The EAR 868 is a fully balanced, transformer-coupled design, offering balanced and single-ended connections at input and output. It also offers a tape loop, remote control of volume, and several load/gain selections for the phono stage. Please see the extraordinary Reviews on the 912, on which the 868 is modeled. Recently taken in, this rare MF product is suitable for MM/MC and comes complete with PSU/leads. The PSU will also power other units from the X range such as the DAC. In super condition £350. I used the term “ravishing” to describe the cosmetics of my cherry veneered pair (workmanship was first rate, including attention to packaging and user-friendly manuals). This description crystallizes what I heard from the VR-1.
Moving magnet and moving coil tube phono preamplifier12 AX7 (ECC 83) tubes
MC amplification by transformer
Dimensions: 5' W × 4' H × 9' D
Price: $995 (Black).
Price: $1295 (Chrome).
Address:
US Distributor:
EAR USA
Dan Meinwald
Sound Advice
1087 E. Ridgewood Street
Long Beach, CA
90807 USA
Telephone: 001 562 422 4747
Fax: 001 562 6577
Email: info@ear-usa.com
Website: www.ear-usa.com/index.html
and www.ear-yoshino.com/
One of the major pitfalls of journalism is that because of its pre-occupation with the news of the day, it tends to lose perspective and context. Mainstream audio journalism is prey to the same foible, with Component of the Month Syndrome highly dominant. Probably the most glaring example is Stereophile's List of Recommended Components, where an older piece on the list is bumped simply because of the time elapsed since it was reviewed.
Tim de Paravicini's designs have the reputation of withstanding the tests of time. 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.
The 834P is a classic rectangular black box roughly the size of a carton of English International size cigarettes, featuring only an on/off switch on its stately front panel. The back includes two sets of RCA jacks along with a push-button to select either moving magnet or moving coil and a detachable AC cord. The EAR rests on 4 soft feet. A tube design utilizing 12AX7 tubes, the EAR uses transformers for the additional gain necessary to preamplify moving coil cartridges. A 'Signature' version is available that will cosmetically match EAR's preamplifiers and amplifiers; the circuitry of the 834P is also available within a full-featured preamp, the 864.
Although I own 2 sets of tube electronics (3 pieces of which are vintage items) in addition to my various solid state components, I don't attribute musical excellence purely to a type of amplifying device: it's what you do with tubes or transistors that matters. I've experienced intense musical pleasure from both tubes and solid state, so have no particular axe to grind. In particular, I don't find the old stereotypes - soft and mellow tubes versus harsh and bright solid state - to be dogmatically applicable to any well-designed component. Excellent tube designs do, however, tend to produce very believable timbres with acoustic instruments and excel in painting tonal colors, particularly important in classical music where a live reference is available for comparison.
The Garrott Brothers Optim FGS moving magnet cartridge has become my reference for affordable musical communication. Since Garrott uses tube phono amplification in their listening/development tests, I first ran the EAR 834P in an all-tube system. The musical results of this set-up were truly engrossing and riveting: dynamics, drive, rhythm and musical phrasing/accents were simply exemplary. The EAR was exceptional in getting the heart of music right. I immediately stopped listening to my staple reference critical-listening LPs, and began randomly listening to various LPs purely for the musical pleasure: the entire Procol Harum catalogue, then The Band's, then the Buffalo Springfield/Neil Young/Steve Stills nexus, the Doors, and finishing with Jim Hendrix. The EAR proved superb at recreating the drive, emotional intensity, and the literally electrical intensity of this music. Jimi Hendrix understood perhaps more clearly than anyone that music is a physical power and the EAR superbly reproduced that tangible electric cosmic power that Hendrix so intensely unleashed.
A listening journey through 50's/60's small combo jazz proved equally compelling: noteworthy was the EAR's ability to fully articulate the bass parts of these recordings, many of which (on later re-issues anyway) seem to present the bass player as a weird sort of background phantom. Not only was the bass present as a full participating member of the music, but bass sonorities were rich and full-bodied, with taut and excellent transient control and drive. I was moved deeply by the musical expressiveness of solo instruments - horns and piano - the emotion behind the notes being clearly revealed. Be it the 'dry martini' sonority of Paul Desmond, the studied cool of Miles Davis, the gentle 'rain on the windows' of Bill Evans' piano or the cosmic destroyer aspects of Pharoah Sanders/John Coltrane in their more exorcistic moments, I was getting the heart and emotion of the music.
