ELECTROCOMPANIET ECI 6 DX MKII - A Norwegian thoroughbred with power and lossless hi-res streaming music finesse.
The Details
Today's review of Electrocompaniet's ECI 6 DX MKII integrated streaming amplifier component is one of two versions of the ECI 6 MKII Line. ECI 6 MKII is a conventional integrated amplifier, while the ECI 6 DX MKII adds a DAC and streaming circuitry. The ECI 6 MKII range is based on the earlier ECI 5 MKII but comes with an improved power supply and a more sophisticated preamp section. The unit is black with five gold buttons, a small status panel, and an LED volume indicator which describes an arc around the centrally located power indicator. Minimalist to a fault.
The rear is much busier with mains input, loudspeaker binding posts, and five digital inputs (TosLink 1, USB, Coax 1, Coax 2, TosLink 2). For analog inputs, there are three unbalanced RCA input pairs plus one XLR balanced pair. For music streamers, two streaming inputs are USB and wired LAN. Other jacks on the back include unbalanced RCA and balanced XLR preamp outputs, RS-232, and in/out 12 Volt triggers. You can't see it, but the unit also links to your network wirelessly via Wi-Fi and through Bluetooth. That's an ocean of connectivity.
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Electrocompaniet's ECI 6 DX MKII Overachiever Impresses
There was also much more consistency in the relationship between the three DAC's (XDS1, DV2 and Electrocompaniet. I think this makes sense. It is an easier task for a DAC to sound really good on hi-res material of all kinds, while Redbook presents many challenges in the filtering area as well as upscaling which can lead to a notable loss of realism. To make Redbook sound good is quite the challenge. Somehow EMM Labs, Chord, dCS, and some others manage this, but rarely at a reasonable price.
I haven't mentioned price until this point because I want you to understand what you are getting before you judge what kind of value is on offer. In fact, until this exact moment, I have not checked the prices myself. My guess is around $6500 for the base ECI 6 Mk II and $8500 for the ECI 6 DX Mk II.
And the actual prices: $6000 and $7500 respectively. I think the analog-only ECI 6 Mk II is fully competitive on features and specification and offers unusually good sound for the price, while the DX version, at just $1500 more, is an overachiever. It has all the great sound of the base model with all the convenience of a good flexible streaming DAC. It's $7500 well spent.
As to your friends, if they are Hi-Fi Mavins, they will be impressed that you own an Electrocompaniet. If they are not, they will be equally impressed once you start playing them some music. Not flashy here but thoroughly musical.
- Phil Gold, Sept 2022, EnjoytheMusic.com
Link to product: Electrocompaniet ECI 6 DX MKII
Link to review: EnjoytheMusic.com