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Reviewer: Srajan Ebaen
Financial Interests: click here
Source: 2TB iMac 27" quad-core with 16GB of RAM (AIFF) running OSX 10.8.2 and PureMusic 1.94g in hybrid memory play with pre-allocated RAM, Audirvana 1.4 in direct/integer mode, Metrum Hex, SOtM dX-USB HD with Super-clock upgrade & mBPS-d2s, AURALiC Vega
Preamplifier: Nagra Jazz, Bent Audio Tap-X, Esoteric C-03, TruLife Audio Athena
Integrated amplifier: Wyred4Sound mINT, Bakoon AMP-11, Clones 25i [on loan]
Power amplifier: Job 225; FirstWatt S1 monos, SIT2
Loudspeakers: German Physiks HRS-120, Zu Submission, AudioSolutions 200, Gallo Acoustics Strada 2/TR-3D, Boenicke Audio B10
Cables: Complete Zu Event loom, KingRex uArt split USB cable with Bakoon BPS-02 uninterruptible battery supply
Powerline conditioning: GigaWatt PF-2 and Vibex Two 1R DC filter on amps, Vibex Three 11R on front-end components
Equipment rack: Artesania Exoteryc double-wide three tier with optional glass shelf, Rajasthani hardwood rack for amps
Sundry accessories: Extensive use of Acoustic System Resonators, noise filters and phase inverters
Art: paintings by Ivette Ebaen, Indian bronze musicians and other Rajasthani furnishings from images-atmospheres.ch with jewelry from ninomedina.com
Music sources: bandcamp.com, qobuz.com, amazon.co.uk
 Room size: 5m x 11.5m W x D, 2.6m ceiling with exposed wooden cross beams every 60cm, plaster over brick walls, suspended wood floor with Tatami-type throw rugs. The listening space opens into the second storey via a staircase and the kitchen/dining room are behind the main listening chair. The latter is thus positioned in the middle of this open floor plan without the usual nearby back wall.
Review component retail: €1.850 global direct price

The emailer was Zoran Dobrin of Serbian firm Dayens. "We have a few new products. It would be our pleasure if you were interested in reviewing some of them. Ecstasy III is our best integrated to date. It's a big step up from Ampino and Menuetto. Basic specifications are:
• 150w@4Ω/ 100wW@8Ω
• 44.000uF (2 x 22.000uF) Mundorf MLytic® AG audio-grade electrolytic capacitors in the power supply
• Mundorf MCap® Supreme input capacitors
• 400VA toroidal transformer
• 2 pairs of original Japanese bipolar output transistors per channel
• Alps RK27MC Blue Velvet motorized potentiometer
• Remote volume control (universal remote)
• class AB design
• Price including shipping and taxes on our side (via postal services worldwide) is €1.850.

Zoran also proposed the Grande Mini and Tizo Mikra speakers but I signed up for the Ecstasy III. My review of their entry-level Ampino had made waves well beyond Serbia. What had squashed them were disproportionately high ship fees. Zoran had neither expected the global response nor accounted for the infrastructure of his non-EU country. This time the final price included global shipping to create a fixed rate* regardless of destination.

Lack of variable preout sadly eliminates subwoofer line-level hookup. And who today still uses a monitor loop?
*Not quite. By either low-balling their declared value or not listing one at all, the Serbians had prompted Swiss customs to open and formally inspect the package, then send me a form asking what the contents were worth. I listed half of retail which made the cash payment to the courier CHF 130.65. This fee will vary from country to country and depends on declared value (which determines the amount of reimbursement you'll get in case of loss or damage). But it's a variable that still must be factored into the final price.

After the third-priced Ampino, this new game of €1.850 prior to border baksheesh—call it €2K plus your own power cord—would take more doing to get ecstatic with the promised triple somersault. In my book it required besting or at least matching hi-tech challengers like EJ Sarmento's brilliant $1.500 Wyred4Sound mINT; or the $1.495 Goldmund Job 225 amp for just two I own. The mINT adds a multi-input DAC with USB and a headphone output yet makes the same power. The Job is a pure power amp but truly exceptional. Could the Ecstasy III be a legitimate alternative for those who don't drive D class to pass on the W4S and who want an integrated to pass on the Job? Some folks prefer traditional topologies, others want a single box. Zoran himself likes to go offroad. It's why he was late delivering. "I had radial head fractures on both arms due to a mountain-biking accident. This slowed us down a bit. I was in a cast and slings for 15 days but am recovering and getting back to work."