I have very limited experience with an AVA T7 SLR (same as ECR but without tone controls and some other goodies) as I have owned my T7 SLR only a short time (and actually have to sell it to fund a recent AVA amp purchase). My T7 preamp doesn't have the phono so I can not comment on it but the line stage seems very "powerful" for lack of a better word. My only other preamp for comparison is a passive one (which I will be forced to go back to) and while the passive is very neutral, it seems somewhat bland in direct comparison to the T7 that seems to have more drive and excitement. The T7 doesn't add to or colour the sound but passes it to the amplifier with much greater dynamics.
Although the T7 is a tube hybrid preamp, it doesn't sound especially tuby. The music is grain free but has the extreme highs and lows of solid state. Best of both worlds?
Most people agree that AVA equipment offers tremendous value for the price. You can call the owner/designer, Frank Van Alstine, by calling the company, which is unusual. In addition, you can obtain upgrades from AVA as they become available if you would like to stay current with the latest technology. A word of caution, however, AVA has released a new upgrade for the T7 (which they will call something new - T9? noting that AVA has introduced a new tube T8 preamp) and the upgrade for the T7 is about the savings over what you could purchase a new T7 ECR with the latest upgrade included. That is not to say that the T7 ECR you are looking at isn't a great price but if you are looking to stay current with the latest upgrade, you may want to purchase new from AVA to obtain the latest model. Of course, if you are short on money you can purchase the used T7 ECR and upgrade later if desired and you can defer the upgrade cost to when you are ready.
In my opinion, I don't think that you can go wrong owning AVA equipment.
Take care,
Tom