Tim de Paravicini is perhaps best known for the tube electronics he designed for Chesky's re-issues of the classic RCA Shaded Dog LPs and listening to a batch of these proved an exercise in natural timbres and a total immersion into the music. Smaller scale music, particularly string quartets, was presented with the same intimacy and communication that was so engrossing with jazz. The pure unalloyed joy of Mozart's early Divertimenti was reproduced with breathtaking exuberance, the EAR easily passing one of my prime requisites for any component.
Results with my other MusicMaster moving magnet cartridge, the Rega Exact, were similarly compelling and musical enriching and I was having one of those pleasant reviewing experiences where you know immediately that the component is excellent: the question then becomes just how excellent it ultimately is.
I did not play around with varying AC cords, or indulge in tube tweaking, but of necessity with an outboard phono stage, choosing an interconnect was required. I didn't find this an anguish-inducing experience - the Clearaudio Sixstream, van den Hul The First, and Origin Live Reference all proved deeply satisfying - leading me to believe that the EAR is not particularly fussy and high-strung about interconnect choice. I auditioned the EAR without isolation devices at first and the following comments all refer to the 834P played 'neat.'
Sonically the EAR was without electronic edge or glare, with a non-analytic cast to the proceedings. It tended to focus on the entirety of the music rather than breaking each recording down to its component parts. I find this ability more musically satisfying than components that neglect the forest for the trees. Transient control was very good, with good tracking of the decay of notes. Soundstaging and stereoscopy were believable and non-intrusive, though short of hallucinogenic intensity. Ultimate detail and transparency is short of the very best, but considering the EAR's price and its other sterling musical virtues, acceptable. I never found myself squinting with my ears or baffled by any aspect of the musical proceedings. I found noise to be a non-issue also.
Ear 834p Owners Manual Typewriters
Listening to the EAR in my solid-state system was slightly less intense, as parts of its abilities were lost in the transition to transistor amplification. This is normal for tube electronics: their full flowering normally requires all-tube systems to hear to the fullest. Context plays a role too. Though I was unable to audition the 834 in the context of a full EAR system, I'm deeply aware that most of front-rank designer's products (and Tim di Paravicini is certainly one) need to be heard within their complete systems to produce the designer's full intent.The moving coil section of the EAR uses transformers to produce the additional gain necessary for their lower output and Tim de Paravicini has a reputation as a master of moving coil transformer design. Running the Audio Technica AT OC9ML, Garrott re-tipped Blue Point Special, and Talisman Boron revealed less stirring performance, due to the fact that these 4 cartridges are not as successful music makers as the 2 moving magnets I used. My Goldring Eroica LX, also re-tipped by Garrott, however, flowered with the EAR, as did the Ortofon Jubilee. The EAR faithfully revealed the sonic signature of these cartridges, and revealed as much of its own considerable abilities in the process, without forcing its personality on them. My suspicion, which I was not able to verify to any degree of certainty, was that moving magnet performance of the 834P was perhaps stronger than that of moving coil. This was due to the overwhelmingly stunning dynamic performance of the moving magnet Garrott Optim FGS, a cartridge whose dynamic and musical coherency is unmatched by any moving coil cartridge I've heard, except for Garrott's $6000 P89. Those who run moving magnets exclusively, a minority among audiophiles who seem generally wed to the moving coil, can opt for the moving magnet-only 834P, available by special order for $795.
The EAR clearly revealed the differences in tonearms and turntables. The more traditionally 'audiophile' Clearaudio Champion Level 2/ Clearaudio Unify Unipivot arm/ Sigma Wood moving coil cartridge front end was stunning in neutrality, resolution, and 3-D stereo effects. Also highly evident, though, was this set-up's intellect-oriented presentation. My Linn LP12s, Origin Live Standard Kit, AR/Merrill and antique Connoisseur BD2a turntables were more in keeping with the EAR's rhythmic and dynamic aplomb, musical lines flowing with the kind of ease and believability that one more normally associates with live musical expression.
In standard trim and set-up, the EAR 834P rates high musical marks indeed. The use of effective isolation proved transmogrifying - dispelling any quibbles about lack of hallucinogenic imaging and completely nullifying my suspicion that moving magnet performance was superior to the EAR's transformer derived MC amplification. My experience with the state-of-the-art in isolation products over the years has led me to the conclusion that a component played 'neat' shows only a fraction of its true capacities compared to what it can produce when removed from the contaminating effects of spurious vibration. The small size of the EAR precluded optimum usage with some of the devices I had available. The new Stillpoints, (at $279 for a set of 3, a joint effort from Paul Wakeen, ex-Aurios and Larry Jacoby and Deb Folz, both ex-Wadia) vaulted the already excellent performance of the 834P into an altogether different realm. Stunning and mind-blowing are probably the mildest of adjectives to be used in describing the 834P when placed on the Stillpoints: the sonic improvements in image placement and soundstage transparency, the superior resolution of low level information, the extension of bandwidth and flow of dynamic gradations were matched by an equally exalted improvement in the already heady and deeply moving communicative powers of the 834P. Lyric intelligibility, as just one example, went from the very good to one of the very best when the EAR was placed on the Stillpoints. The EAR's performance with moving coil was improved to the point where my mild suspicions as to its ultimate capacities were vanquished.
