brendan simpson

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 6.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from JADE SERVICES

Summary:
I AM NOT ONE FOR POSTING REVIEWS,BUT I THOUGHT I MUST TELL ABOUT THE COMPARISON I DID,I THOUGHT THE EC 4.7 COULD BE A WEAK LINK IN MY SYSTEM.HAVING A MARK LEVINSON 334 AMP,I WAS HOPING TO MATCH IT WITH THE NO 380S PRE AMP.THE EC4.7 DOESN'T MATCH IT AS FAR AS UPGRADING & ALL THE FUNCTIONS IT HAS,BUT SONICALLY IN SIDE BY SIDE COMPARISONS OVER A WEEK OF LISTENING I WAS QUITE SHOCKED TO FIND THAT EC 4.7 WAS MARGINALLY BETTER SOUNDING IE:SWEETER,SMOOTHER & LESS BASS DOMINATED.I HAD OTHER AUDIOPHILES DO THE COMPARISONS WITH ME & ALL 4 OF THEM AGREED WITH MY SENTIMENTS.I WOULD HAVE BOUGHT THE NO 380S IF IT WAS BETTER.TAKE MY ADVICE AUDITION THIS PREAMP RUN IT IN FOR MIN 200 HRS AND YOU WONT BELIEVE HOW STUNNING IT SOUNDS.I GENUINELY COMPARED IT TO ONE THE BEST IN THE BUSINESS THE ML NO 380S.THIS PREAMP IS OUTSTANDING VALUE FOR MONEY.A TRUE HIGHEND PRODUCT.

Strengths:
LIQUID SMOOTH SOUND.SWEET HIGHS.OPEN MIDS.TIGHT BASS.AUDITION & COMPARE TO OTHERS ONCE RUN IN

Weaknesses:
SOUND IS SCRATCHY AT LOW VOLUMES,BUT BALANCES OUT ONCE ITS WARMED UP

Similar Products Used:
KRELL KRC 3,MARK LEVINSON NO 380 S ,KRELL KSL ROTEL RC 995

Nozy

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Price Paid:  $0.00 from 750

Summary:
I know this pre-amp only in combi with de aw60 ftt. As far i can isolate the infuence of the 4.7, it must be that its very neutral and very sensiteve for the source u use. When i have it copled with Arcam (72T) its a lively, broad sound but not so acccurate. With my copland (822) its a more clean sound (less bass, more detail, more layback) and the music is placed more between the speakers (Totem Hawk). In general i think its a convincing class AA sound - also on the low frequencies.

Strengths:
uncoloured; it plays the source. Real High-end.

Weaknesses:
its Big!(for as far this is a drawback)

Similar Products Used:
Naim, Rega.

Summary:
I've paired this with the Electrocompaniet AW250DMB. If you don't run balanced out to the amp, you're missing all of the great things that make this pre what it is, and what it is not. It simply gets out of the way with no pretensions- no sugar, no "voice" of its own. Break in was not the chore I was lead to believe. Of course, break in is to be expected nonetheless.
It seems that you can raise the volume forever with no sign of being overdriven in any way. Low frequency reproduction is of the highest order. Vocals are articulate and finely detailed. Percussion is dynamic, and placed exceptionally well in the soundstage. The detail I am lifting from recordings is incredible. When used along with
Electrocompaniets phono preamp, you will have the basis for one hell of an analog set up. My vinyl has never sounded more quiet. I think if there is a way to describe the preamps sound it would be to say that it is dead quiet. There is only music. It is the only preamp I have listened to that forced me to realize that a passive preamp is no longer a prerequisite for unadulterated reproduction. While it mates best with an amp from EC., it also matches well with many amps on the market. As a matter of fact, a friend of mine who spent considerably more on his preamp asked if I could bring the EC pre to his place for a listen. Four hours later, he had no choice but to admit that the EC 4.7 was the equal to and in some instances better than his pre. Especially in the areas of dynamics, transparency and a blacker backround.
Is the EC for everyone?
NO.
However, if your amplification is fully balanced solid state, save yourself alot of money on the more expensive units that are out there and give it a try. I think you'll find all of the virtues I've written here and possibly more-depending on your electronics, speakers and room acoustics.
My highest recommendation!

Strengths:
Best kept secret in preamplification today

Weaknesses:
None

Similar Products Used:
Monarchy-Muse-Adcom-Sonic Frontiers-Sunfire-VTL

Price Paid:  $1400.00 from Stavanger

Summary:
The first three days after I unpacked it new from the store it sounded incredibly harsh. After three days of white noise from the tuner, and not listening to any music (to avoid becoming accustomed to the sound) it mellowed a lot. After a week even some more, and I started using it. Soundstage was wide, with a sense of air and room, similar to valve amplifiers, but deeper and better defined bass. What I had problems with with was the tonal balance. It seemed to put an emphasis on lower treble/upper midrange and this at first seemed to make the music, like voices sound well defined. An accoustic guitar played with plectre I seemed to hear too much the plectre less of the guitar sound. Also I like old Zappa, Van Morrisson and U2. This kind of music (harsh sounding, poor recordings) I found tiring on the EC 4.7. I compared to three valve pre-amps, and also the variable output on my old Sony XA20ES, and ended up returning it to the shop, buying a valve pre-amp instead.

Strengths:
Wide soundstage. Bass

Weaknesses:
Treble. Build quality ? Cheap remote

Similar Products Used:
Conrad-Johnson PV12, Audiolab 8000C, Copland CTA 301 Mk2, Doxa, Terra Song, Dynamic Precision

Summary:
System---Sony SCD 777 ES, EC 4.7, Levinson 29 amp.
EC 4.7 replaced 8 year old Krell KSL----this was definitely
the weak link in my system. Some said the EC 4.7
would be sweeter but not as much detail as the Krell.
Well, actually it has more detail than the Krell and
is sweeter and get this--has better bass. Actually, I don't
like using the word 'sweet'. It is just very neutral and
very musically involving. Remote is simple and nice. Texas did not have a dealer(that I knew about) so
I got it from www.audiocompositions.com in Pennsylvania. Talk to Deryl, the owner....a great guy, will make you a good deal and is very knowledgable about audio.

Strengths:
Neutrality, disappearance.

Weaknesses:
For the money--none.

Similar Products Used:
Krell KSL, tested various others, including Audio Research.