Electrocompaniet ECI-3 vs Classe CAP-101


I AM LOOKING FOR AN INTEGRATED AMP FOR MY SONUS FABER CONCERTOS, AFTER LISTENING TO MANY AMPS AND LOOKING AT MANY REVIEWS AND COMMENTS HERE IN THIS WEBSITE, I HAVE NORROW IT DOEN TO TWO OPTIONS: (BUDGET $1000)
-ELECTROCOMPANIET ECI-3
-CLASSE CAP-101

I HAVE TO DECIDE THIS WEEKEND FOR ANY OF THIS TWO AMPS, IF ANYBODY HAS EXPERIENCE WITH THE COMBO OF ANY OF THIS AMPS WITH SONUS FABER CONCERTOS PLEASE COMMENT.
MY OTHER EQUIPMENT IS REGA PLANET CD PLAYER, B&W ASW600 SUB AND AUDIOQUEST VIPER AND SLATE CABLE
THANKS IN ADVANCE
rcoppel
I've got a CAP-101 and I find it to be a really good amp. Good resolution, good bass. Not quite as engaging in soundstage as some higher priced seperate amps I've used: e.g. Pass Aleph 3 or a modified Jolida I own, but a pleasure to listen to and more power.
When I owned Sonus Faber Concertinos I also owned both the Electrocompaniet ECI-3 and Simaudio Moon I-5 integrateds.

I must admit that during this period I had room acoustic and cabling issues, so my experience with these units isn't what I would have hoped for.

When comparing both with the Concertinos, I thought the ECI-3 was smoother and not quite as tipped up in the treble as the I-5, both sounded much stronger than 70wpc. Both amps were quite spacious and soundstaged well, but I would have to give a slight edge to the I-5 in this area because of the extra sonic cues that an extended treble can sometimes yield. The overall balance of the ECI-3 was more in the direction of tube sound than the I-5, but I still wouldn't characterize the sound of the Electrocompaniet as being tubey. The ECI-3 has a clean, elegant design and the remote works very well with the unit.

I sold both units, and the only reason I didn't keep the ECI-3 was because of what I suspect as being an impedance matching issue with my NHT SW3P subwoofer. It's possible the output impedance of the ECI-3 was too high to properly drive the NHT sub amp. Bass was very strong in the upper regions, but lacked any extension on the bottom end. I had to turn the gain of the NHT way up to get any lower octaves and that completely unbalanced the sound. I don't know what the specs or the input impedance of the amp used by your ASW600 is, but I would compare the Classé and ECI-3 to make sure the B&W's input impedance is at least 10-100 times that of the integrateds pre-out output impedance. Hopefully this won't be an issue.

Overall, I thought the tonal balance of the ECI-3 matched to the Sonus Fabers was organic, yet dynamic. I wish I didn't have so many deficits in other areas of my system because I think I could have really lived with this combo. The Concertinos are the most beautiful monitors I've owned. Excellent build quality and a very classic appearance.
Another truely awesome choice is Plinius 8100. 100 wpc- RC.
the few extra wpc will come in handy. SFs do like power.

I would characterize the 8100 as more open on top then the ECI-3, flip 'em in the mids, solid bass drive. Walks a nice path between tube -ss sound. Might run you another $1-150, but worth it. If you don't have a second set of outs AA sells Monster splitters.