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

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

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.

Similar Products Used:

KRELL KRC 3,MARK LEVINSON NO 380 S ,KRELL KSL ROTEL RC 995

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

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

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.

Similar Products Used:

Naim, Rega.

Openness, air, depth, detail, musicality, ergonomics

Long burn-in necessary

Sorry to present a counter-argument to those who don't believe that products need burn-in - the 4.7 does, in spades. Count on at least six times the 75 hours quoted in the manual. Until then the sound is "transistory", unrelaxed and frankly not particularly enjoyable. Then two step changes - the first removes a good deal of transistory hash, the second removes it completely, and restores the Electrocompaniet warm-side-of neutral timbre and valvey (tubey) approach to note transients that I know and love.



I use the 4.7 with a Primare 30.2 CD player, LP12/Ittok/Karma with Lehmann Black Cube, Electro AW 120 DMB power amp and Egglestonworks Fontaine loudspeakers. Cabling is Kimber KCAG and 8TC. I find the 4.7 a major improvement on the old Electrocompaniet EC4R preamp I was using. More detail, more space, huge soundstage, much better placement of instruments, far superior bass control and rhythmic abilities.



I'm not sure I can evaluate the 4.7 in relative terms, as I haven't heard that many high-end preamps. A friend has the Plinius M-16 which is my only real point of comparison. It does all the things the Electro does, and some undoubtedly better, (it's hard to make a comparison as our systems are very different), but it is more than three times the price.



The EC4.7/AW120DMB combination is just brilliant high-end value. It has, for me, an ideal combination of valve-like warmth and solid state power and slam. Most importantly, it's extremely musical. No type of music is favoured over any other - over the weekend I was listening to Black Sabbath, Emmylou Harris, Bobby Watson, Beethoven...



Very highly recommended as a cost effective high end product - but please bear in mind my comments about burn-in time when auditioning. Probably a four star product in absolute terms (there is always something better...) but at the price point the EC4.7 is hard to beat, hence...

Similar Products Used:

See text

Neutrality, disappearance.

For the money--none.

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.

Similar Products Used:

Krell KSL, tested various others, including Audio Research.

Wide soundstage. Bass

Treble. Build quality ? Cheap remote

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.

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

Best kept secret in preamplification today

None

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!

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Monarchy-Muse-Adcom-Sonic Frontiers-Sunfire-VTL

The 4.7 represents musically accurate, honestly priced, line level purity from EC.It faithfully reproduces the complex harmonics of all musical passages, preserving the distinctive timbre and character of instruments and voices. The space and the ambiance of the hall are conveyed in a
realistic three dimensional soundstage of amazing size and depth. Individual instruments are precisely located with lots of air and space. Musical transients are reproduced
naturally and with realistic impact. Never imposing distractions or coloration's, the 4.7 invites the listener to enjoy the musical performance, and when called upon the 4.7 can deliver without strain the dynamic slam and extension that most preamplifiers could only fantasize about.

extremely detailed,extremely musical,extremely good.
Tottaly absent.

at least 30 minutes warm up

I use this one with the company's amplifier AW-120DMB and the cd player EMC-1 accompanied with a pair of B&W 804 Nautilus. This pre-amp should be a guideline for the other manufacturers. A true statement of musicality and detail.

Detail, very transparent, emotional system

Sound comes up left first then right (but this is just a problem if you start to listen music, in correct volume this disapears and the cound comes "magic"

I bought a EC 4.7 (New version).
The modification made on it (between the first version and this new version) are very limited but the sound is now "magic"

The transparency is better.
Voice are incredible
More expresif and emotional
Very dynamique (in regard of my last preamp)

So undoubled a five star product and....the price.....thanks electrocompaniet.

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Counterpoint SA5000 (hybrid preamp)