Have you confirmed the 40T cells are genuine? I highly doubt there’s something wrong when he says that both are the same

The EA has a more focused center hotspot which makes it appear the same brightness.

The EC has a lot more evenly spread flood (surrounding light) which is producing more lumens

You need to understand the difference between lux and lumens when choosing the right flashlight for you.

Lux - the brightest (most intense) part of the beam

Lumens - overall light output