Recently, AV Lounge (Chennai) has been appointed as India's distributor for Electrocompaniet (the renowned Norwegian manufacturer of audio products).
Last week, I got an audition of the same.
Though he has their full line on offer, the setup included EC 4.8 mkll preamplifier, ECP2 Phono Stage and two AW 800M mono block amplifiers.
The remaining components were Rockna Wavelight Server and Wavelight DAC and Chario Serendipity Speakers. Kuzma Stabi turntable with its own 4.9 tonearm and CAR 20 cartridge were used while listening to LPs. All cables were from Purist Audio Design. Rogoz rack and platform with Franc feet.
Electrocompaniet AW 800 M Reference Monoblock Amplifier:
It was launched last year (2023). As per specs it is a fully discrete, true-balanced, class-AB design, biased into class-A for the first 10 watts.
Its preamp stages run in pure class-A mode. It can be run in mono or stereo or biamping mode. As it is fully stable into low impedance loads, it can power most speakers with ease.
In mono configuration, it is capable of 800W into 8 ohms, 1500W into 4 ohms, and a 2200W into 2 ohm loads at very low THD. In stereo, it outputs 300W into 8ohm, 600W into 4 ohm and 1000W into 2ohm.
There are binding post and toggle switch provided for Biamp mode also. It boasts a damping factor of over 1000 and weighs 55kgs. It is much bigger and an upgrade to Nemo.
With 32 output transistors it can deliver high current on demand. Similarly, the power stage is also well endowed with dual torroids and 210000uf of capacitor bank.
For full mono to drive two speakers, you will need two of these monoblocks, as was the case in this setup.
The Chario Serendipity speakers scale well with power, and this was demonstrated to a great measure by the Electrocompaniet AW 800.
The speaker has a separate sealed compartment for the bass section and a separate one for the mids and highs.
The speakers were drawn well away from the back wall and about 3 feet from the side wall at the center axis.
The amp demonstrated great control over the speakers. The bass was tight and enveloping without getting wobbly even at higher volumes though the big speakers were placed in a comparatively smaller room.
The overall presentation was on the neutral side with a deep, open and a wide soundstage.
We played a number of tracks, but I list a few.
Digital:
Eva Cassidy: Wade in the water
Anette Askvik: Liberty track from the Liberty album
LPs:
Diana Krall: Case of you (live)
Pink Panther theme track
Wade in the Water can be a tricky track, either it will be lenient or the mid & low will dominate and miss some details in the highs. Here, the imaging was very good and even the fine details in the lows were very crisp, timing was perfect without any overlap anywhere.
Anette Askvik’s Liberty album is extensively used to demo audiophile setups for its high-quality recording. It did not disappoint here. The track really scaled well and the saxophone solo was breathtaking to say the least.
We heard quite a bit more on the digital front and the setup did expose tracks that were degraded in quality.
Diana Krall’s live rendition of John Mitchell’s Case of You track had her typical hushed and sensuous presentation and the bluesy piano section was quite lively and expressive.
I have been listening to Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther composition from my childhood days as a background score to the popular Pink Panther cartoon series and later, umpteen time on many setups.
What I heard today with the Electrocompaniet/Chario combo was definitely right up there.
While the Brass, Drums, Woodwinds and the Strings filled the space with beautiful layering (drums being the farthest), the Piano and the Bass were presented clearly to the left and the subtle Sax amidst the Woodwinds and the light instances of Triangle to the right.
As I am very familiar with this track, I had a truly enjoyable experience of the same.
Overall, the imaging and dynamics of the amplifier are exceptional, and it has the muscle to power low sensitivity / power hungry speakers with ease.
If you are in the hunt for a high-end setup, then do get an audition of Electrocompaniet and Chario combo at AV Lounge.
For more details, visit its website avlounge.in.
Last week, I got an audition of the same.
Though he has their full line on offer, the setup included EC 4.8 mkll preamplifier, ECP2 Phono Stage and two AW 800M mono block amplifiers.
The remaining components were Rockna Wavelight Server and Wavelight DAC and Chario Serendipity Speakers. Kuzma Stabi turntable with its own 4.9 tonearm and CAR 20 cartridge were used while listening to LPs. All cables were from Purist Audio Design. Rogoz rack and platform with Franc feet.
Electrocompaniet AW 800 M Reference Monoblock Amplifier:
It was launched last year (2023). As per specs it is a fully discrete, true-balanced, class-AB design, biased into class-A for the first 10 watts.
Its preamp stages run in pure class-A mode. It can be run in mono or stereo or biamping mode. As it is fully stable into low impedance loads, it can power most speakers with ease.
In mono configuration, it is capable of 800W into 8 ohms, 1500W into 4 ohms, and a 2200W into 2 ohm loads at very low THD. In stereo, it outputs 300W into 8ohm, 600W into 4 ohm and 1000W into 2ohm.
There are binding post and toggle switch provided for Biamp mode also. It boasts a damping factor of over 1000 and weighs 55kgs. It is much bigger and an upgrade to Nemo.
With 32 output transistors it can deliver high current on demand. Similarly, the power stage is also well endowed with dual torroids and 210000uf of capacitor bank.
For full mono to drive two speakers, you will need two of these monoblocks, as was the case in this setup.
The Chario Serendipity speakers scale well with power, and this was demonstrated to a great measure by the Electrocompaniet AW 800.
The speaker has a separate sealed compartment for the bass section and a separate one for the mids and highs.
The speakers were drawn well away from the back wall and about 3 feet from the side wall at the center axis.
The amp demonstrated great control over the speakers. The bass was tight and enveloping without getting wobbly even at higher volumes though the big speakers were placed in a comparatively smaller room.
The overall presentation was on the neutral side with a deep, open and a wide soundstage.
We played a number of tracks, but I list a few.
Digital:
Eva Cassidy: Wade in the water
Anette Askvik: Liberty track from the Liberty album
LPs:
Diana Krall: Case of you (live)
Pink Panther theme track
Wade in the Water can be a tricky track, either it will be lenient or the mid & low will dominate and miss some details in the highs. Here, the imaging was very good and even the fine details in the lows were very crisp, timing was perfect without any overlap anywhere.
Anette Askvik’s Liberty album is extensively used to demo audiophile setups for its high-quality recording. It did not disappoint here. The track really scaled well and the saxophone solo was breathtaking to say the least.
We heard quite a bit more on the digital front and the setup did expose tracks that were degraded in quality.
Diana Krall’s live rendition of John Mitchell’s Case of You track had her typical hushed and sensuous presentation and the bluesy piano section was quite lively and expressive.
I have been listening to Henry Mancini’s Pink Panther composition from my childhood days as a background score to the popular Pink Panther cartoon series and later, umpteen time on many setups.
What I heard today with the Electrocompaniet/Chario combo was definitely right up there.
While the Brass, Drums, Woodwinds and the Strings filled the space with beautiful layering (drums being the farthest), the Piano and the Bass were presented clearly to the left and the subtle Sax amidst the Woodwinds and the light instances of Triangle to the right.
As I am very familiar with this track, I had a truly enjoyable experience of the same.
Overall, the imaging and dynamics of the amplifier are exceptional, and it has the muscle to power low sensitivity / power hungry speakers with ease.
If you are in the hunt for a high-end setup, then do get an audition of Electrocompaniet and Chario combo at AV Lounge.
For more details, visit its website avlounge.in.
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