The design features of Ampliwire 180 Mono :
After the Electrocompaniet 25 watt amplifier had established a new standard for transistor amplifiers, research was undertaken to find ways to make the amplifier even better, and to extend its highly musical sound quality to more powerful amplifier designs. The engineers at Electrocompaniet were not satisfied by only reducing the commonly recognised types of distortion to low levels. They recognised that distortion appears in many forms, and that distortion was still audible in listening tests even when conventional categories of distortion were at astonishingly low levels.
Traditionally, designers increased feedback to make a larger portion of the output signal control the amplifiers response. Our listening tests showed us that simply applying more feedback was not the answer. In fact, as one kind of distortion went down, other parameters would be adversely affected, leading to an overall degradation of sound quality. We knew that the other conventional design approach of eliminating feedback completely was not the answer either, because this would cause high distortion levels, and as a result would produce a “woolly” sound.
The answer to the dilemma was found in a novel approach to feedback theory. We developed a feedback concept that allowed local feedback to be applied around individual stages of the amplifier circuit. This approach allowed us to avoid the sonic disadvantages of overall feedback from output to input. The concept was further developed to reduce phaseand interphase distortion between stages of the amplifier as well. We were able to concentrate the loop feedback on the stages of the amplifier where it resulted in audible improvement.
Stability margins were also expanded because feedback no longer affected the frequency response. The use of this concept of individual gain blocks - complex in design but simple in function - allowed us to reduce distortion to minute values in all the products.
The amplifier is divided into two separate sections or gain blocks. The input block is a transconductance amplifier without overall feedback. This avoids large output current being fed back to the input, and mixed with the minute input signal. The output block is a transresistance amplifier with parallel feedback. This is done to prevent higher frequencies than the feedback loop can handle, from entering the loop. An approach like this will prevent Transient Inter modulation Distortion (TIM) and Slewing Induced Distortion (SID), eliminating the need for an extremely wide bandwidth.
All stages work in Class A with an efficiency of less than 0,1%. The power supply of the AW 180 consists of one 650 VA toroidal transformer. Furthermore, the power supply consists of a 60.000 micro farad reservoir divided into six 10.000 micro farad capacitors in parallel with 4,7 and 0,1 micro farad polycarbonateand polypropylene capacitors.
Unpacking the amplifier:
Immediately upon receipt of the amplifier, inspect the carton for possible damage during shipment. If the carton is visibly damaged, a claim must be filed with the carrier as soon as possible.
Unpack the unit carefully, and please do remember to save all packaging materials for future shipment. The carton and packaging have been designed to offer the safest possible protection when transporting your amplifier.
The content of the carton is as follows:
2 pcs Electrocompaniet Ampliwire AW 180 Mono
2 pcs AC power cord
1 Owners Manual
1 pcs Spare fuse, 10.0 AT slow-blow 5x20mm (120V AC) 6.3 AT slow-blow 5x20mm (220V AC)
The actual spare fuse is located inside the AC 3 pin receptacle.
Connecting the AW 180:
Connecting to mains
Check that the mains voltage printed on the rear panel of the amplifier corresponds with the line voltage in the territory were you intend to use your amplifier.
How to avoid damages
A good operating practice is to turn off all equipment before any connections or disconnection’s are made. Do not under any circumstances connect or disconnect equipment when power is turned on. If you insist on connecting or disconnecting while power is turned on, you should be aware that the design of the RCA plug generates a large transient when inserting the plug. This could damage both the speakers and the amplifier.
The rear panel
The rear panel of the Ampliwire AW 180M is equipped with two sets of RCA input sockets, marked + and -. In addition, one XLR female socket, and the on/off switch.
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