Electrocompaniet ECI-1 integrated amplifier Alvin Gold

One of the more interesting market trends in the last year or two has been the revitalization of the single-box high-end component. High-end standards have traditionally been set by 'component' pre and power amplifiers, and by separate CD transports and DACs, rather than their integrated counterparts. Recently, however, this has shown signs of changing. Krell perhaps exemplifies this with its 300 series CD player (reviewed last month) and integrated amplifier (reviewed in September 1997), both of which achieve standards previously only attainable from its separate components -and not always then. Of course this new breed of super integrated amplifiers and CD players commands suitably exotic pricing, but they still cost considerably less than you would expect for separate components of comparable performance.

Focusing attention on amplifiers, there is now a handful of integrated models whose sound quality stands comparison with virtually anything you can buy, yet which retain the power capability and load tolerance to be used with a wide range of loudspeakers at virtually any reasonable volume level. One, of course, is the Krell KAV-300i; others are the AVI S2000MI and the recently introduced Musical Fidelity A1001 (to be reviewed soon). The Electrocompaniet ECI- , which in common with the other two is priced above £2,000, is a third.

Readers with long memories may remember the original 25 watt Electrocompaniet power amplifier, introduced in 1972. It created quite a stir with its multiple parallel connected output stage, its sweet, open sound and high resolving power, but it will be remembered mostly for its legendarily fragile output stage which was wont to self-destruct on a whim. A fractured reputation for reliability was enough to eclipse Electrocompaniet's star, and was exacerbated by an ill-advised transfer from Norway to Scotland in 1978 and other problems which conspired to ensure the company only resurfaced in the UK in 1995.

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The new-generation ECI-1 is part of the range that rescued the company from obscurity here, other members being a smaller integrated model, the ECI-2, some pre and power amplifiers, and a phono step-up, the ECP-1, which can be used with any of the Electro amplifiers. Big, heavy and visually imposing, the ECI-1 offers essentially the same circuit and power output as the EC-4 preamplifier and AW 100DMB 100 watt power amplifier combination, minus the balanced input and pre/power interface and some other minor features, at a considerable saving in cost.

Power output has not been sacrificed in the transition. The ECI-1 is also rated at 100 watts per channel into 8 ohms and 180 watts into 4 ohms (both for 0.2% THD), current being supplied by two 650VA toroidals. It is these mains transformers which account for much of the amplifier's 18kg weight and an unfeasibly high peak current yield of the order of 80 amps, enough to cope with 0.5ohm loads according to the maker and limited only by heatsink dissipation. This is an amplifier that can be used with confidence with virtually any loudspeaker, however difficult a load it may present.

Features have been kept to an absolute minimum. There is a rotary selector switch for the five line-level inputs and single tape circuit, a balance control, a volume control and an on/off switch — that's it. There is no internal phono stage, no tape monitor loop, no headphones socket, and of course no tone controls or filters. Perhaps more significantly, there is no provision for remote control and there are a couple of minor ergonomic shortcomings, namely a blue mains/volume level indicator LED, integrated into the volume control, which is invisible if it is viewed from more than a degree or so off-axis, and no centre detent on the balance control.

Build quality is very good. There were some reports of poorly finished Electro components in the distant past, but the review sample was as clean as a whistle. The steel wrap-around case is solid and nonresonant, and well endowed with slots for convection cooling; the front panel is an impressive exercise in purposeful minimalism. Its fascia takes the form of a thick slab of black-backed acrylic relieved by an enormous banner display of the maker's name, with the fittings and controls all machined from solid brass. The back panel adds a preamplifier output to the basic roll call of facilities. Electrocompaniet power amplifiers have matched input sensitivities which allow reliable bi-amplification, in which two power amplifiers driven by a single preamplifier are connected separately to the bass unit and tweeter section of the loudspeaker. The amplifier is otherwise very straightforward, with solid but not especially exotic looking loudspeaker terminal posts (WBT types which conform to the EC regulations and won't accept 4mm plugs) and gold-plated phono input and output sockets. Warmup is fairly rapid and the amplifier runs quietly, with no trace of buzzing transformer laminations or other nasties.

The EC1-1 conforms to the circuit topology now established throughout the Electro range. Indeed it set the pattern, having now been in production for about five years. Electrocompaniet's designer, Per Abrahamsen, is not a fan of high levels of loop feedback to reduce distortion because of transient-related side effects that are now widely recognized, although omitting feedback altogether is no solution either. So the EdI-1 employs local feedback around individual circuit blocks (the input stage, however, is feedback free), the configuration chosen being calculated, according to Electrocompaniet, to reduce phase related distortions and to expand stability margins. TID — transient intermodulation distortion — was originally identified by Matti Otala when working as a consultant to Electrocompaniet many years ago, and this and related distortions like SID (slewing induced distortion) remain the focus of Electrocompaniet's design efforts to this day. The circuit topology chosen is also intended to a achieve a low output impedance across the audible frequency band.