The highest of recommendations for the EAR 834P then, especially when mounted on the Stillpoints. Old news is good news indeed.
HiFi Review: Vincent Audio PHO 700 Tube Phono Stage Review
Phono Stages. Gotta love e’m as there are just a ton out there. Many, the ones coming in at under $300 or so, mostly all sound similar in so many ways. Over the last 20 years of HiFi, I have never found a Phono Stage that made as big of a difference to my Hi Fi system than a DAC, Amp, Speakers or Cartridge yet some of these can cost up to $5-10,000 for uber exotic phono pre amps. Those MAY make a substantial difference for the better, but they better for the cost! What I am talking about today are two phono stages that come in at $250 and $500, so they will not crush the wallet and they will both perform amazing for the cost.
I have owned around a dozen or so phono stages in the last 20 years. None were good enough, or special enough for me to stick with and keep for the super long haul (3+ years). For me, 3 or more years is the super long haul as most of us into HiFi swap our gear like we change our socks. We always are after that next thing that will bring our system to the next level, even if sometimes we take a step back before taking a step forward.
I have owned units from Fosgate, Cambridge Audio, Graham, Lehman, Cary Audio, Jolida, Bellari and now I have a Vincent PHO 700 unit in my system that uses one 12AU7 tube. How does it sound? Well, sticking with the stock Chinese tube inside, it sounds good but not “WOW GOOD”. Again, a phono stage with a great sound but it sounds an awful lot like the one I just pulled out, but with less of a soundstage.the Cambridge Audio CP2 that came in at $250 and is a hell of a bang for the buck in the phono pre amp world.
Home: Audeze LCD-3 / Focal Clear / Lumin D2 / VPI Prime - EAR 834P - Ortofon 2M Black / Woo Audio WA5 Office: HD 650 / Sony HAPZ1ES / Squeezebox SB3 Bolder Mods / MF TriVista 21 DAC / Woo Audio WA22. But the owners manual for the Stream indicated that the internal DAC and digital output is capped at 24/192. Plus, most of my collection is.
The Cambridge was VERY good, excellent actually and at $250 offers a phono stage that I feel, can not in any way be beat at that price. It was detailed without being etched or harsh (once burned in for 50+ hours) and it offered up a nice wide soundstage with my vinyl. Before the burn in it was slightly closed in and even slightly gritty before it blossomed. For $250, IMO, you can not beat the CP2 for your vinyl needs. The Cp2 offers a somewhat crisp but also lush way of spreading those audio signals to your speakers, with great instrument separation.
BUT curiosity got me, and while it may have killed the cat, all it is doing to me is killing my wallet!
You guys know the routine.you have something really good yet you know you paid only a little for it…you then see something that is 2X the cost, with a few glowing reviews and wonder how much better THAT piece would sound in your system! I have done this so many times with so many audio components only to realize the gains we make are so small. Sometimes I regretted selling off a piece and ended up with a more expensive, not as good solution. I was hoping this was not one of those times, but hey, we only live once. I like to experience as much in life as possible and by trying new things, and getting joy and happiness from this is a good thing, as long as it is done responsibly as I always do.
The Vincent PHO 700 with a 12au7 tube. Will it bring magic?
So I see this Vincent Phono stage on Amazon, offered via Amazon prime, which to me is fantastic. Amazon prime offers free shipping and with Amazon we have a 30 days no questions asked return policy. If you do not like it, send it back! You will be refunded in full without restock fees. Of course I would not buy a $30k pair of speakers (though they do sell the KEF Blade via prime) on amazon but for a $500 phono stage, sure.
Ear 834p Tube Rolling
So I ordered a black PHO 700 (they come in black or silver) and the front looks so cool with an artificially illuminated single tube showing through the display window (the light intensity can be adjusted from 3-2-1 and off). What sets this phono stage apart to me is the two piece design. One for the power, to keep the electrical nasties 100% away from the phono stage itself, then the phono pre amp circuitry in a 2nd metal box. Keeping the power from the actual circuitry helps with many things but notably NOISE. Usually pre amps with a tube can bring in some hiss or noise, but not this one. You usually see this in $1300+ phono stages, not $499 models.
