https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/index.htmlHistory The story of the early Electrocompaniet period (1975-1980) and the “Otala” 25W amplifier: the people involved, the press coverage, the brochures. Ported from Legacy/: the Otala story, the people involved, protection networks, the Audio Critic test, marketing brochures, and Norsk Radiofabrikk. Not ported: photo.htm (a generic FrontPage sample-photo placeholder with no real content) and news.htm (a changelog of the old website itself, not Electrocompaniet history).Hugoen-ushttps://hermitaudio.github.io/history/otala-story/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/otala-story/index.htmlA story of the legendary 25W “Otala” amplifier as seen by Terje Sandstrøm, one of the original designers. Also see “The People Involved”, for other designers and people who contributed. Introduction — the birth of the Otala amplifier At an AES conference in 1973, Dr. Matti Otala presented a paper describing the design of a TIM-free audio amplifier. Present at this conference was Svein Erik Børja, a Norwegian record and broadcasting producer, and a great audio enthusiast. Svein Erik Børja was also one of the greatest Golden Ears of his time — he was able to hear even the slightest imperfection in an audio component. Having been dissatisfied with the sound of the transistorized audio amplifiers of that day, he saw an opportunity here for an audio amplifier of a new generation. Dr. Otala’s talk about TIM also explained the imperfections Svein Erik himself had noted in audio amplifiers.https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/people-involved/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/people-involved/index.htmlSeveral people were involved in the development of the 25W amplifier. This chapter takes the history from the perspective of the people involved, in chronological order. A Finnish professor named Matti Otala (also here). On sabbatical at Philips in Eindhoven, together with Jan Lohstroh he designed a TIM-free amplifier. It was one step in Otala’s quest against the new distortion called TIM, and later DIM. Svein Erik Børja, a Norwegian broadcast and record producer, heard the presentation given by Dr. Matti Otala at an AES conference in Copenhagen in 1973. Together with Nils Jørgen Kjærnet at Nera he built two units based on the Otala/Lohstroh schematics.https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/protection-networks/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/protection-networks/index.htmlProtection networks, power supplies, and other stuff not so interesting, but still needed. You’ve read the section on how this came about? If not, go back and do so! Otherwise, take a look at the world’s first protection network that did not affect the sound AT ALL. Yes — it is the first one! The design is very simple: passive sensing of current, then triggering a relay which removes the supply voltage from the output stage. As you probably know, the EC design uses one power supply for the voltage-amplifying stages and one for the power output, where all the large currents go. This separation made this protection scheme work. If not, big bangs would be heard …https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/audio-critic-test/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/audio-critic-test/index.htmlThe Audio Critic test, from 1976, that triggered the flood of orders for the amplifier:https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/brochures/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/brochures/index.htmlWe did brochures! See the Otala story for the context. Our first brochure It was rather technical. The two remaining pages are still waiting to be scanned. Our second brochure More professional this time :-)https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/norsk-radiofabrikk/index.htmlMon, 01 Jan 0001 00:00:00 +0000https://hermitaudio.github.io/history/norsk-radiofabrikk/index.htmlNorsk Radiofabrikk — The Norwegian Radio Manufacturing Company The company was founded in 1979 by Espen Evensberget, Paal Rasmussen and myself. More info on this will follow later, but for now, see what the press said at the time below. The company also put out its own press release, “Tre Faser i en Utvikling” (“Three Phases in a Development”), about the story of the Otala power amplifier including the NRF modifications, written in 1979 — that document hasn’t survived, or hasn’t been found again yet.