Northern lights

This new entry-level integrated promises more fans for the iconic Norwegian brand. David Vivian counts himself among them

- David Vivian

Is it possible to get hooked on a look? Absolutely. And, as you might expect, Scandi designers have the knack of tempting us with eye appeal alone. Take integrated amplifiers. Whether it’s Hegel’s stone-cold sober industrial functionalism or the surgically clean lab chic favoured by Primare and Copland, they’re all riffing on a less-is-more theme – spare, cool and tasteful.

But it’s remarkable what subtly tweaked proportions and a sprinkle of bling can do to raise the aesthetic ante. Proof? Norwegian high-end practitioner Electrocompaniet has been stealing the scene for nearly five decades, its fusion of black, gold anda billboard-sized logo serving as an iconic visual constant through a history encompassing massive initial critical acclaim, a reputation for top-drawer sonics bolstered by a thumbs-up from Michael Jackson’s studio engineers, an arguably risky shift of emphasis towards multi-room lifestyle speakers and, latterly, a return to its purist roots as evinced by its current core lineup of ‘Classic Line’ amps, CD players and streamers.

Smitten audiophiles, perhaps hitherto put off by the lofty price tags, will be interested in the company’s new entry-level integrated, the ECI 80D. At £2,990, it sits comfortably outside the budget sector but the promise of a genuine high-end EC goodness, including on-board DAC, in a slimmed-down and less expensively pitched package is certainly enticing and hot competition for Scandi rivals Hegel’s H190 (£3,200), Primare’s I25 Prisma (£3,200, HFC 461) and Copland’s CSA 100 (£3,500 HFC 465).