Long before the Hi-Fi Show, I had already caught my eye on the Electrocompaniet Monoblocks. When Arismar told me about the novelty in the middle of August on last year, I was eager to listen to them. And the reason is simple: a friend of mine, a recording engineer that lives and works in Milan, always spoke to me about the beauty and sonority of this brand of Amplifiers.

I could already feel in the pre and power test Fldvio Adami realized that
Electrocompaniet is a company of importance and excellente reputation all over the world. The Hi-Fi Show finished and the monoblocks came immediately to my house. Sad illusion, because they stayed more than twenty days sealed, as in the waiting line were the Nautilus 802 speakers (December edition) and all the preparation of Musical Perception Course. To be exact, only on December 2, I could place it to "bum in" in my torture room. Unpacked, one can see its magnificense and Nordic beauty.

Its acrylic front gives a delicate touch and its dimensions don't fight with the room. Everybody, who saw it, adored its design and good taste. Nothing of monstruous dissipators jumping out on the laterals or live comers.lts discretion is very typical of the European culture.lts backs present single ended and balanced imputs, a button to turn it on, and that, after activated, maintains the amplifier in permanent stand by. The only thing that displeased me in the AW 180 presentation was the quality of the power cables that, in my opinion, could be of better quality.

It’s manual is simple, but very objective. From it, we get to know a little about of the Electrocompaniet history, fouded in 1973 in Oslo-Norway, by a former guitarist, Per Abrahansem. An admirer and follower of the designer Matti Otala and Jan Lohnstro, he decided to develop a 25 watts integrated amplifier with low global feedback and hight values of current output. Soon, the critics noticed that there was a trasistorized amplifier that didn't sound hard and cold as the other transistorized of the time. It was enough for his company to conquer a place in the sun.
In the 80's, Electrocompaniet conquered Europe and part of Asia, and more recently it reached Sam's land with excellent receptivity.

The AW180 was placed in the heights by the American critics, and dealers numbers don’t stop to growing. But, after all, what is the mistely for so much success? Since the amplifier doesn’t have great dimensions, three men aren't necessary to carry it.

To answer correctly, follow my reasoning and my subjective analysis and I guarantee that you will also have the answer at the end of the test.

I left it " burning ", connected to the pre Audible Illusions for three days, still run by the Meridian 508/24 Cd Player and the Cub Wilson Audio speakers.

Everyday, at the end of every workday, I would enter the room and listening to it for at least two hours. I admit that I didn't feel great improvement in its burning, I don't know if the AW180 was already burned in from the Hi-Fi Show, or if it's so good that it gives out the best of itself. The fact is that the barbarians play exceptionally, and seduce us in the first chords.

I liked the sinergy between then and the pre Audible Illusions so much, that I took all the equipment to the main room, having to do a little "juggling" to maintain all the equipment in the room. Thus, the first part of the test was done with the configuration descibed above and interconnected with the Golden Cross cables Cardas between the Meridian and the pre, Silver cable Van Del Hul between the pre and power and Revelation, between the power and the speakers.

The amplifier control of the speakers was magnificent. The bass came correct, fast, incisive and robust. A great example was the 3, 5 and 7 tracks of Patdcia Barber's new work-Modern Coil, where three Electro Voice microphones were used to capture Michael Amopol's bass. The sound has harmonic structure of analogical recordings. Full, precise, contusing, it scares the imprudent or the ones accostumed to the skeletal sound of many cds and converters.The resolution is very truthful placing the bass player in your listening room. Another excelent example of the speed of the Electrocompaniet reaction was obtainedfrom Diane Reever's ed- Quiet After the storm- track two. Produced by George Duke, this cd has many examples for tests of speed, focus and breathing. The entrance of the metal notes and the dryness of 26" bumbo already in the theme introduction excite everybody that is interested in taking the maximum advantage of a high fidelity system. This work has coutless qualities, because George Duke imposed more modem arrangements to Diane Reever's powerful voice, exploring her maximum vocal technique. Another cd, that was a delight to listen was the difficult Markus Leoson- Percussion of the Swedish Caprice Records recording company, with pieces of Dan'us Milhold, Tommy Anderson, Tannis Xenakis e Norio Fukushi. Recorded at the Stockholm Royal Music Academy Theater, this cd has a superb ambience.

It is possible to hear the absorbers placed laterally to decrease the reverberation time of the room. The pieces for percussion and orchestra demand a lot from the equipment in bass and mid frequencies. The Monoblocks reproduced tracks 1 and 5 with a lot of criterion, maintaining the plans and cutting of each of the percussion instruments. In the most complex passages it was not possible to detect any compression or hardening. Few amplifiers, in which I use this disk to go with so many merits by this obstacle. Concluding the first part of the test with this configuration, I decided to hear one of the most beautiful violin cds that I have.

J S. Bach B WV 1001 -1 006 Sonatas and Partitas with the Violinist Sigiswald Kuijken of the consecrated Harmonia Mundi french recording company. A rare Giovano Gracino was used for the recording, a Milano 1700 model. Its sonority is very robust, and with a impressive extension of the treble notes. Ideal for the Baroque and Romantic music, there are only eight existent copies, all made between 1700 and 172 1. This cd allows to if very the quality and cleaning of the trebles of any system, as well as the extensive-decline and harmonic body.

