Question for Cno and other electro fans

[plastic penguin]

I've probably asked this before but.... (not thinking about amp change for quite some time)

What will the Electrocompaniet EC1-3 give me that the Leema won't?

 

[CnoEvil]

Well, I feel compelled to reply to any thread with my name in it, even if what I say is complete lobbox.

I am not very familiar with the Pulse, so what I am going to say is complete conjecture... but if you want to hear my opinion, it would be as follows:

On first firing up the Electro, your first thought might be, "I'm missing a little excitement". On further listening, as you throw a greater variety of music at it, you might start to notice a rightness / purity of tone, an emotional connection with the music and a refinement that is missing in the Pulse....and all this without sacrificing any detail, maybe even adding to it.

On further listening, you then might start to notice the effect on the speakers of the greater current available from the ECI-3, which is exerting more control and possibly tightening the bass.

At first the effect is subtle, and you might be thinking "what's all the fuss about". You then change the amps back, where you find the Pulse a little uncouth and "try hard", and you start missing the easy, powerful and innate musicality of the Electro, which just sounds "right".

Now I could be totally wrong, but either way, I feel the Electro is an amp you need to bring home and live with for at least a long weekend to fully appreciate its talents. The switch back to the Pulse will then tell the story ie. If it's good to put it back, or whether you miss the more organic presentation of the ECI-3.

Hopefully, the man himself will be along to add further insight.

 

[plastic penguin]

Cheers, Cno. The reason why I chose you, in addition to your recommendations over the years, is you've heard the Pulse but I haven't heard the Electro to make any reasonable comparison - and the closest dealer is a 30 mile round trip and according to another poster, his dem room acoustics are pants.

In short, you're saying that the Electro won't immediately impress - a bit of slow burner.

 

[BenLaw]

My god, a 30 mile round trip.

 

[stevebrock]

My god, a 30 mile round trip.

shocking innit

 

[CnoEvil]

Cheers, Cno. The reason why I chose you, in addition to your recommendations over the years, is you've heard the Pulse but I haven't heard the Electro to make any reasonable comparison - and the closest dealer is a 30 mile round trip and according to another poster, his dem room acoustics are pants.

In short, you're saying that the Electro won't immediately impress - a bit of slow burner.

I haven't heard the Pulse long enough to give a proper comparison.

I was trying to put myself in your shoes, where you have got very used to a certain type of presentation....which often means allowing a little adjustment time.

Some people take to the adjustment (like the guy today who went from Active ATCs, to liking the sound of Valves +SF); and some people crave what they've become used to.......it's not always easy to tell how it will go.

 

[plastic penguin]

My god, a 30 mile round trip.

It is when you're talking about London. they're somewhere near Hammersmith. It can take an hour just to do a mile. In itself that ain't a problem, the issue ls defined by the dealer's room acoustics, so I've been told on here is rubbish. A wasted couple of hours IMO.

 

[plastic penguin]

Cheers, Cno. The reason why I chose you, in addition to your recommendations over the years, is you've heard the Pulse but I haven't heard the Electro to make any reasonable comparison - and the closest dealer is a 30 mile round trip and according to another poster, his dem room acoustics are pants.

In short, you're saying that the Electro won't immediately impress - a bit of slow burner.

I haven't heard the Pulse long enough to give a proper comparison.

I was trying to put myself in your shoes, where you have got very used to a certain type of presentation....which often means allowing a little adjustment time.

Some people take to the adjustment (like the guy today who went from Active ATCs, to liking the sound of Valves +SF); and some people crave what they've become used to.......it's not always easy to tell how it will go.

Okay, the Electro retails around the 2k mark. In your opinion, is the uplift in SQ worth £600-£700?

 

[stevebrock]

Cheers, Cno. The reason why I chose you, in addition to your recommendations over the years, is you've heard the Pulse but I haven't heard the Electro to make any reasonable comparison - and the closest dealer is a 30 mile round trip and according to another poster, his dem room acoustics are pants.

In short, you're saying that the Electro won't immediately impress - a bit of slow burner.

I haven't heard the Pulse long enough to give a proper comparison.

