- While the EAR 834P has been available for a few years now, it bears listening to with News of the Day freshness and currency. It's one of those 'Yes!' Products - where you know immediately that something right and good is happening.
- EAR 834p phono preamplifier. The EAR 834P phono preamplifier of Esoteric Audio Research is still regarded as a classic. This preamp was first developed in the ninetees by Tim de Paravicini, who became a legend thanks to his designs. About twenty years later, the EAR 834P is still sold by the manufacturer in its original form, which proves the.
- Vintage Electronics Manuals. The Ultimate EAR 834P Deluxe E.A.R. MM & MC GNSC mods w/ Black Gates! From United States.
The EAR 834P is the handiwork of the company head and main designer Tim de Paravicini. His name may be familiar because he's been involved in everything from tape-deck restoration to building tube mics to mastering LPs for folks such as those at Chesky. Although he's worked with both tubes and solid-state devices, his reputation looms large as. Ear Yoshino 834. Stereo Integrated Amplifier (1999). Instruction/owners manual - Ear Yoshino Integrated Amplifiers.
December 2006
EAR / Yoshino 834T Integrated Amplifier
Casting solid-state in the mold of tube amplification.
Review By Dick Olsher
Click here to e-mail reviewer.
What is this EAR/Yoshino solid-state integrated amplifier doing in Toobman’ s listening room you ask? And why is he so enamored with its sound? Those are serious questions that will be answered in due time. Suffice it to say, the presence of output transformers is a pretty good indication that this is no conventional design. First, the mundane details. The 834T is said to draw upon the design bases of both the all-tube model 834 and the M100 transistor monoblocks. It offers 100 wpc of transformer-coupled MOSFET power together with six line-level inputs and one tape output. Both 4 and 8-Ohm output impedance taps are provided on the rear.
The front panel is adorned by two controls: an input selector and a volume potentiometer. Input sensitivity is sufficiently high to allow direct input from a CD player or DAC. In fact, I was quite successful in running my current reference, the Altmann Micro Machines Attraction DAC, directly in using Kimber Select KS-1030 interconnect. Originally intended as a tube/MOS FET hybrid, with a triode input stage, the 834T was put into production as all solid state. In the final analysis, the decision was made to configure the input stage using a pair of FETs on a plug-in board that is said to have the same characteristics as a twin triode tube but with the obvious savings of warm-up time and ease in matching. For the record, the designer still considers the 834T to be, by definition, a (solid-state) hybrid.
Always expect the unconventional from designer Tim de Paravicini. The iconic de Paravicini who bears an uncanny resemblance to Abraham Lincoln, and packs over 30 years of design experience into a lanky frame, has held since the 70s that tubes and solid state can be sonically equal. Here he has developed a solid-state amplifier that looks and feels like a tube design. The circuit topology is tube-like in that the 834T uses a high voltage B+ of 170 VDC as a single supply together with a wide-bandwidth output transformer that works in the same way as in a tube amplifier. The circuit is balanced from input to output and the output stage is push-pull (with several MOSFETs operating in parallel in each half of the circuit) in tube fashion. That is to say, according to Tim, 'NO COMPLEMENTARY nonsense' — both halves use similar devices (N-channel MOSFETs) as is the case in a tube circuit. Tim believes that the since it was grafted, if you will, with the 'genetic code' of a tube amplifier, the 834T has to sound the same as, for example, the EAR 861 that features a similar topology.
According to Tim, the reason for the high voltage is that the energy (number of Joules) stored in the power supply capacitors is proportional to the voltage squared. Hence, the higher the B+ voltage, the greater the power supply reserve. In addition to providing some impedance matching, the output transformer also ensures that there is no DC output present at the output should a MOSFET ever fail, thus avoiding expensive loudspeaker damage and enhancing long-term reliability.
The Sound
Solid-state power amplifiers never sounded like this before! Most of you reading this I imagine were not around in the 60s to witness first hand the introduction of a fledgling transistor technology. Touted initially as the death knell of tubes, it became slowly and painfully clear, that at least for audiophile applications, transistor-based designs had a long ways to go before deserving a place at a music lover’s table. But not before the debacle of entrenched tube gear makers such as McIntosh abandoning tubes in favor of solid state. The situation improved somewhat in the 70s with the advent of significant designs from Jim Bongiorno (e.g., the GAS Ampzilla). And finally, in the 80s and 90s the audiophile scene became crowded with a new solid-state persona. Gone was the grainy harshness of their early predecessors. Speed, detail, and smoothness were the order of the day. Numerous Mark Levinson and Krell designs competed for audiophile attention based on stupendous bass response and current drive. And having conquered most conventional distortion mechanisms, smoothness and detail were plentiful. Unfortunately, there was something fundamental missing in the solid-state sonic mix, which has kept me glued to tubes for the past 30 years. And that factor, dear reader, is emotional impact.
