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| At press time video integration with WiMP wasn’t available yet but for the end of October 2014, firmware updates were already announced to address just that. |
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It doesn’t take fertile imagination to think that live concert streams like the Berlin Philharmonic’s Digital Concert Hall would interest more than a few music hounds even if initially available only at 256kbps. Heck, I would feel motivated to add a small TV to our listening space just for that. Hey, while I'm at it... what about acoustically transparent screens? Now there I’d get into territory I as yet know very little about.
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Conclusion. There’s a lot under the bonnet of Electrocompaniet’s ECM2 network player. First off there’s the excellent DAC which we previously reviewed. That creates the sonic foundation also for this machine. Once you add a hard drive into its bay, it not only is a standalone digital juke box but becomes a UPnP music streamer to other receiving kit in your household.
Particular highlights include the intuitive and blazingly responsive user interface, be it via television or tablet or smartphone. Subscription-based streaming à la WiMP/TIDAL is seamlessly integrated. If you do HD video—and why wouldn't you—that’s on the docket as well. That said, this Norwegian also does the purist audiophile proud. That competition under its own roof exists by way of the ECD2 DAC is true but sounding similar whilst costing less isn’t the same as the same. Connected to an average laptop, the DAC in my view didn’t fully approach the finesse of the audiophile network player. The hard- and software on board has clearly been tweaked not just for convenience but sound.
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Psych profile for the Electrocompaniet ECM2 network player…
• It sounds tonally balanced, with the low registers taut and rhythmic, the midrange leaner than warm and with a dash of extra gloss in the top registers. These are mere nuances and not signature traits (which wouldn’t translate with different digital sources in the first place). If you’re deliberately pursuing a warm and sonorous source however, this would be a lesser match.
• The ECM2 ranks high on pace, rhythm and timing. This mates to good resolution typical for this price class.
• Well-matched to the smart timing is also the soundstaging. That’s because the virtual stage is set a bit more forward than usual to feel more involving and less distant. The lateral panorama is quite wide and well lit into the stage rear. In a direct A/B against the stablemate DAC, the capture of artists and instruments came off with even better body and plasticity.
• User interaction is fun because the app is minimalist whilst intuitive and very responsive. The search function is brilliant.
• Electrocompaniet’s network player has mastered the lot. It streams from its own or various external hard drives, USB sticks or drives connected to the LAN, cloud-based subscription services like WiMP/TIDAL, never mind Internet radio. Via coax or Toslink, the machine becomes a DAC and/or UPnP music server over the network. It digests all common audio formats up to PCM24/192 and DSD128 and video up to 1080p with 24/192 attendent sound. Analog outputs are on RCA or XLR and fixed or variable.
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Facts.
• Category: A/V network player, DAC, optional UPnP server with volume control
• Dimensions and weight: 465 x 371 x 78mm WxDxH, 8.5kg
• Trim: black
• Connectivity: WLAN antenna, Ethernet, 4 x USB-a (sticks, drives), 4 x S/PDIF (two each coax and Toslink), trigger i/o
• Supported audio formats: WAV/WAVE, MP3, AAC+, Vorbis, AC3, DTS, ALAC, FLAC, APE, WMA
• Audio file resolution: PCM up to 24/192, DSD 128
• Video formats: MPEG-2, MPEG-4, H.263, MPEG-4 AVC (H.264)
• Video resolution: up to 1080p
• Power consumption: 50 watts at idle
• Other: remote control, free Android/iOS app, optional 2.5/3.5" hard disk (HDD or SSD)
• Warranty: 3 years
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redaktion @ fairaudio.de
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