Grain o vator manual lymphatic drainage. In fact, the PHO 700 is silent as the solid state Cambridge Cp2 was in my system. No noise heard here from 6 feet away, my listening spot.
With the stock tube in and fresh out of the box I thought the sound was NOT as good as the $250 CP2. In fact it sounded a tad muddled, soundstage shrunk a little and the details, some were lost and not heard, treble was softer. I heard a flatter sound, not as 3D and I was like “UH OH….I did it again”. Where I heard the soft breaths, or soft plucks with the CP2, they were gone with the Vincent. At the same time, there was a solidity and cohesiveness to the sound that struck me, in a good way, with the Vincent. While different from the big glorious crisp & wide soundstage of the CP2, the fresh out of the box PHO 700 was duller and smaller but voices were incredibly realistic. It had THAT going for it at least but I was disappointed as after reading GLOWING reviews I was expecting an IMPROVEMENT over the CP2, and having paid 2X the cost ($250 vs $500) I was let down, and ready to return the Vincent to Amazon for a refund but I couldn’t as I had to wait for it to burn in, and I had ordered a tube upgrade to try as well. I also know in the HiFi world, new gear like this always sounds its best after 50+ hours of burn in, and while many do not believe in burn in, I do.so I was giving the Vincent the benefit of the doubt.
I will say that the Vincent sounded better than MANY other Phono Stages I have used in the past, just not the Cp2 from Cambridge, so whatever Cambridge did with the CP2, they hit it out of the park at that price point for what you get.
The easiest way for me to explain the differences between the STOCK Vincent and CP2 is by a list, so here you go:
- The Vincent offers more bass “quantity” (it seems) than the CP2. It goes deep and it goes hard. This IMO obscures some of the details and soundstage. I am hoping with a tube swap and burn it this will calm down.It’s not as “tight” with bass as the CP2 but hits harder.
- The Vincent reproduces male and female voices much more pleasing than the CP2. They sound real, in the room and you can hear the emotion in the voices. THIS is good. The CP2 at times was a tad bright with voices, taking out the body the PHO 700 gives me.
- The Vincent offers better construction with two boxes, one being a power supply. All metal, and the tube glow/display is nice.
- The Vincent is $500, the CP2 $250, so double the cost for the tube unit.
- The Vincent can be upgraded with a NOS tube or better tube. I have some new production PSVANE 12AU7 II’s here to try.more on that later down the review.
- The Vincent, stock, does better on voices/vocals than the CP2 but the Cp2 has a wider more 3D soundstage and more details (yet never sounds harsh or bright, just detailed).
So far, stock, I love the “intimacy” of the Vincent unit but I am not sold…yet. The way it can deliver a voice is better than most recent stages I have owned, and the only one I remember doing as good is the discontinued Fosgate all tube unit at $2k. But that fosgate had a huge big ballsy sound rather than a delicate one. The Vincent has maybe 75% of that and 25% of the Cambridge. It’s a nice mix actually.
So far, I am torn. I love the CP2 but wanted to see what the tube would do for voices and soundstage. I thought the Vincent would have as good or better soundstage width and depth. It does not in stock form but when I added a PSVANE 12au7II in the stick tubes place…WOAH! THIS is what makes the Vincent PHO 700 special. The fact that stock, it is great but is easily improved with a new better tube. So for $40 more I have a tube that takes up the performance a few notches.
WITH THE NEW TUBE…
So stock, I am torn and they are tied. Each unit has their strength but the Cambridge CP2 has proven to me to be, IMO, the best phono stage I have tested up to $500. The Vincent is $500 and stock it does voices better than the CP2 but lacks on detail and air and soundstage.
With the new Tube? OK, Vincent wins, and I would say up to $1000, Again, In My Opinion. I once had a Phenomena II stage I paid $700 for, and I thought it was thin, and a tad on the hard side. Hated it, sold it within a month. The Vincent, for me and my tastes is far better.
So with the new tube in and burned in for only an hour, the soundstage grew wider, the voices grew even more intimate and “there”… and details that were obscured with the stock tube…mostly came back, but the Cambridge CP2 still had more air and treble information and separated instruments better, giving a more 3 dimensional sound. Even so, the Vincent was impressing me more and more as the burn in went on and on. I left the unit on for a couple of days, say back down and listened again to Enya’s new “Dark Sky Island” LP. Beautiful music and beautiful sound. Sounds so much better than my CD of the same album. In any case, Enya’s voice was incredible with the PHO700. Full, intimate, in the room while the music was behind her, some floating to the left, some to the right but she was right in the middle, as it should be. While still missing some of that “spark” of the CP2, the PHO 700 gave a richer sound, fuller, and now bigger. Just was softer in the treble, and a tad looser in the bass but it was not “loose”, just not as tight as the CP2. BOTH units are fantastic.