To a great extent, solid-state amplifiers resemble Imperial Storm troopers: clones lacking the soul and spatial conviction of the original musical experience. The terms pace and rhythmic conviction have in recent years become industry clichés, but speak to the heart of the matter. And while tubes seemed to unfold musical phrases with the full kinetic energy of the original event, 90s solid state consistently withered on the vine, dishing out a sterile imitation of the real thing. Enter the 834T. Its command of rhythmic nuances and microdynamics propelled musical lines along with foot tapping gusto. At the highest levels of music reproduction, the magic is definitely in the details. Musicians imbue the music with feelings though the subtle modulations of rhythm, volume, and pitch. Without such encoded detail music becomes mechanical in nature; there is nothing to differentiate it from that produced by a machine. And while de Paravicini’s tube designs have scored high in terms of retrieving the music’s drama and passion, I was not prepared for similar performance excellence from an all transistor design.
Let me assure you that despite the presence of output transformers, there was plenty of bandwidth in evidence. I think that de Paravicini takes pride in crafting wide bandwidth output transformers featuring frequency extension to 80kHz within 1dB or so. One of the side effects of reduced bandwidth is an overly liquid and soft sound, and that is usually a problem with single-ended triode designs where it is so hard to extend transformer bandwidth much beyond 20 kHz due to core saturation issues. This amplifier never lacked for transient speed. The attack portion was time and again laser quick and its associated decay was firmly controlled without spurious resonances or brightness.
Detail resolution was also a strong suit. And this was accomplished without exaggerating the upper octaves. It is so easy, especially under show room conditions, to become enamored of bright or etched sounding products, which under relaxed home listening conditions quickly induce listening fatigue. The 834T was rather refined and civilized sounding though the upper octaves, and is guaranteed not to exacerbate the sound of bright sounding speakers. Its tonal balance was fairly neutral in character. Its one minor deviation was a slightly warm sounding lower midrange, ala tube sound, which is far from being an issue in my book.
Instrumental timbres were in general quite accurate, and in particular, midrange textures were gloriously sweet in character and capable of lovely harmonic bloom. Never confused or congested, the mids were voiced with world-class clarity. The transition from the core of the midrange to the lower treble was rather seamless. Soprano voice was given free reign to soar without any impediment and violin overtones were captured with their full harmonic sheen intact. The only other solid-state amplifiers in my experience to match this level of performance have been 47 Laboratory products — albeit at much lower power levels.
The traditional knock against MOSFET amplifiers has been a propensity toward soggy bass. Not so with the 834T. It laid a rock solid orchestral foundation. The power range of the orchestra never lacked in bass punch. Bass lines also exhibited excellent pitch definition. If you are cool about jazz, you will definitely be grooving over the authority and control with which double bass is dished out. Make no mistake about it: this amplifier is not just about lovely mids and pure treble — it can rock the house!
Difficult speaker loads were not an issue for the 834T. It did fine with the MartinLogan Vista using the 4-Ohm taps. And it spent many happy hours driving my newly acquired Magnepan MG-3.6/R loudspeakers (again using the 4-Ohm taps). The Maggies are notoriously finicky about associated power amplifiers. There is probably only a handful of amplifiers on the planet that mate optimally with them. To my great delight, the 834T coaxed the best sound I’ve ever heard out of a pair of Maggies. The degree of synergy was absolutely amazing: tight bass, sweet nuanced mids, refined treble, and above all else an unrestrained kinetic delivery that immediately put me in touch with the music’s emotions. The soundstage projected was wide and stable with a convincing depth perspective. And while image palpability did not quite equal the best of tube amplification, it came reasonably close.
There has been much talk about the need for high-powered amplification and current drive in the context of the larger Maggies, but as long as I kept volume levels such that dynamic peaks were not outrageously loud (say around 95dB SPL), I was able to red line the 834T without signs of strain or distortion.
