Is the Eico HF 81 really that good?


I read about the little Eico integrated in Stereophile. They said it was incredible. Does anyone here have any direct experience with this unit?
128x128baranyi
It's funny. I've never heard this unit, but in EICO's heyday in the mid 60's I was into amateur radio. EICO was one of many suppliers of kits to this market. Their stuff included transmitters, receivers, and test gear (oscilloscopes, voltmeters, etc). I owned one of their scopes.

EICO was considered a kind of second rate supplier of cheap low quality gear at the time. If you wanted a kit and had money Heath was considered much better.

It's interesting to hear this amplifier praised so highly in Stereophile. I guess I'm just prejudiced from experience.
There's nothing unique with the circuitry- it's all the sound of the output transformers. They don't look like anything special either, and their low end is lacking, but wow, what a lively, unrestricted sound they have.
Yep. I, for one, have never understood the mystique & panache some audiphiles attribute to Eico. This is another hit on Stereophile`s ever diminishing credibility. In it`s day (long gone), Eico was merely cheap, inexpensive & decent gear (no more, no less). For anyone considering himself an audiophile to tout Eico as a giant killer & incredible is laughable & borders on the absurd. Absurdity abounds in this hobby. Once again JA`s measurements call into question the hearing & judgement of his reviewers.
Porziob writes:
Once again JA's measurements call into question the hearing & judgement of his reviewers.
Agreed. The most interesting thing about this episode.

Regards,
i have a HF-81 and yes it sounds great. I have three other tube amps from Cary, Wright Sound Lab and Conrad Johnson and the little EICO gives up nothing. A bargain if you can find one. At 14 watts a side you need efficient speakers.

Larry