He entered the court orchestra of Munich about 1789; he left the city in 1801 because of a love-affair, and travelled in 1802 through Germany, gaining a great reputation as violinist.
They set out on a tour to Russia, Spohr getting instruction at the places where the journey was broken, but otherwise profiting chiefly by hearing his master.
That he was not ashamed to pass off unpublished compositions of his brother and other composers under his own name confirms the low estimate of his general character to be gathered from Spohr's narrative.
[2] On arriving at St Petersburg in 1803 he met with great success, and was appointed solo violinist to the Court, but becoming involved in a scandalous affair, he fell into disgrace and was transported by the police over the Russian frontier.
Eck's importance in musical history rests mainly on the fact of his having been the master of Spohr, and thus having handed over to that great artist the traditions and principles of the celebrated Mannheim school of violin-playing.