Jacqueline Du Pre’s 1965 recording with Sir John Barbirolli and the London Symphony Orchestra is most highly cherished by the analog connoisseurs and aficionados. Jacqueline du Pré’s emotional engagement steps daringly into the melancholic and eerie realms and to be fully immersed into this powerful interaction, power amplifiers must be able to deliver the uncanny momentum when it’s needed (to be liked or not). ERIC amps’ inner core masterfully established the almost poignant aural impact as well as one of the kind orchestral rendition. I’ve often asked what is so special (and price worthy) at the upper level of ultra high-end audio. There are quite a few criteria and one of them is non-fatiguing and ERIC amplifiers are stellar in this regard.

The pace of London Symphony Orchestra is brilliantly controlled by Sir John Barbirolli and here another ERIC’s quality stepped forward. The dynamic shifts were utterly controlled with feather-like ease and in the complete absence of losing control at any time. Even some of the most exotic amplifiers fail to exhibit the needed focus and lose themselves when the grander orchestra impact comes at forte and demand non-restrained multidimensional scaling. Not the ERICs! Engström cost no object tube amplifiers accurately portrayed a variety of orchestra’s sounds with a lexicon like quality.

One of the biggest challenges (event at the cost no object level) is not strictly connected with the dynamic impact. It’s the ability to preserve both orchestra and solo instrument within their given space and time while not creating a sonic cluster. This is where the high-end and ultra high-end parts by a no small margin. This is particularly evident when Jacqueline Du Pre’s moderato tempi is joined by the orchestra. With Engström app her poise is untouched and her lyrical playing is as vivid as it gets. This feature alone elevates the ERIC amplifiers at the most highly distinguished audio abode!

The Brahms, Violin Concerto – Played by Leonid Kogan / Kyril Kondrashin (ERC042M) further confirmed that the ERIC’s magnificent ability of complex, yet palpable relief structuring of the aural scape was no happy accident. Kogan’s violin vibrancy, as well as the golden trio of timbre, tone, and color, were never challenged with the Engström tube flagships in action. ERIC amps reflected an impressive amount of upper echelon attributes translating into the believability factor that really shifted my perception of what a state of the art tube amplifiers are capable of.

ERICs’ rendition of Kogan‘ immersive and fluid performance as well as juxtaposition of orchestra and violin was exemplary. The texture is seen as a jointed timbre of multiple instruments and ERICs exhibited stand out qualities.

ERIC amplifiers’ zen-like translucency and out-of-the-box, out-of-the-speakers’ rendition of Bill Evans Trio Featuring Scott La Faro Sunday At The Village Vanguard (ERC040S) painted the sonic canvas with a strikingly powerful illusion. I did expect stellar performance, but not exactly such sonic semantic proximity. Being there factor was for a change not metaphoric, but with the higher level believability.

Link do recenzji: Engstrom Eric – Mono and Stereo

Opening our account with Gregory Porter's Liquid Spirit [Blue Note 0602537410538] the ERIC Encores warmed to their task in minutes, more than living up to the title of the album, sounding gorgeously lush and refined, but never slow or leaden. Instead, they delivered crisp, tight rhythms allied to a sonorous, close-focused view of Porter's voice.

And as if that didn't tingle the spine enough, playing Kate & Anna McGarrigle's Dancer With Bruised Knees [Warner Bros 7599-25958-2] showed the Encores to be capable of bags of detail and definition, while bathed in a lovely warmth. There was a beautiful, natural generosity to the sisters' impeccable and delightful harmonies, everything in the mix sounding clear and with mesmerising presence, but without a sense of being over-analysed.

Switching musical style to the 2014 Gustavo Dudamel recording of Mahler's 3rd [Berliner Philharmoniker Recordings] and the ERIC Encores instantly delighted with their big, warm, free-breathing view of the performance. And there is that sense of performance, thanks to the massive bass weight available here, the fabulous rosiny bite to the low strings and the silky violins, and the feeling of space and air around the performers. Despite 'only' 70W per channel driving the speakers, the amps are more than capable of generating realistic listening levels while still having plenty in reserve to deliver a palpable, explosive power when required.

The ability of these amplifiers is truly wide-ranging. Loading up the recent 50th anniversary release of George Harrison's All Things Must Pass [Universal 192kHz/24-bit download; n/a cat. no.] their big, substantial sound makes the most of these remasters, from the catchy and very '70s pop of 'What Is Life?' to the anthemic 'My Sweet Lord'. The latter grabs the attention with the opening acoustic guitar, seducing with the string sound on the celebrated riff and bringing out all the character of Harrison's vocal.

And the ERIC Encore's ability with dense mixes and characterful performances is also heard to good effect with Gov't Mule's live Dark Side Of The Mule [Provogue/Mascot PRD 7446 5], the remarkable guitar of Warren Haynes on 'Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Pts 1-5' cascading through a solid, three-dimensional soundstage, thanks to the blend of focus and warmth here. Even better, the presentation remains clean and tight when cranked.

Enchanted by their sound, we rounded up our last session with two favourite test tracks. The first was the dense and richly detailed performance of 'The Carousel Waltz' from The John Wilson Orchestra's Rodgers & Hammerstein At The Movies [Warner Classics 3193012], which utterly delighted with its propulsive detail and the sense of conductor and orchestra having an absolute ball.

Link do recenzji: Engstrom Eric – Hi-Fi News

Link: Engstrom Eric – Hi-Fi News – Outstanding Product

Link: Engstrom Eric – MonoandStereo – Editors Choice