, or input-expansion boards and fit them. Easy slide-in on FLS and Strumento; the entry Flight needs the top off and a ribbon cable, so spec it up front. Most of the line, all Strumento, is built to order. Silver or black throughout.

Most Audia Flight components are modular. If you want an internal phono stage or a DAC, you order the board and it goes in. On the FLS and Strumento, fitting a board is genuinely simple: a couple of Phillips screws, slide the board in, done. On the entry Flight the boards are a little more involved, the top comes off and a ribbon cable connects inside, so it is worth deciding up front if you want the USB DAC or phono board fitted from the start.

Because so much of the line is built to order, especially Strumento, you can spec a piece the way you want it: empty, fully loaded, or empty now with boards added later. Finishes are silver or black across the range, your choice, including the Signature.

SoundStage! Ultra, on the Audia Flight FLS10 integrated

Audia Flight's FLS10 is a terrific integrated amplifier. It could be an endgame amplifier solution for many audiophiles.
SoundStage! Ultraon the Audia Flight FLS10 integrated

Why Buy Audia Flight from The Listening Room

The Listening Room is the dealer: three generations in high-end audio, a personal relationship with Audia Flight's co-founder Massimiliano Marzi, and honest system matching. Personal delivery and setup on the flagship Strumento; careful packing and setup help on FLS and Flight.

Audia Flight is not a line you buy off a shelf. Most of it is built to order, and the choices matter: which line, which boards, silver or black, whether the FLS is the right stop or the Strumento is worth the reach. That is the kind of decision I like to talk through before you spend the money, and I have been doing exactly that through three generations of this family business.

It helps that I know the people behind the brand. I have spent time with Massimiliano Marzi, Audia Flight's co-founder, at shows over the years, and I have visited the factory in Italy myself. Buying from The Listening Room means dealing with a dealer who knows the line, knows the man who designs it, and stands behind every piece.

System matching is most of the value here. An Audia Flight amplifier is built to take control of a speaker, so the real question is what you are driving with it and what you want out of it. Tell me your speakers, your room, and the rest of your system, and I will tell you honestly where the sweet spot is, even if it points you to the less expensive piece.

For the flagship Strumento, I handle delivery and setup personally. For the FLS and Flight pieces, everything ships carefully packed, with me on the phone through setup if you want it. Either way you are dealing with the owner, not a call center.

Contact me and we will find the right Audia Flight for your system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is current-feedback amplification, and why does Audia Flight use it?

It is the type of feedback inside the amplifier. Almost all amplifiers use voltage feedback, which is cheap and measures very low distortion but struggles with high-speed transients, the sharp attack of a cymbal or a drum hit. Current feedback handles those transients cleanly, with lower phase shift, so timing and imaging hold together even in dense music. It is harder and more expensive to build because it leans hard on the power supply, which is why most companies skip it. Audia Flight uses it across the entire range, down to the entry Flight Three S.

What is the difference between the Flight, FLS, and Strumento lines?

Same three technologies, three levels of execution. Flight is the entry: an integrated amp and a matching CD player in a cast-aluminum chassis, rated at 8 and 4 ohms. FLS is the mid line and the widest, with integrateds, separates and sources, trickle-down engineering from the flagship, and ratings down to 2 ohms. Strumento is the cost-no-object flagship, separates only, in a CNC-billet chassis with the largest power supplies. If you are not sure which line fits your speakers and room, reach out through the contact page.

How is the Strumento Signature different from the standard Strumento?

It is the standard Strumento, refined for the thirtieth anniversary. The design carries over; what changes is the components. Audia Flight voiced it by ear, part by part, stepping up to higher-grade capacitors and resistors, even larger storage, and a volume control redesigned to run quieter. It is a step up in sound, and in price, for a listener who wants the design taken as far as it goes. It comes in silver or black, like the rest of the range.

What is the damping factor of Audia Flight amplifiers?

Damping factor is how firmly the amplifier grips and controls the speaker driver, and Audia Flight's is unusually high because of the oversized power supplies. The Strumento is rated above 1000 into 8 ohms. The FLS4 stereo amp and FLS10 integrated sit above 650, the FLS9 above 500, and the FLS8 monoblock above 200. That control is the same reason the amplifiers are rated down to 2-ohm loads.

Why does the volume knob click?

That is the constant-impedance volume control working. Instead of a wiper sliding along a resistive strip, Audia Flight uses a ladder of relays and fixed resistors. Each click switches in a precise resistor so the output impedance stays the same at every setting. A standard wiper pot changes impedance as you turn it down, which costs detail and can add hiss at low volume. The relay ladder keeps the background dead-silent and the detail intact from a whisper to full volume.

Can I add a DAC or phono stage inside an Audia Flight component?

Yes. Most of the range is modular. On the FLS and Strumento, boards slide in with a couple of screws. On the entry Flight the top has to come off and a ribbon cable connects inside, so it is best to order the Flight with the USB DAC or phono board fitted from the start. You can also order a piece empty now and add boards later.

Where is Audia Flight made?

In Civitavecchia, Italy, the port city about 70 kilometers up the coast from Rome. Everything is built by hand, with as many parts as possible sourced in Italy, and most of the range, all of the Strumento line, is built to order.

Is Audia Flight a good match for hard-to-drive speakers?

That is one of its strengths. The power supplies are built to hold steady into difficult loads, so many models are rated down to 2 ohms, and the flagship Strumento no.8 monoblock doubles its output as the load drops: 500 watts into 8 ohms, 1000 into 4, 2000 into 2. The whole design is built to keep a demanding speaker completely under control. The entry Flight Three S is the exception, rated at 8 and 4 ohms, not 2. Tell Mike what you are driving and he will tell you which piece has the grip you need.

Is Audia Flight worth it, and who is it for?

Audia Flight is for the listener who wants an amplifier to disappear and let the speaker and the room do the talking. The whole range is current feedback, over-built power supplies, and constant-impedance volume, voiced by ear rather than just measured, and most of it is hand-built to order in Italy. If you own a demanding speaker with a difficult impedance load, the 2-ohm ratings and high damping factor are the practical payoff. Reviewers have called the FLS10 an endgame amplifier, and Stereophile lists it as a Class A recommended component. If you want a neutral, high-control amplifier you can keep for a long time, it earns the money.

How reliable is Audia Flight, and how is it supported?

The engineering favors longevity. The larger amplifiers run no fuse in the output-stage supply, using microprocessor-monitored current sensors instead, and the oversized power supplies run cooler, which lengthens component life. Everything is hand-built in Italy and, for most of the range, built to order. The Listening Room handles the manufacturer warranty and support directly, so if anything ever needs attention you deal with Mike, not a call center.

Is Audia Flight available in silver or black?

Both, across the whole range, including the Strumento Signature. The chassis is the same either way. The Listening Room typically stocks silver, and any model can be ordered in black. Because most of the range, and all Strumento, is built to order, finish is simply part of the order.

Explore the Audia Flight Range

Built by hand in Italy since 1996.

Browse the Audia Flight Collection