You gotta love press releases. “This May in Munich, history won’t just be written—it will be heard.” Thus opened the invitation to a joint press conference of “two Norwegian powerhouses” whose system “doesn’t whisper innovation—it roars it.”
Roaring, however, was not the bottom line of Electrocompaniet and Ø Audio’s personnel and system—not even from Ø’s towering, axe-toting cofounder, Jonathan Magnus Cook. Cook may be huge and he may carry an ax, but I found him soft-spoken when not on camera.
Instead of bluster, I sat through blessedly short, level-headed presentations from Lasse Danielsen, Electrocompaniet sales and marketing director; Geir Svihus, Electrocompaniet chief designer; and Cook. Danielsen introduced Electrocompaniet’s brand new, not-yet-priced EC 5 Reference preamplifier. Based on the same amplifier topology as the AW 800 M mono power amplifiers (24,900 euros/each) that it was paired with, the all-analog EC 5 adjusts volume in 0.1dB steps over a 930 step range from –100dB to +20dB. There are no relays or switches in the signal path; only a single small resistor lies beyond the input selector.
A remote control app will be available for those who want to adjust volume from the listening spot. Production will start in Norway in August or September. When pressed about the price, Danielsen said it might be in the range of €15,000.
The forthcoming Electrocompaniet EC 5 Reference preamp joined forces with the same company’s ECM 1 MKII music player/DAC (€5999), EMC 1 MKV Reference CD player (€7749), and ECI 6DX MKII integrated amplifier/streamer (€8499). Ø Audio’s large Verdande floorstanders (35,000 euros/pair) and VARG bass system ($ TBA), connected to the amplifier with AudioQuest Dragon, filled out the system.
“We make horn speakers, but we hate how horns sound,” Cook told the audience. The Verdande marries a 15" dynamic driver with a compression horn. “We have our own way of making music. We make our own drivers because when we tried to mate others, they left a hole in the middle.”
In my first listen, the Verdandes were paired with the VARG bass system—think subwoofers. The Verdandes’ ports were plugged. On what I believe was the Reference Recordings/Minnesota Orchestra take on Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, the top sounded exceptionally lovely and smooth; it was quite special. The midrange was full, and dynamics were excellent. Bass, however, was tubby and unfocused. Marian Hill’s “Differently” did not give a different impression.
After the demo, I asked Cook if it would be possible to hear the Verdandes without the subs. Days later, he emailed that the subs had been removed. The bass ports, however, remained plugged. On Angela Brown’s idiosyncratic take on “St. James Infirmary,” the top and midrange remained as alluring as before, and there was far less bloat on bottom. Then again, with the ports plugged, there was far less potential for bloat. The full potential of this system (including with bass ports unplugged) can only be addressed by a review conducted in a friendlier acoustic.
Roaring, however, was not the bottom line of Electrocompaniet and Ø Audio’s personnel and system—not even from Ø’s towering, axe-toting cofounder, Jonathan Magnus Cook. Cook may be huge and he may carry an ax, but I found him soft-spoken when not on camera.
Instead of bluster, I sat through blessedly short, level-headed presentations from Lasse Danielsen, Electrocompaniet sales and marketing director; Geir Svihus, Electrocompaniet chief designer; and Cook. Danielsen introduced Electrocompaniet’s brand new, not-yet-priced EC 5 Reference preamplifier. Based on the same amplifier topology as the AW 800 M mono power amplifiers (24,900 euros/each) that it was paired with, the all-analog EC 5 adjusts volume in 0.1dB steps over a 930 step range from –100dB to +20dB. There are no relays or switches in the signal path; only a single small resistor lies beyond the input selector.
A remote control app will be available for those who want to adjust volume from the listening spot. Production will start in Norway in August or September. When pressed about the price, Danielsen said it might be in the range of €15,000.
The forthcoming Electrocompaniet EC 5 Reference preamp joined forces with the same company’s ECM 1 MKII music player/DAC (€5999), EMC 1 MKV Reference CD player (€7749), and ECI 6DX MKII integrated amplifier/streamer (€8499). Ø Audio’s large Verdande floorstanders (35,000 euros/pair) and VARG bass system ($ TBA), connected to the amplifier with AudioQuest Dragon, filled out the system.
“We make horn speakers, but we hate how horns sound,” Cook told the audience. The Verdande marries a 15" dynamic driver with a compression horn. “We have our own way of making music. We make our own drivers because when we tried to mate others, they left a hole in the middle.”In my first listen, the Verdandes were paired with the VARG bass system—think subwoofers. The Verdandes’ ports were plugged. On what I believe was the Reference Recordings/Minnesota Orchestra take on Saint-Saëns’s Danse Macabre, the top sounded exceptionally lovely and smooth; it was quite special. The midrange was full, and dynamics were excellent. Bass, however, was tubby and unfocused. Marian Hill’s “Differently” did not give a different impression.
After the demo, I asked Cook if it would be possible to hear the Verdandes without the subs. Days later, he emailed that the subs had been removed. The bass ports, however, remained plugged. On Angela Brown’s idiosyncratic take on “St. James Infirmary,” the top and midrange remained as alluring as before, and there was far less bloat on bottom. Then again, with the ports plugged, there was far less potential for bloat. The full potential of this system (including with bass ports unplugged) can only be addressed by a review conducted in a friendlier acoustic.
