This site differs from other hifi websites in various ways. Some sites have such a plethora of brands and types of equipment that the mind can boggle and find it very hard to pierce the fog of claim and counter-claim, nuance and niche.
One of the distinctions here is that this lot is devoted to but one brand. This is a very exclusive brand and is being listened to world wide. People let each other in on the world of Ecofan where there is no bullshit and real development goes on.
Amplifiers of course come in various styles and performances for varying uses. Ecofan amps are no exception. The single ended family is a trio of small power amps using direct coupling, (no caps in the signal path other than the bypassed bypass ones on the power tube cathodes), and big transformers etc. They are the 2WRMS type 45 ones, the 5WRMS ones with 6A3 and 12WRMS using SV-811-10.
For less sensitive speakers there are the 100WRMS single ended Super Audion MKVIII monoblocks using 4 X 6550 valves in parallel giving 50WRMS in triode mode and about 100WRMS in ultra-linear.
It is true that bigger valves give a bigger sound and there is interest in using the large, and on the face of it rather inefficient transmitting valves in a single ended monoblock. This style is being produced here also, comprising the type 211, which is an actual audio valve, not an otherwise class B or C type intended for transmitter final and Morse code, (CW), modulation with grid construction to suit, for maximising power supply economy.
Another interesting type of amplifier is of course the OTL or output transformer-less amp. The 6080 valve is unsurpassed in this role and is a readily available type. Two types of circuit are used in Ecofan models: the classic and very elegant circlotron circuit which, however, uses a phase splitter, and the newly developed Ecofan SE-OTL, which is a single ended design with valve power supply and no phase splitter.
One thing all these amps have in common is the fact that no negative feedback is used, (or positive for that matter). This is very important for a pure sound, not regurgitated around, mixing output with input, causing audio confusion and decreasing the thereness of the sound. Does that make sense? I think so when you get down to the nitty-gritty of it.
Some of the Ecofan amps will appear on other sites from time to time, but the real flagship models such as the 211 amps and the SE-OTL are only to be had from the Ecofan Sound website, delivered anywhere on the globe.
There is a big demand for decent valve preamps. More complicated than power amps of course and a decently designed one is hard to come by. Phase must be correct over the whole audible frequency range for instance. Some big names end up 180 degrees out of phase over the range – not good enough.
