Eddie Current EC/SS

This cool thing popped up for sale locally so I grabbed it even though I need a headphone amp like I need a hole in the head

from what I could gather on old head-fi threads, this was Craig's first SS amp from 2006? If any EC historian knows more, please chime in.



it's built really well and I love the minimalist look. I like that there isn't even a power indicator LED. one in, one out, one knob, one switch. though I do question putting the letters SS next to what looks like a sieg rune.

it came with a massive power brick which would normally be annoying except a) it's obvious this brick was chosen on the basis of sound quality and b) it makes the amp itself that much more small and tidy. my favourite thing about this amp is how small it is, it tucks right underneath a monitor or on your nightstand.

I peeked inside and the board is very neat. it's a shame there are no commercially available solid-state headphone amplifiers built like this anymore, at least not that I know of. a lot of what's on the market is faceless surface-mount crap, and the stuff that isn't is usually quite douchey. In the EC/SS all the signal resistors are carbon comp(!) with nice discrete BJTs and AD op-amps. the op-amps are socketed so experimentation is easy.



to evaluate the sound I simply compared it to the headphone jack on my iMac using an Audioquest 3.5mm to RCA adapter. compared to the headphone jack, the EC/SS makes the sound slightly softer and slightly more compressed but there are no tonal colorations and the sound remains fairly lively. sharp sounds still have fair sharpness. the headstage doesn't shrink to a flat contorted plane like Schiit gear. most solid-state amps score much worse than this, so I am impressed.

it has what I would consider to be just the right amount of gain for a headphone amplifier and leaves plenty of room on the pot for adjustment with both sensitive and difficult to drive headphones. I have to max out the pot with my Yamaha HP3 to rock out, but I will take this compromise over having too much gain for my Koss. HP amps these days just have way too much gain for the market full of planar dorks, and unnecessary gain switches for IEM dweebs.

lately I mainly listen to my KTXPRO1 from my iMac so the EC/SS is relegated to desk ornament duty. but it's really nice to have the option to play with my Yamahas and Sennheisers too. cool blast from the past.

 

From the old site:
EC SS

All headphone amps are not created equal. And you'll love how the ECSS is unequaled in size to superb sound production. This portable amp is powered by an external 16 volt AC wall transformer. Great for docking stations. Easy on the space and especially on the budget!

Specifications:

--Gain +4 dB, +15 dB user selectable.

--Maximum drive current both channels driven 300 mA.

--Max voltage swing with symmetrical clipping at 13 volts peak.

--Maximum power into 32 ohms 3 watts peak.

--Maximum power into 300 ohms 560 mW peak.

--Frequency response driving grado RS-1's, or Sennheiser HD650's -0.5 dB @ 1 Hz, and 250 kHz.

--Output source resistance 0.5 ohms.

 

Hey I spy some Yamahas I modded!

 

yup! thanks again for these, they sound closer to my favorite dynamic cans in the mids than any other ortho I've tried. obviously I can't get them going from the Mac headphone jack so the EC/SS is a great solution there.

Interesting, I assume this means factory op-amp swaps as there is no gain switch or jumper on the board that I can see.

 

So you're the one that snagged it! I had messaged him about cost of shipping to PEI, didn't get a response till many hours later when he said he had a local sale.

 

ah, yes, sorry. I'll think of you if I ever decide to sell it if it makes you feel better, a Vali 1 from schiit is just as good and cheaper.

 

I remembered it from back in the day. I never got to hear one back then so I was mostly just curious about it.