ELECTROCOMPANIET ECI 6 DX MKII REVIEW
Electrocompaniet ECI 6 DX MKII is an all-in-one integrated amplifier featuring a DAC and streamer. In his first review for HiFi PiG, Jon Lumb gives you his thoughts on this £7,400 unit.
While they may not have as dominant a brand name as Naim or B&W, Electrocompaniet has been a solid presence in the HiFi world for over 50 years, with an impeccable reputation, especially for its amplification. This particular model is effectively their ECI 6 integrated amp, with the addition of an inbuilt DAC and streamer.
Unlike most HiFi reviews, this is my own kit, which I’ve had for about a year. When I first purchased it, I was trying to find something to drive my then Peak Consult Princess System Signatures, and a whole variety of different amps I’d tried had failed to get a proper grip on them. The Electrocompaniet had no such issues, and that famed tightness and control was in full force. Nowadays, its life is a touch easier as the Peaks have been replaced by a lovely pair of Snell E mk3s, which present a much easier load.
BUILD AND FEATURES OF THE ELECTROCOMPANIET ECI 6 DX MKII
Unsurprisingly for Electrocompaniet, the build quality is very solid. For sure I’ve seen chunkier units, but those invariably housed pure Class A amps and were 90% heatsink. The unit comes double-boxed for shipping, and there’s a nice little box inside for the remote and other accessories.
The headline figure is the meaty output stage, generating an official 125W into 8 ohms and 370W into 2 ohms. This is a Class A/B unit, and compared to many all-in-one products on the market, that’s a lot of power on tap.
On the digital side, it fully supports all the usual suspects: Roon, Tidal Connect, Qobuz, Spotify Connect, AirPlay 2, DLNA, and so on. It’s also incredibly well featured for connectivity. The streamer can connect via WiFi or over Ethernet, and the DAC will accept 2 Toslink, 2 Coax, and 1 USB connection.
The preamp will also accept other external sources via its 2 RCA and 1 XLR inputs. Alongside the 2 RCA inputs, there’s a 3rd marked HT, which bypasses the preamp stage and allows you to run the unit as a power amp. There are even pre-amp outputs via both RCA and XLR as well. This makes the unit phenomenally versatile, with many ways to approach upgrades over time if that takes your fancy.
The only common tick-box it misses is an inbuilt phono stage. However, based on my experience, folks running equivalent quality vinyl front ends will almost certainly use a dedicated phono stage rather than an inbuilt one.
SET UP
The setup process is quite simple. It’s the same for most things as any other bit of HiFi kit, and you’re just plugging in the relevant cables. To connect it to your network, it supports setup via both cable network connections and wireless setup. In either case, you will need the EC Play software on a phone or laptop. The app has a “New system setup” option that guides you seamlessly through the process. The only additional step is when doing things wirelessly, you need to first connect your device directly to the Electrocompaniet as a wireless access point, then it sorts everything else out for you. Services such as Qobuz are also configured directly onto the device, so once you’ve done that via one device, it’s also automatically available on any other device you have connected to the amp.
SOUND QUALITY
I feel it’s worth pointing out an element of this review that means this section warrants being read in a slightly different light. As mentioned, I’ve had this unit for nearly a year. I’ve done a few reviews in the past, always on equipment that was new to me and could be directly compared with my existing system at the time. And so far as I can see, that’s how 99.9% of HiFi reviewing is done. I cannot do that here; there’s nothing to make direct comparisons with, and I’m not writing this from a position where I’m noticing all these new things. This is a sound I’m now deeply familiar with and adjusted to. I’ve also only really listened to this unit through my Snells, so there’s a facet that you’re getting a review of the combination here, not just the Electrocompaniet in isolation.
The Electrocompaniet sound sits in a lovely set of sweet spots to my ears. It’s clean, without feeling sterile or soulless. It’s got just the right degree of punch to the sound–it’s not pipe and slippers, but I can listen to it for 8 hours in a single day without feeling fatigued at the sound. There’s also the grip this thing has. It’s tight. Really tight. The Peaks were quite a tricky speaker to drive, and even some fairly chunky Class D amps hadn’t had the grunt to kick the bass properly without feeling out of control. While the Snells are easier to drive, they’re also capable of producing much more bass than the Peaks. What’s crucial is the DX keeps that bass super tight. For me, this is vital – some of the speakers I’ve most enjoyed over the years are Quad 2915s and various Triangles, and that “turn on a sixpence” bass presentation is just fantastic. I’ve got no time for loose or woolly bass presentation, and the ECI6 seems absolutely in lock-step with that.