Conclusion
It is not my style to mince words or hedge my bets, and this is clearly neither the time nor the place for that. After all, this is an integrated amplifier like no other in my experience. In my book, the EAR/Yoshino 834T is a sonic masterpiece, combining as it does solid-state virtues with a significant subset of tube magic. As such, it clearly vindicates Tim de Paravicini’s technical approach of casting solid-state in the mold of tube amplification. Magnepan owners take note: this may just be the most synergistic amplifier for Maggie amplification — your best bet of reaching the promised land. Its riveting performance driving the Magnepan MG-3.6/R begs for a serious audition.
Specifications
Type: Solid state integrated amplifier
Inputs: 6 line level plus tape output
Power Output: 100 watt per channel, 2 channels
Dimensions: 16 x 16 x 7 (HxWxD in inches)
Weight: 60 lbs.
Price: $4595
Company Information
EAR/Yoshino by Tim de Paravicini
E-mail: earyoshino@aol.com
Website: www.ear-yoshino.com
US Distributor Mac os sierra dock for windows 10 download free.
E.A.R. USA
1087 East Ridgewood Street
Long Beach, CA 90807
Ear 834p Owners Manual Typewriters
Voice: (562) 422-4747
E-mail: info@ear-usa.com
Website: www.ear-usa.com
Ear 834p Tube Rolling
EAR-Yoshino 834P Positive Feedback, Vol. 7 #1 by Jennifer E. Crock |
THE E.A.R. 834P: ONE HECK OF A PHONO STAGE Nope, I’m not done yet! Every once in a while a real audio gem comes along that represents a really good sound value. Sometimes when I discover such a product I go beyond the usual expectation of purchasing one for my own system. Being in the audio manufacturing business, as opposed to the audio reviewing business, I have a number of my own dealers and a few retail customers with whom I share products of merit. This is only a small part of JENA LABS business, but because it does generate some profit, I want you, the gentle reader, to know about the whole situation and not come back later screaming that I used my position with Positive Feedback to blatantly sell goods. ‘Nuff said. Last year I was introduced to a product through the PF review process that I liked so well that I became a dealer for it. Not only that, I introduced it to two of our cable dealers who have themselves now become authorized outlets for this product. Well, what, says you, is the product? The E.A.R. model 834P and 834P w/level RIAA phono stage preamp. If you have a CD only system, are satisfied with the sound and the format, go ahead and turn the page. I’ll see you over in the Taddeo Digital Antidote 11 review. But if you have a vinyl front end, or are interested in adding one, you might want to read on. The 834P is robustly built black box a little bigger than a brick. It provides gain and RIAA compensation for either low output MC type cartridges or higher output MM type. Three 12AX7A tubes do the voltage gain, and an honest to goodness real audio input transformer is used in the MC position to provide low noise matching for the low output associated with this family of cartridge. As implied above, a version of this device can be had which incorporates a built in volume control. Now, to be honest, the unit without the volume control is a just a little bit better overall, due to expected potentiometer coloration, but the prospect of doing away with normal pre-amp altogether might raise an eyebrow or two. The audio circuits are the same in both versions, so no difference is found outside of the dual section stereo volume pot and its short internal hook up wires. Power enters by the usual IEC socket, and is converted to useable voltage in a low stray field toroidal power transformer. A high quality PC board holds the balance of the parts. RCA jacks are of the molded plastic frame variety that mount directly to the PC board. A small rotary switch on the front panel turns the unit on and off. On the version with volume control, an additional front panel knob is found. From turn on, it will begin operation in about 20 seconds, without any clicks or thumps, but if started from cold it should be left for a few minutes of warm up to fully stabilize before playing music. It really blooms after about an hour. I just leave mine running all the time. The 834P, like other E.A.R. products is designed by Tim de Paravicini. I have had the pleasure of meeting Tim and really enjoyed talking engineering with him. Audio is a field where almost anybody can throw a few parts together and be in business. This simple act does NOT, however, make them a qualified designer. Rest assured that Tim absolutely does NOT fall into this semi-amateur category. He combines an excellent solid traditional engineering comprehension and plenty of creativity with the good judgment needed to design high value and highly reliable products. This is a rare professional blend, indeed! In addition to home stereo electronics, Mr. de Paravicini also designs and manufactures a complete range of recording electronics which have earned a reputation around the world as being just about the best there is. You may recall that the Water Lily Acoustics recordings which I have highly praised in the pages of this magazine were recorded on equipment built by E.A.R. A CHARACTER WITH BALANCE Well, so much for the small talk. You want to know, 'how does it sound?' In a word, neutral. Very quiet. Very dynamic. Very