EAR pre amps

Been looking at these on and off and google keeps sending me back here; I can only assume a fair few ZG folk have used them over the years.

So, thoughts and experiences welcome particularly if used in conjunction with solid state power and around 834L level price wise.

 

Very nice - BUT - the best one they ever made was the 802 back in the 80's- it rivalled a preamp I had with a £7000 price tag. I sold mine to JANDL (usually found on Hi Fi Wigwam) when I bought an integrated amp. He may be wanting to sell it soon if you are curious drop him a PM

 

it all depends on your benchmarks, for quite some time i really liked 864. the moment my system changed towards an extreme transparency, i was able to hear lots of imperfections. now i'm using a TVC with 864 employed only for phono duties - yes a bit expensive but i'm at the moment too lazy to bother.

if you are focussed on CD playback only i would definitely look into some great relatively simple DIY preamps whose schematics you can find on the net (google "euridice preamp") or -if you don't need a gain from the preamp- i would seek for a passive, TVC. unless you can built it yourself, nothing can touch cheaper TVCs for the money you pay - django, promitheus, glasshouse. so i would pass 834L...

 

Yup, I've got Larkrise's old 802. Very, very nice indeed - especially with Mullard 802 and Telefunken NOS 12AX7 valves installed. Open, detailed, hi rez - the Telefunkens get rid of 95% of the 'EAR colourations' that Anu aludes to, although Mullard 12AX7's get you 2/3rds of the way there.

I use it in addition to my DAX Decade DAC/pre unit as it adds body, tonal colour, palpability and dynamics to my system despite it being an additional component in the audio chain. I don't hear any losses by using it.

And, no, it's not up for sale!

 

Thanks for the above. This particular train of thought actually started with a TVC (A Music First that a heard) and have been musing on ever since. The field seems to be broadening a bit though: Promitheus and Django both coming in various transformer flavours. I rather liked the look of the glasshouse though - I do need a number of inputs and yes vinyl is one of the sources.
Can't remember what the issues were with TVCs and power amp input impedances though.
I think I was leaning towards a valve pre if one existed with a decent phono stage on board but then an 834l plus an 834p comes in at a lot less cash than an 864 (yes I know there are some differences).
So, are the different types of transformer on offer in these boxes making significant differences?

 

I have an 834L DeLuxe, courtesy of Sideshowbob. I bought it because I was curious to know whether a valve pre-amp sounded any different from the Quad 44, which I'd heard had a "valve" sound. Answer, no, they sound identical (played through a Quad 606). But it is prettier than the 44.

 

Hi Guys

The EAR 864 is a nice pre ,but not the last word in transparency ,as some above have stated a passive/transformer coupled pre will not only clean your windows but remove them. However with the right valves inside much of the EAR 864 veiled quality can be cleaned up (but i really don't understand the cult of the Mullard .I have a quantity of good ones i found i had for 15 years in a box and having tried them in the 864 i was very disappointed in them but each to their own). I would also use tube dampers and isolation as the pre is a bit microphonic and damp the top plate as its not exactly the last word in rigidity .

I found the EAR to work quite well with a pair of Audio Innovations s 1000 mk3 valve mono blocks using Audience Au 24 rca cables for hook up.

tones sorry to say this but if you had a less coloured power amp(i am not knocking its reliability) you would be able to hear a big difference between an 864 and your Quad 44 (which you prefer is a different issue). The Quad 66 power amp makes a nice sound but its not a transparent enough design(in its standard form) to show differences IMHO. It flattens out those and veils them.

coda11 you should be able to pick up an EAR 864 s/h for not to much money . You will just have to look around . IMHO this is the best of EAR's more affordable kit.

Regards D Louth

 

Sorry Jerry - thought you were moving on from the EAR 802, thus the comment. I had an 864 - against the 802 no contest which I thought was strange given pedigree.

However - without any doubt the best valve preamp I have ever heard - and had this against several TVC's including Music First, a top end Passion. . . . was a UK built Matisse Reference - totally faultless and . . . . I sold it to a collector in Hong Kong. . . . . aggh. You try and find one - impossible to find the original genuine article.

 

No problems, ol' bean. To my ears, it makes a nice noise. As a matter of interest, what would you suggest that doesn't cost several arms and an entire octopusfull of legs?

 

I second that interest on the basis that the power amp in use here is a...




Quad 909