Ensemble Evivo

POWER AMPLIFIER

 

SONDORO™ series

 

power amplifier tube / transistor technology 150 W / 4 ohm per channel isolation-type power transformer Ensemble PROCAP Golden Gate™ capacitors Ensemble SYNERGIA™ binding posts

 

The EVIVO SONDORO power amplifier is a true state-of-the-art product, built to the highest Swiss standards of precision and quality. It has an almost uncanny ability to make music come alive with spine-tingling immediacy and natural expressiveness.

 

There is a veracity in its sound that can be fully appreciated when critical music such as naturally recorded piano is played. The EVIVO™ will not only project a three-dimensional, correctly-sized instrument but also handle the often stupendous shifts in dynamics and changing tonal colors with a pleasure and ease as if it were the virtuoso artist itself. Drawing the listener into direct communication with the player and his instrument, the EVIVO provides a real concert experience well beyond ordinary high-end hifi.

 

Drawing on Ensemble’s long-standing experience with hybrid amplification, the EVIVO – now in its third generation – continues to demonstrate how a successful marriage of tubes and bipolar transistors can bring out the best of both technologies. While the tubes in the input stage demonstrate their superior way in handling the harmonic textures and timbres as well as the complex dynamics of music without running into problems of saturation, the bipolar transistors in the output stage provide low distortion and have the necessary low impedance to control the speakers, especially in the lower registers. The way the ECC81 (12AT) type double triode tubes are used, they need no adjustments or periodic controls. Apart from their friendly glow and warmth, for the user they function like solid-state devices.

 

A lot of thought and attention has been given to every single constructional detail. The appreciative eye will notice the quality of the metal work, as well as perceive that the RCA sockets and binding posts are all Ensemble designs. Made of copper with direct thick gold-plating (as against the usual nickel plating with a rush of gold), they are in a class of their own, not only in terms of the quality of the contacts but also in terms of their electrical conductivity being three times higher than brass. While still allowing the use of standard connections (spades, 4 mm bananas, pins or nude wire), the SYNERGIA™ binding posts are made to accept 6 mm laboratory-grade, 100 ampere rated bananas – a much superior connection and an audio first.

 

A more inquisitive inspection of the construction will further reveal that the transformer, the inputs with the main board (housing the sensitive electronics) as well as the rear wall with the speaker outputs are all decoupled, ie constructionally isolated from the main chassis. This is part of the underlying MICROSORBTM concept, developed by Ensemble to embrace all aspects of resonance control in a given design.

 

The same no-compromise design and execution can be found on all other levels, with every single component painstakingly selected both for its sonic qualities and reliability. Thus only the finest selected tubes of the ECC81 family, ie NOS from the golden era of German and British tube manufacture are used. They are fitted with Ensemble TUBESOXTM tube dampers to protect them from microphony and electro-magnetic interference.

 

In the preparation for this new generation of amplifiers it became clear that in order to eliminate any potentially weak point it was necessary to design a new kind of Noval tube socket. Beside the FUOCO integrated amplifier the EVIVO amplifier is the first to use Swiss precision-made, spring-loaded, gold-plated copper contacts for each of the nine pins. Inserting a tube into these Ensemble NOVALINO™ sockets, contact is made with a snap.

 

The SONDORO series sees an all-out effort to have all the critical passive components made to Ensemble state-of-the-art specifications. Among these are the GOLDEN GATE™ reservoir capacitors, various types of PROCAP™ polypropylene capacitors and low-noise amagnetic precision resistors.

 

As a further element in the sophisticated concept of maintaining the quality of the signal, the EVIVO amplifier uses a specifically developed audio-grade isolation transformer (which also fulfills medical equipment standards). Tying in with this is the exclusive internal wiring that makes use of the shielded Ensemble DYNALINK™ and MEGALINK™ cables.

 

Operational reliability has also been given the same high priority. The two most apparent safety elements are the switch-on mute (~50 seconds) and the automatic switch-off function, which is activated when the amplifier is put into overload by excessive volume, or when it sees a short or DC. As soon as the situation is cleared, the amplifier goes back into play mode.

 

Further protection is afforded by ‘superfast’ speaker output fuses (accessible from the outside), servo-operated biasing of the output stage (avoiding overheating), auto-resetting thermal fuses in the transformer, fuses for the power supply as well as double mains fuses in the electrical input socket (accessible from outside).

 

And finally, when using Ensemble DYNAFLUX™ interconnect with ALLINO™ RCA connectors a ground connection will first be made: thumps or other potentially destructive signals for the speakers therefore just cannot happen with Ensemble electronics and cables.

 

The EVIVO will prove easily compatible with a wide choice of electronics. It has everything to become the long- term centerpiece of a serious music system.

 

Just as much as the EVIVO will give that special kind of long-term satisfaction, typical of Ensemble products and regularly borne out by customer feedback, all other Ensemble components will do the same, as they are made with the same considerate care and in the same design approach. Ensemble considers them all to be musical instruments.

 

MAJOR FEATURES

 

•	Audio-grade isolation (mains) transformer

 

•	Advanced hybrid circuit design (tubes-transistors)

 

•	Input (voltage gain) stage with select-grade, matched tubes of the ECC81 (12AT7) family

 

•	Ensemble NOVALINO™ tube sockets

 

•	Ensemble TUBESOX™ tube dampers

 

•	Bipolar power transistors

 

•	Ensemble SYNERGIA™ RCA jacks

 

•	Ensemble PROCAP™ capacitors, Golden Gate™ reservoir capacitors

 

•	MICROSORB™ resonance control system

 

•	Sensitive electronics, signal and electrical inputs, speaker outputs, as well as transformer decoupled from chassis

 

•	8-tier operational safety system

 

•	Auto-resetting mute to protect speakers

 

•	All-copper Ensemble SYNERGIA™ 5-way binding posts (see below)

 

•	Voltage selector for 100 V, 115-120 V, and 220-240 V (50-60 Hz) mains

 

SPECIFICATIONS

Power nominal	100 W / 8 ohm 150 W / 4 ohm per channel
Input sensitivity	1.1 V (150 W / 4 ohm)
Input impedance	20 kohm
Signal-to-noise-ratio	99 dB (full power 4 ohm to noise floor)
THD + N	0.2 % (1 W / 4 ohm / 1 kHz)
Negative feedback	20 dB
Input tubes	Selected, matched ECC 81 (12AT7)
Voltage selector	100 V, 115 V, and 230 V (50/60 Hz) mains
Mains fuses	2 x 3.15 A T / 250 V (slow-blow) 220-240 V mains 2 x 5 A T / 250 V (slow-blow) 100-120 V mains
Power supply fuses	4 x 4 A T / 250 V (slow-blow)
Speaker output fuses	2 x 6.3 A FF / 250 V (super-fast)
Speaker outputs	Ensemble SYNERGIA binding posts, accepting 6 mm bananas (100 ampere-rated) 4 mm bananas /10 mm2 – AWG7 nude cable, 8 mm spades
Dimensions (wdh)	395 x 315 x 135 mm (15.5″ x 12.4″ x 5.3″) 550 x 430 x 350 mm (21.6″ x 17″ x 13.8″) boxed
Weight	15.5 kg (34 lbs) net, 19 kg (42 lbs) shipping weight
Accessories	TUBESOX™ tube dampers FLEXO™ shielded power cord (1.5 m) optional ZORBO™ equipment platform