Electrocompaniet ECI5 just blew and exhaled some smoke.

[afterworks]

So I bought home a Rega RP6 to demo.

Turned up the amp then pop and some smelly smoke.

Gutted.

Spoke to the epair agent on thei site for the UK, thinks its the output stage and about £250 to fix.

Luckily I still have my home cinema set up to keep playing with the Rega. But my Dynadio set up, in my mixing room where the amp is used is out of action for while.

I've had it 3 years so probably well out of warranty. I know it's a boutique amp but just wondering if anyonr has dealt with them or somthing similar in the past?

Thanks

Ben

 

[Covenanter]

Does the amp have a Phono input?

Chris

 

[Gazzip]

Gutted for you fella. A real pit of the stomach moment I am sure.

I was thinking about the number of hifi failures I have suffered from just the other evening and it is quite a number. Boutique stuff, I guess, doesn't go through the extensive product testing that a mass produced item might before it went in to manufacture?

I have had Bryston, Audio Research, Cyrus (A lot of Cyrus!), Chord Electronics, Mission and Rega all fail on me at different times for different reasons. Never had a problem with any Onkyo, Sony, Pioneer or Marantz that I have owned.

Not really sure what point I am making.

 

[afterworks]

No, but I used a Rega one to run the RP6 through, which is unning without a hitch through my home cinema set up.

 

[afterworks]

Absolutely pit in the stomach moment. The smell is the worst, it's just lingerng around to make sure I know it's dead.

Real shame, as my home cinema amp isn't a patch on the ECI5 when it comes to driving the floorstanders.

I can't drive my Dynaudio's either which is a *****, I wanted to test the RP6 through them too.

My home cinema has Monitor Audio BX6's for the stereo pair, which obviously are step or 2 down from the Focus 110's.

I have to say though, whilst the BX6's are not top end speakers, they're quite impressive. I tried some Silver 6's during the Rega in house demo today, and honestly didn't think they where as good. Maybe it's the room's making a difference.

 

[Electro]

Hi Ben ,

Sorry to hear of your problem , it is very unusual for an electrocompaniet amp to fail especially after only three years !

Electrocompaniet amps are not boutique at all they are proper professional pieces of equipment that are used by many recording professionals the most famous being Bruce Swedien , my old AW120 power amp even has speakon speaker cable output sockets . *smile*

My old EC4.7 pre amp AW 120 power amp were left on continuously for over 13 years and used daily and were still pefect when I stopped using them when I upgraded to my current amps .

Is your ECI5 a mk1 or mk2 version ? The mk1 was discontinued in 2010 when the mk2 replaced it .

What other equipment were you using at time of failure also were there any strange noises or distorted music before the failure ?

I presume you must have used a separate phono stage for the Rega rp6 , what input on the ECI5 was this plugged into ?

Sorry for all the questions , I am trying to work out what may have caused the failure .

The staff at NSS the Electro service centre are very helpful and competent and will be able to repair your amp but what worries me is what caused the failure , I would hate for you to have it repaired and then have the same happen again !

http://www.nsslimited.co.uk/

 

[Electro]

Absolutely pit in the stomach moment. The smell is the worst, it's just lingerng around to make sure I know it's dead.

Real shame, as my home cinema amp isn't a patch on the ECI5 when it comes to driving the floorstanders.

I can't drive my Dynaudio's either which is a *****, I wanted to test the RP6 through them too.

My home cinema has Monitor Audio BX6's for the stereo pair, which obviously are step or 2 down from the Focus 110's.

I have to say though, whilst the BX6's are not top end speakers, they're quite impressive. I tried some Silver 6's during the Rega in house demo today, and honestly didn't think they where as good. Maybe it's the room's making a difference.

I know how you feel , a few months ago my Linn Lingo power supply suddenly went pop and bang and filled the room in seconds with the worst smelling smoke that stung my eyes and made me choke , I thought it was going to catch fire and I made a mad launch for the wall plug to disconnect it from the mains .

It turned out to be a complete failure of the mains filter that is built into the IEC mains socket , it cost me £150 to have it replaced and fully serviced .

 

[Covenanter]

So you used a Rega phono stage. What is its output (Volts) and how did you match that to your amp's input?

Chris

 

[afterworks]

Hey Electro, nice to speak to you again.

Sorry, I know their not boutique in the sense you mean. I just meant they're not as common as Naim etc.

I used a Rega phono stage for the RP6 and I think I went into the tape input. I've since dissassembled it so I could be wrong.

Which is the correct one incase it was me that caused it!

It's possble, I'm extremely jet lagged.

I've already called NSS and spoke to a very nice chap there, so I'll get it sorted.

I'm eager to get it fixed and know what caused it too, it's been my pride and joy along with the Dynaudio's. It sounds beutiful and I can't imagine anything else I'd want to be at my front end. Suits my tastes no end, and has helped me mix numerous albums.

I got it for £1500 instead of the £3000 retail price thanks to CNO finding me a good deal, so I can't moan too much.

 

[CnoEvil]

I hope you get sorted soon, my friend...and am delighted that you still get pleasure from your system.

 

[afterworks]

I'll get it fixed, thats for sure. It's been a brilliant purchase, and i can't stress enough how well suited it is for me. I've heard Naims etc, and they're too much for me. There was a lower end Rega in the chain today (not a fair comparison I know) for the RP6 demo which wasn't bad, but I've yet to hear anything that comes close to the weightiness of the Electro, physical and listening experience!

Heard some nice Mcintosh stuff, which is maybe a more clean sound, but even those, I found to a little to clean.

As someone that deals very clean and honest kinds of sounds with my job, either live or in the studio, I really do want my Hifi to have a bit character.

 

[iQ Speakers]

Would you like to borrow Abrahamsen V20UP while its being repaired?

 

[SteveR750]

Would you like to borrow Abrahamsen V20UP while its being repaired?

You might not get it back!

Ben, sorry to hear of your problem, I guess I have been lucky I've never had anything fail, though most of the time I've owned mainstream stuff from NAD and Roksan; the former in particular was indestructible despite beer / clipping / short circuiting attempts. I hope it's not a Scandinavian thing!

 

[Al ears]

Would you like to borrow Abrahamsen V20UP while its being repaired?

You might not get it back!

Ben, sorry to hear of your problem, I guess I have been lucky I've never had anything fail, though most of the time I've owned mainstream stuff from NAD and Roksan; the former in particular was indestructible despite beer / clipping / short circuiting attempts. I hope it's not a Scandinavian thing!

Might just put him off the Abrahamsen offer then... 🙂