A technically innovative feature concerns the design of the power supply, which despite the use of massive transformer capacity avoids the use of commensurately massive 'beer-can' reservoir capacitors on the grounds that they are "intrinsically slow". The aim is to employ fast regulators and comparatively small, fast-responding electrolytics ( I 0,000uF maximum), which are run in a multiple, parallel-connected configuration to produce the requisite 60,000uF overall capacity.

Performance

So the EdI-1 looks the business, as they say, and in many ways it sounds the business too. But it is simply not going to suit all tastes, even among the constituency of those with deep enough pockets. The executive summary is that this amplifier is about quality rather than quantity, and this is not just the usual excuse of the kind often made for some valve amplifiers ("great sound, but can't punch its way out of a wet paper bag" etc.). This is, after all, a transistor amplifier: there is no shortage of wherewithal under its skin, and both the weight and price tag suggest it should be something of a powerhouse. Indeed the specifications are impressive enough on paper, but there were times when I was unable to wring quite enough volume out of the Electro. I admit that at this juncture I was pushing the system rather too enthusiastically for my next door neighbour's comfort, but these comments are based on use with more than ordinarily sensitive loudspeakers — Tannoy Precision P30s (reviewed by John Borwick last month), specified at 91dB for 2-83 volts at 1 metre.

The problem here is not any lack of 'grunt' from the well endowed power amplifier stage — far from it — but a volume control whose maximum gain setting is rather too limited. This shortfall is exacerbated by source components (cassette decks and tuners, for example) which deliver rather lower than average output levels: the EdI-1 needs 300mV input for full output, whereas many designs are more typically set at around the 100mV mark. [IEC standard 268 Pt 15 specifies 0.5V as the rated source aim, with 0.2V minimum.]

This, along with the difficulty of knowing whether the amplifier was switched on thanks to the indicator LED visibility shortcoming, was the limit of the problems encountered during a long and productive test period, which enabled the EdI-1 to be tested to within an inch of its life on a wide range of loudspeakers from Tannoy (models from the Definition range as well as the Precision P30), Definitive Technology (BP2002 and BP6), the Mirage 0M6, Rogers LS5/9 and others. The Electro established its even-handed suitability for each of these designs and generally managed to make the most of their individual capabilities, though it may not be possible to drive relatively low sensitivity loudspeakers such as the Mirage as hard as some would wish in larger rooms.

The ECI-1 offers a combination of qualities unusual in this class of amplifier: the speed and definition of a fine low-power design with the authority and 'slam' of a really big amplifier. It is this blend of authority and finesse that makes it special and which allows it to work as effectively with full-bore orchestral and rock material as it does with subtle acoustic material recorded in naturally ambient surroundings.

Even at moderate volume settings the EdI- I was able to sustain a remarkable sense of energy and forward momentum. Its taut, muscular, yet revealing quality turned Out to be just what the doctor ordered for some of my older pop discs, for example. On classical material the new Yo-Yo Ma Bach Cello Suites (Sony CD S2K63203, 2/98) was reproduced with a sense of bound-up energy in an open, expansive yet characterful acoustic space, while a recently acquired recording of Klezmer music (Klezmer 2 Live at the Fiddler's House / Itzhak Perlman etc. on EMI Classics CD CDC5 56209-2) had a wonderful vitality, making the most of the exuberance tinged with pathos that is the hallmark of this Jewish Gypsy music.

Above all, the ECI-1 impressed with its solidity and stability. Orchestral organ entries were managed with tremendous force, but without any suggestion of the higher reaches of the orchestra being modulated by the low frequency content, even at high volume levels. Similarly, percussion sounded pungent, even raw, but without the granularity endemic in some solid-state amplifiers. The sheer dependability of the Electro's sound, its ability to confine surprises to those inspired by the music rather than its own limitations, helped enhance an already strong sense of transparency.

There are not too many amplifiers with which the ECI-1 can be directly compared, other than the previously mentioned Krell and Musical Fidelity. The former is in some ways more polished, while the latter is quite different in character, being rather sweeter and considerably more powerful still — more of a velvet glove around a mailed fist, with perhaps a little less of the architectural solidity and refinement that distinguishes the senior integrated Electrocompaniet from virtually all of its peers. There are some valve amplifiers which belong in the same quality area, notably the conrad-johnson CAV-50, although at 45 watts per channel and with rather more load sensitivity, this model is somewhat more restricted in its applications.

The bottom line is that I am convinced the ECI-1 is one of the great integrated amplifiers of the day, a heavyweight in the best sense of the word. For the Mark II version (remember the original has been in production five years now) I'd like to see increased input sensitivity, a tape monitor facility and remote control, if only of the volume — please (i)