A track that’s been in my demo playlist for nearly 25 years now is the unplugged version of No Excuses by Alice in Chains. Current strategy on audience engagement seems to revolve around being controversial, so here’s my controversial take – this is the best Unplugged album made to date. Eric Clapton and Nirvana are the more famous ones (and they’re both great), but this is the best one. A real pet hate of mine with far too many HiFi setups is that bass drums don’t sound remotely like bass drums do in real life. They’re inevitably relatively weak in terms of both punch and general presence within the sound. On No Excuses, the opening sound is the bass drum, and the Electrocompaniet is not holding back. The punch is bang on. For sure, it’s not the same as being at a gig and having a whole stack of 18” drivers rearrange your internal organs every time the bass drum goes, but that’s also not something I can listen to for 8 hours a day!
At the other end of the spectrum, the guitars here have a great balance. Steel-stringed acoustic guitars have a characteristic jangle to them. We absolutely want that to be present, but without being overly bright or brittle sounding. Here, the Electrcompaniet sounds exceptionally clean, with zero harshness.
Another track that has been on the demo list from day one is the audiophile classic ‘Solid Air’ by John Martyn. This whole album has long had a special place in my heart because it was the first thing I ever bought that wasn’t solely based on what I’d heard on Radio 1 as a spotty teenager in the nineties. The big thing about this track is that on many systems (especially at the level I could afford back then), because there’s so much going on in that central mid-band range, instruments often ended up sounding somewhat blurred together. I still remember the surprise I felt when I first heard it on a system that provided proper clarity to the sound (I believe it was a Naim 250 series with Wilson Benesch Arcs). It’s all present here, every instrument has its own, clear identity in the sound, and not at the expense of things sounding isolated or disjointed, either in case you’re worrying it’s gone too far out the other side.
I know many superlatives are going on here, but there’s zero that I can fault about the sound of the Electrocompaniet. It’s not a surprise I feel that way given that it’s the item I decided to spend my hard earned cash on, and have kept with ever since (sure, a year isn’t a massive amount of time, but I don’t see it going anywhere any time soon either, short of the usual cliches about a lottery win)
QUIBBLES
If there’s a point of weakness here, it’s with the EC Play app, and if a part of the product needs some improvement, an area that can be dealt with via a software update is the preference! Before Stu asked me to review this unit, I’d already had some back-and-forth with Electrocompaniet about a few areas for improvement, and it sounds like they have a solid plan in place for positive changes. Since I wrote the first draft of this review, Qobuz announced Qobuz Connect, and now that the Electrocompaniet has updated to the latest firmware, the impact of my issues with the EC Play app has dropped considerably, but just in case, here’s the breakdown.
The issues with the EC Play app revolve around the user interface. Functionality itself has been rock solid, and I’ve not encountered anything I’d classify as a bug or a fault. The first thing is that it’s pretty sluggish. For example, when I go into the Favourites tab and click on Albums (this is primarily how I have navigated my music library), it takes 20 seconds to populate the album list. I’m more confused by this than anything, because it will start streaming a 24-bit, 96 kHz track in a fraction of a second. The inbuilt search itself is also relatively slow. In good conscience, it should be noted that this could be an issue with the Qobuz API; however, it isn’t available to the general public, which prevents me from testing that hypothesis.
The other area relates to album display; one thing I’ve noticed is that once you have your list of favourite albums up, the only option is to scroll through it in the order in which the albums were added. There’s no option to filter releases, nor to choose the sort order, both of which have been standard functionality on streaming platforms for many years now. Similarly, when browsing an artist’s page and their releases, every possible release type is jumbled together with no way to tell without clicking on each release whether it’s an album, single, EP or anything else. Fine if you’re intimately familiar with a band’s discography, but more of a challenge with unfamiliar artists.
CONCLUSION
You might have an inkling by this point that I really, really like this Electrocompaniet. The sound quality is everything I could ask for and more. The build quality is fantastic, and it’s clear no corners have been cut in spec’ing the unit. The fact that it’s running 120W A/B in an all-in-one is pretty unusual – the standard strategies seem to be to make these units 50W-80W A/B, or switch over to Class D. It’s also a bit unusual in that a lot of all-in-one units are designed to operate in isolation. In contrast, the Electrocompaniet is as versatile as you like (I once actually used it to check a pre-amp was working properly, which on paper is a bizarre thing to be able to do with this sort of thing). I also love the aesthetic that Electrocompaniet has for their Classic line products, although I can imagine it won’t be for everyone.
