Electrocompaniet AW800M launched as company’s new, flagship power amplifier.
*From the Electrocompaniet news release
Electrocompaniet, the Norwegian manufacturer of HiFi equipment entirely produced in their own factory in Norway, are launching their new flagship power amplifier.
Coinciding with their 50-year anniversary and the 25-year jubilee since the legendary AW600 NEMO was first launched, the new AW800M is set to have a big impact in the marketplace.
The AW800M is Electrocompaniet’s brand new, from the ground up re-engineered flagship power amplifier. The AW800M is an 800 watt into 8 ohms monoblock amplifier, that can also be run in stereo mode, as well as bi-amping mode with the flick of a switch at the back.
The amplifier showcases an updated, yet unmistakable and distinctive Electrocompaniet design that is a perfect match for all current and legacy Electrocompaniet products. With all the changes and improvements made in the AW800M, one thing that has not changed is the unique Electrocompaniet design philosophy and sound signature. The AW800M encompasses the Electrocompaniet direct coupled high open loop bandwidth topology, further enhanced with high slew-rate and very high bandwidth amplifier stages.
In addition, a brand-new output stage is designed that heavily shields the input and driver stages from the load and makes the output extremely stiff and unaffected by the connected load. This has the added benefit of significantly simplifying the workload of the already gently working feedback system and thus provides vanishingly low distortion figures. The output stage incorporates a total of 32 high bandwidth, high current bipolar output transistors that unstrained can deliver very high currents to the load.
To feed the output stage the power supply is heavily updated and now has a total of 210000 uF supply filtering. Mains power input is DC and RF filtered ahead of the wire gauge upgraded, twin toroidal transformers that are magnetically and electrostatically shielded to keep any noise from intruding. The internal ground reference has been vastly over dimensioned and kept fully free of rectifying and output currents. The result is a very clean, noise free output signal regardless of output power, providing a very stable sound stage with the blackest background possible at any sound level.
An intriguing new attribute of the AW800M is the ability to switch between mono, stereo and bi-amping operating modes, enabling you to upgrade your system or change your configuration while retaining your initial investment.
Comfort upgrades are on/off switchable auto power down and switchable feature lighting, as well as trigger input-ouput.
We are confident that from the first note of any familiar recording, you will be captivated by the AW800M and by the musical enjoyment it will give you.
By Hi-Fi+ Staff
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