dimensional. This is not a device that will shout out to you and say 'tubes are in me'. It has none of the classic soft tubby and over rich character typical of older, or less expensive modern tube designs. It is solid and firm in the lows and very fast in the top. The mids are liquid and emotional. The frequency spectrum and dynamic expression work in harmony, with no one aspect of the sound standing out as better than the other parts. Conversely, nothing is obviously lacking either. This is one sonically well balanced design! The synth and cymbals on Lori Anderson’s Sharkey’s Day are hot and really tingly, but never to the point of fatigue. This indicates speed and bandwidth without transient ringing and overload. The hall space on Proprius Label’s famous Contate Domino is well defined and large. Reverb seems to go on forever and those palpable voices.. they just appear from space and demand that you believe. Rough Trade, For Those who Think Young, is an interesting album in that on some otherwise pretty good systems it can sound almost flat and 2 dimensional. A really good phono pickup helps with this record, but if the phono stage is in the least bit lacking you never hear the space and dynamics that are hidden. Note that the E.A.R. pulls almost as much space and rolling bass slam out of this disc as does my Vacuum State Research reference preamp - and one of those (custom built all the way, believe me!) would set you back about 30 grand! Vocals are smooth and well placed in space, if recorded well. It even works with both male and female voice, rendering either with a flair. K.D. Lang’s 'Save Me’ on Ingenue and Eddie Arnold’s 'Cool Water’ on Cattle Call bring tears to my eyes. Lesser equipment just puts the tunes in the room. This one moves me. FINE TUNING WITH TUBES I have seen the 834P shipped with two different brands of tubes. Direct sonic comparison of the two standard varieties reveals only trivial differences, so you need not worry about what brand of tube will arrive in your 834P. One of the pleasures of owning tube gear is to enhance performance or fine tune the sonic signature by the process of installing specific tubes of known character. Changing the generic tubes to an expensive premium graded variety such as offered by Gold Aero, or installing a set of your favorite NOS brand offers you an easy method of both tuning the basically neutral character of the 834P and expanding on its already abundant sonic virtues. In my own unit, I am using Gold Aero Platinum grade, Chinese origin tubes, about 1989 vintage, These are the ones with the large silvery colored getter on the side of each plate. These tubes are fast and detailed. They present an incisive soundstage with really excellent localization queues. Bass is rock solid and free of flab or tub. Mids are precise, and topped by nimble highs. The extremely rare Siemens 12AX7A of the 1970s have a similar sound, and are my true favorite, but good luck finding enough of them to weed out the also-rans. One of my customers is using Telefunken diamond bottom tubes in his 834P. These tubes are legendary for their warm and comfortable treatment of the music. While not as precise in the localization of the soundstage, the music will seem to have a more ‘wrap around’ or enveloping character. Fatigue from this tube is zero, but there is no real tradeoff in lack of high frequency resolving power. Tubes of this sonic family are the ones to choose if your system has just a tad bit of bright, but you wish to lose nothing in the cure. I’ve listened to 834P in direct comparison to several other commercially produced phono stages, some in its own price range of about a thousand dollars, and others up to about twice its price. While not an exhaustive survey of all available phono stages, the 834P easily bested every unit in this price range of those auditioned. These comparisons were not just done at my home, but at several locations in systems of widely varying basic nature. The 834P shined brightly in every application. This direct experience of hearing the 834P in systems with tube and transistor amps, and all types of speakers including electrostatic, planer magnetic, and dynamic cone, leads me conclude that it is basically right, and not dependent on the coloration of some other piece of the audio chain to correct an inherent error. Is it as good as some of the really high buck gear from say Audio Research, or perhaps some of John Curl’s expensive phono stages? Well, not really. But it will stun you how close it comes! For the price of one of these really high end phono stages you can buy the 834P, put in some killer tubes, get yourself a Benz Glider and mount it up to any of the several really good arm/table combinations now on the market and hey, there you are! Great vinyl system for about three or three and a half grand! E.A.R. also has a line stage pre-amp. Though it has been out a few years, I have not yet heard it. I have made arrangements to audition one in the near future, and will let you know what I hear when I hear it. Based on my experience with the 834P and the great price/performance value it represents, I have high expectations for this line stage. SUMMARY You can read both the lines and between the lines on this. It’s no secret, I believe the 834P to be the phono stage steal of the decade. Did I mention that its made in England? |