I was trying to put myself in your shoes, where you have got very used to a certain type of presentation....which often means allowing a little adjustment time.

Some people take to the adjustment (like the guy today who went from Active ATCs, to liking the sound of Valves +SF); and some people crave what they've become used to.......it's not always easy to tell how it will go.

Okay, the Electro retails around the 2k mark. In your opinion, is the uplift in SQ worth £600-£700?

PP it doesnt quite work like that more £ doesn't mean better SQ

I am going to shock you but I have had second thoughts re: Totem Arro - i have been listening to my RS3 over the weekend then put the Arro back on and guess what........ I think i prefer the RS3 now - The Arro are packed up ready to go back. The Arro are JUST different to the RS3 and i prefer the boxes from Southend! Shocking i know but real

 

[floyd droid]

The Arro are JUST different to the RS3 and i prefer the boxes from Southend! Shocking i know but real

Dont forget to change your sig Stevie baby.

 

[matt49]

The Arro are JUST different to the RS3

Steve, can you say how they differ?

 

[stevebrock]

Skinnier, slightly taller than the RS3, and to be honest wasn't entirely happy with the stability - yes you can buy these special claw type thingies from Totem for £300 which increase the footprint - very similar to Regas footprint.

Dont get me wrong they sound very nice with lovely tight bass, but think the Rega's held together the treble & midrange better, found the midrange more defined on the Rega. Yes i am going against convention, but again in 'my' system in 'my' room I preferred the Rega.

They were ex demo from my 'local' friendly dealer, i paid £700 for them on the condition that I could get a refund if I didnt' like them.

 

[matt49]

Thanks, Steve, interesting. It's good to get a lock on how these speakers compare.

 

[plastic penguin]

Skinnier, slightly taller than the RS3, and to be honest wasn't entirely happy with the stability - yes you can buy these special claw type thingies from Totem for £300 which increase the footprint - very similar to Regas footprint.

Dont get me wrong they sound very nice with lovely tight bass, but think the Rega's held together the treble & midrange better, found the midrange more defined on the Rega. Yes i am going against convention, but again in 'my' system in 'my' room I preferred the Rega.

They were ex demo from my 'local' friendly dealer, i paid £700 for them on the condition that I could get a refund if I didnt' like them.

That's why I'm so reluctant to change the RS6s. Not perfect but they do little wrong IMO.

 

[Electro]

Well, I feel compelled to reply to any thread with my name in it, even if what I say is complete lobbox.

I am not very familiar with the Pulse, so what I am going to say is complete conjecture... but if you want to hear my opinion, it would be as follows:

On first firing up the Electro, your first thought might be, "I'm missing a little excitement". On further listening, as you throw a greater variety of music at it, you might start to notice a rightness / purity of tone, an emotional connection with the music and a refinement that is missing in the Pulse....and all this without sacrificing any detail, maybe even adding to it.

On further listening, you then might start to notice the effect on the speakers of the greater current available from the ECI-3, which is exerting more control and possibly tightening the bass.

At first the effect is subtle, and you might be thinking "what's all the fuss about". You then change the amps back, where you find the Pulse a little uncouth and "try hard", and you start missing the easy, powerful and innate musicality of the Electro, which just sounds "right".

Now I could be totally wrong, but either way, I feel the Electro is an amp you need to bring home and live with for at least a long weekend to fully appreciate its talents. The switch back to the Pulse will then tell the story ie. If it's good to put it back, or whether you miss the more organic presentation of the ECI-3.

Hopefully, the man himself will be along to add further insight.

I think you have pretty much nailed it CNO :clap:

I would add that one the Electro's main strengths is that you quickly forget about what it does or does not do and the music just takes over , trying to analyse how it sounds is very hard because after a few seconds you forget about critical listening and just listen to the music , resistance is futile . .

To add a little more detail , the ECI3 has been available now unchanged for 13 years and is very reliable and well built it will drive almost any speaker available effortlessly .

One of it's greatest abilities is the preservation of musical transients better than most amplifiers, allowing you to hear the leading edge, peak and then the decay of a note clearly without smearing no matter how complex or dynamic the music gets .