SO NOW, I have just about all of the good and great things of the CP2 but I also have the much richer vocal performance, and fuller richer sound. THIS is excellent. The last phono stage I loved cost me $2000 and I now prefer this Vincent with the tube upgrade, costing me around $550 to that old unit I tested out. I also owned a nice Lehman stage at one time that cost me $1300, and this one is better as the Lehman was a tad lean in my setup, though a great stage in its own right. IN fact, I think I prefer the $250 CP2 to even the Lehmann I used to own. Crazy. Shows how good these new gen lower cost stages are.
The PHO 700 in stock form offers some nice fattening tube goodness, but lacks detail and depth and soundstage. With a tube swap, it offers so much more which is why I 100% recommend a new tube for this unit if you buy one. Wether it is a NOS or the ones I bought HERE, it will help open it up BIG TIME.
So the Vincent stays for now as it’s giving me almost all I could want from my Vinyl. I feel I would have to step up to a $1500 unit to beat this one. I have a Marantz TT15 with Clearaudio Virtuoso Wood (V1) going into the PHO 700 and it seems like an great match. This will kick ANY built in phono stage to the curb if you have an old receiver or even new one, but so will the very capable CP2.
At the end of the day, most phono stages offer 90% of what they all offer. It’s that last 10% we strive for and while we can get different flavors of sound depending on solid state or tube, what the Vincent offers, with a tube upgrade, is a nice flowing rich sound that will have a nice wide soundstage, intimate rich vocals and a sound that leans SLIGHTLY to the warm side. The CP2 has a sound that leans slighty to the treble side. I’d say if you system is thin or bright, the Vincent in stock form may do the trick. If you want more detail and 3D tricks, try the CP2 as it is a steal for anyone with a Moving Magnet (all I have tested it with though it does have MC capabilities).
Either way, you can’t lose. The Vincent is a winner though, and with it’s build, separate chassis, and ability to tube roll it’s a step above the CP2 in most areas. It will offer you a deep rich analog sound with stunning vocal performance. For $500 or even up to $1000, I can not think of any tube other Phono stage I would recommend over the PHO 700. While not pure magic (I think the pure magic stages are reserved for the high end models, lol) nothing up to $1k will bring that crazy good magic IMO but this is as close as one can get for $500 and some change.
One phono stage I have wanted to try for YEARS is the EAR 834P, and I feel that I will end up giving it a go soon, comparing it to the Vincent. Problem is, new it is $1800 for the basic black or $2500 for the chrome. Ouch. One day! When I do, I will post about it here on my HiFi pages.
Anyway, If the Cambridge CP2 is for those who love detail and crispness, the PHO 700 is for those who like to chill with a drink, turn down the lights and let the glow of the tube seduce as you listen to some great Jazz or rock and roll or vocal performances 😉
Oh and I forgot to mention that yes, the bass calmed down and tightened up with the PHO 700 after some burn in and the new tube as well. During burn in for some reason it did go through a bright/thin phase. Weird but all good now. So if you go with one of these, and it sounds odd about 15 hours in, could be burn in. Hang in there!
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Where to buy?
Buy the Vincent Audio PHO 700 in Black at Amazon HERE, or in Silver HERE
Buy the Cambridge Audio CP2 in Black at Amazon HERE or in Silver HERE
STATUS - SOLD
Click here for more pictures
Description :
This little guy puts out a big sound, notably dynamic, with excellent rhythmic punch and drive on rock and jazz. What distinguishes the 834P from solid-state phono stages is the sense of openness, scale and three-dimensionality. It’s a great soundstager, a strong defender of the analogue argument and the source of some of the sweetest bass. As for vocals, they are smooth and well placed in space.
Available in 2 versions - With or without a volume control, i.e inbuilt preamp
Savita bhabhi pdf hindi online hindi. In opinion wise, some feel that 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.
Specifications :
Type................................Tube Phono Amplifier without volume control
Input Sensitivity for 1 volt out @ 1kHz........MM 2.2mV
........MC 0.22mV
Max Output...........................30V
Noise(unweighted)......................-80dB (1HF)
Tubes...............................ECC83 x 3 or 12AX7
Dimensions(w x d x h)...................124 x 275 x 95 mm
Weight..............................18.5 lbs
Miscellaneous :
Owners.............................1 Owner
Box................................Original Packing
Manual..............................Yes
Made in.............................UK, England
Condition............................9 / 10 (Good condition)
Reviews :