The result was very consistent again.

The sound was projected in the room as if it had sprung from nowhere. It was possible to feel the musician's physical in my listening room. So an impasse was created. The system set up for the test, besides being synergic, it had quality of being coherent in the price, as the pre cost a little less than half the prices of the Monoblocks. The Meridian is within the wise perspective of the relation costlbenefit, only the speakers diverged a little, because they surpass by much of the rest of the system (in cost). However, for the potentiality presented, I had an enormous desire to connect the AW 180's to my reference pre, as well as to my source and to my main speakers. My doubt is; how much this would represent of concrete information for the member that's interested in a pair of U$ 7,000 monoblocks. However, my intuition told me to do it, because I have many new surprises.

I was so divided that I almost wrecked everything, because I'm as a Gt stubborn donkey " and I don't produce anything. I even dreamed that I had turned the Monoblocks on without telling anybody, and didn't tell anybody the result either.

What I'm trying to esplain is that I'm aware that nobody YAII buy a U$ 7,000 amplifier to connect a U$ 18,000 pre and still to connect it to a U$ 14,000 speakers of low sensitivity and that isn't any sweet pear. But, at least as we should also follow our intuition I decided to take the risk.

And I'm not even a little bit sorry.

PART 11

A POTENCIAL A LOT ABOVE THE EXPECTED

Connected to my main system, I began slowly, because I feared that my speakers would devoured the AW 180 (as it had already devoured a dozen amplifiers). To my surprise, the amplifier tamed the speakers and maintained a quite harmonious relation the whole time. So, excited, I began to look for challenges, after repeating all the disks used in part 1 of the test, I went after more complex recordins with arrangements more difficult to be reproduced, and then I remembered the excellent cd of Japanese JVC- Ron Carter Nonet,

Recorded in 1990 and introduced in 1991.

The recording is dense, dark, the course used in most of the tracks listed by the Andante Moderatto. Ron Carter opted for an unusual base for jazz, with four cellos, a contrabass (not his) a piano, percussion and drums. The textures are refined and the position on the fictitious stage divides the cellos and changes the position of the piano, percussion on each track.

To my great surprise, the Monoblocks handled the track 7 (the most difficult of the cd with enormous refinement (the cutting of the instruments, the focus, the breathing and mainly the density). Quite few amplifiers that went through my listen room could give this treatment to this cd. I could count on my hand the ones that, besides correct, excelled for the vivacity and the coherence of the timbre and the harmony. And the AW 180 is among the best ones. With a more refined pre and a more sophisticated source, they didn't commit, on the contrary, they grew more and more, taking an unimaginable dimension. I then, explored all possible variants. Pianos, big orchestras, big bands, feminine and masculine voices, synthesizers, pop, rock, ethnic music, etc.

To each new cd, a new surprise. Its treble clean, its mids open, focused, aired and the bass deep, but controlled, even with my demanding speakers. In some more critical passages I was in doubt if the Monoblocks could handle, but they never " denied fire ". They were captivating me to the point of (even being early, as it's the first edition of the year) placing them as serious candidates for the best amplifiers of the year inside their price level.

Few times I have seen such ecletic amplifiers capable of adapting to as many variables as the Scandinavian ones. For its price level, it's very difficult to find limitations., in my opinion, they would be very more inherent limitations to the commitment cost/ benefit than properly limitations.

Compared to the 3 3 H or the 8 ti model, I'd say that they just lose in the capacity to recover their breathe in very extreme situations. And in the presenting of the musical event, in greatness and organicity tenns. More complex recordings, such as great symphonic pieces or a lot of unissonant information presented by countless instruments, tend in the AW 180 to sound electronic, remindind us that they are recordings.

But, in its price level, no other amplifier that I know of, surpasses this degree of Obstacle. None.

However, as regards to cutting, breathing, speed, control, dynamics, macro and micro resolution power details, texture, timbre correction, tonal and focusing, it's difficult to excel the AW 180. Because the sum of these qualities give them a great refinement and a very high degree of naturalness.

CONCLUSION

I don't recommend the AW 180 only for their coutless qualities. I recommend them mainly for their capacity to maintain the premisse that the values of the high fidelity should be preserved and not altered in their main formulation: What is important is the music and not the equipment. Learn how to listen, to be able to enjoy all countless possibilities of this vast audiophile world.

The AW 180 has magic and magnitude, because it joins technology, knowledge, refinement and a select sense than is important in the high fidelity. Nothing pyrotechnic, or with fireworks, bold design. Just the music right there, in front of you.

For those prepared to a return to the purposes of the true High-End, the Aw 180 is one of the entrace doors.

Best Buy.

Sound : * * * * ½

Value : * * * * ½

Favorable : very precise, musical, refined and dynamic.

Against : Nothing.

Femando Andrette - Revista Clube do Audio.