This ability makes it sound powerful and effortless without that grainy edge that some amplifiers have ,it also allows a wonderful sense of space and acoustic with well recorded music .

I could go on but as CNO says you must do a direct comparison to the Leema preferably at home to fully appreciate the differences .

 

[Macspur]

PP, if you're seriously interested in hearing what the Electro can do, give Mike at Audio Destination a call and he will ship one out to you and will let you keep it for at least a week... He is great to deal with... no pressure whatsoever. At least then you won't have a wasted journey into London and you'll be hearing it in your own environment.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

 

[plastic penguin]

PP, if you're seriously interested in hearing what the Electro can do, give Mike at Audio Destination a call and he will ship one out to you and will let you keep it for at least a week... He is great to deal with... no pressure whatsoever. At least then you won't have a wasted journey into London and you'll be hearing it in your own environment.

Mac

www.macsmusic.blogbubble.net

Cheers, Mac. I've already spoken to him earlier this year about Electro CDP (before I purchsed the Naim).

TBF, I really want to hear the Leema with top-notch speakers first and take from there.

TBH, if I do upgrade the amp Electro at this stage is the only amp within my budget that really appeals. Not keen on valves, nor Class A amps.

 

[plastic penguin]

This makes interesting reading, from another hi-fi mag.

"Perhaps, more than any others in this group, though, this amp seems to make its best impression slowly, something that one can’t very well establish in a quick-fire comparative test. Most likely, this is simply down to the fact that with a couple of hour’s listening, one becomes familiar with the brightness and this dominant characteristic is perceived to be very beguiling and persuasive with detail. It makes sense then, to listen for a long period to really appreciate whether the brightness gets more or less apparent, before judging this amp!"

 

[chebby]

Ex-demo PI-2 for £555 off at AudioDestination right now...

http://www.audiodestination.co.uk/electrocompaniet-prelude-pi-2-integrated-amplifier

 

[plastic penguin]

Ex-demo PI-2 for £555 off at AudioDestination right now...

http://www.audiodestination.co.uk/electrocompaniet-prelude-pi-2-integrated-amplifier

This one also.

 

[chebby]

I would rather have the 2 year dealer warranty from Audiodestination (and the possibility of return) than buy used. A friend has dealt with Audiodestination and they are excellent folk.

 

[plastic penguin]

That's true - when I spoke to the guy earlier in the year (CDP version) he said the P1s were aimed at a younger market, as in the presentaion was little more upfront.

As I've spent a lot of money on Monday on my new toy, although most of that is used from the business, it'll be hard to justify spending substantial amounts at the mo.

 

[Electro]

This makes interesting reading, from another hi-fi mag.

"Perhaps, more than any others in this group, though, this amp seems to make its best impression slowly, something that one can’t very well establish in a quick-fire comparative test. Most likely, this is simply down to the fact that with a couple of hour’s listening, one becomes familiar with the brightness and this dominant characteristic is perceived to be very beguiling and persuasive with detail. It makes sense then, to listen for a long period to really appreciate whether the brightness gets more or less apparent, before judging this amp!"

I would not say the ECI3 sounds bright at all but it does have an ultra clean and pure sounding mid and top with no added artificial warmth or frequency roll off that in the short term could be mistaken for brightness , but with acclimatizationit it becomes quite clear that it is just a lack of distortion and does not become fatiguing at all , in fact it is highly addictive

 

[chebby]

That's true - when I spoke to the guy earlier in the year (CDP version) he said the P1s were aimed at a younger market, as in the presentaion was little more upfront.

How many youngsters are flocking to buy £1500 - £2000 amplifiers from specialist, Norwegian, hi-fi separates manufacturers?

I assume by 'younger market' he meant pre-retirement

 

[CnoEvil]

Okay, the Electro retails around the 2k mark. In your opinion, is the uplift in SQ worth £600-£700?

I suppose that depends on how much value you place on the difference it brings......for me it's worth it, from what I remember of the Pulse......but for you, I wouldn't like to give an answer, other than to say it's worth the effort to arrange a dem.

I have seen the ECI-3 second hand for about £850 and ex-dem for £1300.