Most of the time, if someone were to say they had a budget of £7,400 for the electronics of their HiFi, I think we’d all, almost automatically, be thinking of multi-box setups, unless there were upfront space or design factors mentioned. If we break down the ECI6 DX into its primary components (streamer, DAC, preamp, power amp), it works out to £1850 per box. I’m not sure I can think of a single component at those price points that I’d be inserting into the chain that would make an appreciable improvement.
Given this is a product I bought with my own cash (granted without a demo, but I’ve still got it a year later), this is probably the most obvious, slam-dunk Reviewer’s Preference Award. If I don’t think my own kit qualifies, it’s hard to argue anything does! Now that the EC Play software is only required for an initial setup, it’s a system with zero negatives/downsides, and so many plus points. For some, it won’t have the sort of sound profile that they like, but that’s very much in the realm of personal preference rather than a failing on the part of the amp, and on any meaningful metric, it’s simply glorious.
AT A GLANCE
Build Quality and Features:
Rock solid build quality
Plenty of power on tap
Pretty much every input and output option you can ask for
Support for Spotify, Tidal, Qobuz, and Roon
Wired and wireless networking
Sound Quality:
Even-handed presentation throughout
Excellent bass weight and grip
Clean and clear mid-range and treble.
Value For Money:
Cannot fault how much it does, and how well it does it, for the money.
We Loved:
Incredible dynamics and clarity
Bomb proof build quality
Huge flexibility in the feature set
We Didn’t Love So Much:
The EC Play app
Elevator Pitch Review: A single box that encompasses a complete streaming to amp chain, with plenty of flexibility to add extra components or even make part upgrades down the line. Power levels are a cut above similar products at the price point, and a beguiling sound that you can listen to for days on end. Support for all the major streaming services, and Roon, right out of the box.
Price: £7,400, 7,400€, or $7,900
Jon Lumb
The Electrocompaniet ECI 6 DX MKII was first reviewed by HiFi PiG in this review.
SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION
All measurements are made at 120V / 240V //50Hz / 60Hz
Digital Section:
D/A converter: 24 bit/192 kHz
Sample rate converter: 24bit / 192kHz
Inputs: SPDIF, 2x Toslink, 1x USB
USB: asynchronous up to 24bit/ 192kHz supported
SPDIF: 24bit/ 192kHz
Toslink: 24bit/ 96kHz
Streamer Section:
• Advanced 802.11 AC WiFi with MIMO
• 1x Gigabit Ethernet (1000Mbps)
• 1x USB for external storage
• iOS, Android, and web app
Streaming Services:
• AirPlay 2 ®
• Spotify ® Connect
• Qobuz ®
• Plays with Audirvāna
• TIDAL ® Connect
• Roon Ready
• JPLAY Certified
• DLNA
• Internet Radio
• Bluetooth streaming from any Bluetooth-enabled device
Supported formats:
• All popular formats including: WAV/WAVE, MP3, AAC+, Vorbis, ALAC, FLAC, APE, WMA, up to 192 kHz/24-bit, DSD, up to DSD 128 (5.6 MHz)
Preamplifier Section:
Input impedance (Balanced input): 47Kohm
Maximum input level: 10 Volt RMS
Noise floor: ( 1Vrms, 20 – 20 kHz, balanced): -135 dB
THD + N (1Vrms, 20 – 20 kHz, balanced): <0.004%
Gain (Balanced): 0 dB
Amplifier Section:
Output Impedance: < 0,02 Ohm
Frequency response: 1 – 150 kHz
Channel separation: > 120 dB
THD ( 20 – 20 kHz): < 0.004%
Maximum peak current: >100A
Damping factor 8 ohm load: >350
Input sensitivity 120W output: 1.3Vrms
Input sensitivity HT 120W output: 1Vrms
Gain HT Input: x36 (31 dB)
Rated output power:
8 ohms: 2 x 125 W
4 ohms: 2 x 200 W
2 ohms: 2 x 370 W
Power consumption: 110 W
Standby: 1W (no load or signal)
Dimensions:
Width: 470 mm / 18.3 inches
Depth ( with speaker terminals): 430 mm / 16.9 inches
Height: 128 mm / 5 inches
Weight: 20,5 Kg / 45 lbs.
