Hi, I am seriously looking at a new setup but want to hear from users and owners of Electrocompaniet equipment. I had auditioned the ECi-5 with B&W805s & Meridian CD. My Choice would be to match  this setup but with the ECC-1  EC CD player. If I dont go EC,  I may head toward Classe??

Can anyone give me their opinion or experience with the reliability of EC ?   I read a post that a poor chap had major issues outside of the warranty period and cost big money to fix.

 thanks

Andrew

Hi Andrew,

I have been using Electrocompaniet equipment for many years and it has always been very reliable .

I use the EMC1 UP Cd player , EC4.7 preamp, and AW120 DMB power amp , and I have only had one minor problem in the last 6 years with the switch on relay in the power amp which was repaired quickly and relatively cheaply by NSS LTD .    see NSS LTD        .

I delivered the power amp to them myself so that I could see what kind of outfit they were , and was pleased to find a friendly professional company fully backed up by Electrocompaniet and holding a good stock of spare parts , it certainly put my mind at rest.

As to the sound quality IMO there is nothing that comes anywhere near Electrocompaniet in their respective price ranges , the sound is just so effortless and natural allowing you to completely forget about Hifi and just enjoy the music which is very rare indeed.

If you do decide to take the Electrocompaniet route you will not be disappointed.

Another tip would be to audition PMC speakers as well , they work magic in conjunction with Electro amps.

See Electrocompaniet site   and PMC speakers 

Hope this helps Electro.

Thanks Electro for the positive feedback,  always reassuring to hear.  Apt name by the way. The audition did seduce me and so far my hearts set on it. I remember listening to a very expensive Macintosh & Dynaudio setup just after, and was not near as impressed, really I haven't been seduced by anything else (that I've listened to) so far.

I realize its a month since the original post but I just spotted this site and though I'd chime in.

I live New Jersey in the US and a local dealer here turned me on to Electrocompaniet, a name that I had been familiar with but had never seen locally. The dealer was great, he let me demo the equipment at home before purchasing it. 

I finally purchased an EMC 1UP player, an EC 4.7 preamp and 2 AW70 amplifiers. The AW70's are rebadged AW220's. They each put out 70 WPC into 8 ohms but when bridged as monoblocks they each put out 220 wpc. I purchased these four pieces of Electrocompaniet equipment between February and June 2006 and continue to enjoy audio bliss. The amps run cool to the touch and sound amazing compared to the Rotel RB1080 they replaced. (They should of course since here in the states the pair cost five times as much as the Rotel amp for a similar power rating)

The cost of these four pieces here is probably significantly more than the cost in the UK, but to me they were worth every penny.

By the way I listen using balanced XLR cables. Its the way to go IMHO.

Regards,
Mark

The only caveat is that the EMC 1 UP is getting a bit long in the tooth. While its still an excellent choice, it's an expensive player that may be bettered by the current Classe, Ayre models as well as a few other of the latest players available.     

Hi Mark,

Don't be worried about the EMC1 UP being of an older design , it is still one of the very best          CD players around , I have not heard anything significantly better apart from some disc playing equipment from DCS at many times the price !

See Data Conversion Systems 

I agree balanced XLR is the best way with Electrocompaniet equipment , you have a very good HiFi system that should satisfy you for many years to come.

All the best Electro.

Hi Christopher,

To be honest I did not know Per Abrahamsen was making his own range of equipment , many thanks for the info. There is a striking similarity to the older style Electrocompaniet stuff which is no surprise .

See Abrahamsen kit    

As Westcontrol takes Electrocompaniet in a different direction gradually replacing the older products, true die hard Electro fans can still get their fix from one of the original designers which is good news.

I not sure if it is available in the UK yet but hopefully it is only a matter of time.

All the best Electro.

PS ,    I am not sure if the prices in the link translated correctly I think it is still in kroner or at least i hope so !

Electro,

I think they're selling as much of the DAC as they can produce in Scandinavia so it'll be a while before we see it here in the UK.  It's very cheap and people who have heard it say extremely good things.  There's certainly room for both of them. 

electrohead wrote (see)

Don't be worried about the EMC1 UP being of an older design , it is still one of the very best          CD players around , I have not heard anything significantly better apart from some disc playing equipment from DCS at many times the price !

Hi  Mark,

I can't comment personally as to whether the Ayre is better or worse than the EMC 1 UP because I have not heard it.

 All I can say is that the EMC1 UP presents music of all types in the best possible way being natural involving, dynamic and utterly musical , in fact as near to live music as I have heard from any musical source of any type.

It's particular strength is allowing the listener to completely forget about the HiFi or the type of disc being played and just being able to get lost in the music , it also creates one of the widest sound stages I have ever heard , most other players seem to trap the music between the speakers, ultimately only you can decide which you prefer but rest assured you have made a good choice. 

  Replacing the EMC1 UP will be difficult because it does everything very well rather than just excel in one or two Hifi parameters .

I think mine will stay with me for a very long time !

All the best Electro.

As relatively uncommon as it is to own a single piece of EC equipment here, it is especially rare to have a complete EC system as I do.

Hi Mark ,

EC equipment is quite rare here in the UK too , most people have heard of it but never seen it although it has had more exposure over the last few years since Westcontrol took over .

Distribution has been very patchy in the UK over the last 30 years but at last things are looking up with professional handling and distribution here and in the US.

  See    New Electrocompaniet inc , USA. 

Hopefully more people will be able to enjoy good music in a way we take for granted.

All the best Electro.

Electro, 

Its good news regarding the new USA distributor. Alan Warshaw, the owner of the old US distibutor Jason Scott, Inc. retired a year or more ago. The "new" distributor World HiFi Group had done nothing and my dealer in New Jersey had almost stopped selling EC gear as a result.  Perhaps things will pick up now that the distributor is wholly owned by the parent company.  Thanks for the info 

Regards,

Mark 

Hi i have been with cd players since 1983 and i have had quite a few i would say around 10 units with at least 5 different models of Meridian wich for me was the best of the bunch till i got the Electrocompaniet EMC1-up as long as this player keeps playing it will stay in my system yes it's that good.                   MrAcoustat

Hi MrAcoustat ,

I agree totally my Emc1up is the best Cd player I have heard .

If you have not already done so upgrade the standard magnetic puck to the spider clamp, it made a significant improvement sound wise in all areas much to my surprise .

See        Spider clamp

Apart from your lovely Acoustats what other equipment do you use ?

All the best Electro.

Hi,

recently I swap my 7 years old EMC1up for the EMP-1/S and I can say that the latest is better in many areas. Not by much, but better. It has somewhat less details, within a hair, what make the sound more pleasant.

Hi , Dr.S 2 ,

Welcome to the forum ,

What other equipment do you use with your new EMP-1/S .

All the best Electro.

Hi , Dr.S 2 and all ,

It is a shame you have not replied , it would be interesting to hear from a fellow Electrocompaniet user .

All the best Electro .

Hi all ,

Just came across this new review of the Electrocompaniet EMC1 UP Cd player .

http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue51/Electrocompaniet.htm

It says it all and I echo all that he says .

All the best Electro.

Hi all ,

Here is a new Electrocompaniet forum in need of some new contributors, if you own EC gear give it a look and say hello .

http://electrocompanie.forum2go.nl/

All the best Electro.