View Full Version : Primary Drive loudspeakers from EAR
Anyone heard the Primary Drive loudspeakers from EAR? Looks interesting:
http://www.ear-yoshino.com/products.php?catId=6#
http://www.ear-yoshino.com/prodpics/Primary_Drive_Loudspeaker_t.jpg
I'm sure they're excellent, but will be priced at stratospheric levels no doubt, like all their current stuff :(
For the rest of us, have a look at Tekton in CA. Even imported, the prices may be doubled, but aren't out of reach..
http://www.tektondesign.com/products.html
A friend in the pro industry with ears I trust has heard the M-Lore's and rates them extremely highly. He's looking at the Lore model which should be around £1500pr imported....
hifi_dave
15-02-2012, 14:04
The EAR Primary Drive Small speaker is #5513 per pair.
Apologies for the lack of a pound sign but my f'ing Dell is playing up again.
Thanks Dave. What's the strange type of cable connecting to the speaker?
hifi_dave
15-02-2012, 15:19
Not sure but it looks like a Nordost something..:scratch:
Audioman
15-02-2012, 16:12
Anyone heard the Primary Drive loudspeakers from EAR? Looks interesting:
http://www.ear-yoshino.com/products.php?catId=6#
http://www.ear-yoshino.com/prodpics/Primary_Drive_Loudspeaker_t.jpg
Also looks very very expensive !!!!! Thanks Dave just seen the price. What ? A mear snip at EAR prices.
hifi_dave
15-02-2012, 16:34
EAR are a successful company and not alone in pricing their products to sell in their overseas markets. Pallet loads of EAR go out to the Far East and I believe, California, where customers don't ask the price, they just buy what they like..:champagne:
seoirse2002
17-02-2012, 20:35
Ive actually got a pair...Ill put a pic up tomorrow
Ive actually got a pair...Ill put a pic up tomorrow
And how do they sound? :)
seoirse2002
18-02-2012, 17:51
I really like them,but had to try a few different amps until I got it right.
http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=736
http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=735
You don't use them as pictured, do you :eek: ?
Rare Bird
18-02-2012, 20:01
Nice Michell 'Focus' there George..
For the rest of us, have a look at Tekton in CA. Even imported, the prices may be doubled, but aren't out of reach..
Dave,
Tekton Design are in Utah not California. Magico are in California and I think their speakers would suit you better.
seoirse2002
18-02-2012, 22:47
course not....thats where they live,out of the way until I feel like a good listening session....Its amazing how different they sound with different amps though...and placement is important if a good sweet spot is to be found...so far Im finding that the inca tech pre and power amp does it for me as its got a super phono stage and a sound I like...Ive also used them with a Morgan Audio Devo,and inca tech Claymore,they are easy to drive,but prefer a valve amp which I do not have...so different to the all the other speakers I have and my wifes favourites...well, those and the Linn Saras....she says they are much more "open"
http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=737
seoirse2002
18-02-2012, 22:52
Thankyou,kind sir...its got a rega rb300 with a rare Glanz(astatic) moving flux cart...
Also use AR "the turntable" and AR 77XB which is currently in for an arm rewire and then a refurb.
http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=738
jandl100
19-02-2012, 09:22
I've heard these EAR speakers several times at Shows and whilst they've never sounded bad they never inspired any lust either.
....Its amazing how different they sound with different amps though...so far Im finding that the inca tech pre and power amp does it for me as its got a super phono stage and a sound I like...
Ah, right - that's interesting, quite a bit of lively poke from Inca Tech amps, iirc. Give 'em a bit of lively juice up the jacksie and they come alive? ;)
seoirse2002
19-02-2012, 10:17
Correct....although easy to drive,they like to know there is good power behind them,a snare drum sounds like a snare drum,and no boxeyness that Ive heard in so many other speakers,and if you like your bass boomy...forget it
jandl100
19-02-2012, 10:22
Mmmm ... I bet they'd sound really great with a Mini-T TA2020 t-amp! :eyebrows:
Dave,
Tekton Design are in Utah not California. Magico are in California and I think their speakers would suit you better.
Not sure - they're (Magico) "HiTech" bling with crossovers.. The Tekton's appeal because they remind me of early Epos - main driver run directly and fully out with the tweeter augmenting the very highest octaves. Apparently, the "guitar speaker" main drivers in the Lore are superbly natural and extremely uncolored, despite the internally simple boxes. Might just take me back to my roots since all my gear is back-pedalling fast :lol:
Mmmm ... I bet they'd sound really great with a Mini-T TA2020 t-amp! :eyebrows:
You'll need a BANK of mini-T amps to make any half decent music I reckon. Tim builds his livelihood on valve amps, so is it surprising that his speaker is voiced using his amps?
What is the design? Full range driver in some sort of transmission line arrangement? Hard to tell from the photos
jandl100
19-02-2012, 10:44
You'll need a BANK of mini-T amps to make any half decent music I reckon. Tim builds his livelihood on valve amps, so is it surprising that his speaker is voiced using his amps?
Well, yes, I know your views on the Mini-T, Dave. ;)
Quite a few folks around here would disagree, though.
I suspect it would work well.
But I think George was making the point that his EAR speakers work well with solid state amps. Certainly Tim's Show demonstrations with his own valve amps have left me underwhelmed.
I'f you can be bothered to trawl through all this pro-amp porn, there are some pics of MEGA-T amps here I think - far better than a weedy 20W hard-clipping all over the place into "normal" speakers :D We don't all have speakers with 95db/W sensitivity :lol:
jandl100
19-02-2012, 10:51
Ackcherlly, a Mini-T has a weedy 8wpc, Dave! :D
... but it still worked well with my 83dB/W speakers!!
seoirse2002
19-02-2012, 11:39
I have used them with an old 80s pioneer 125wpc A441...an audio innovation alto...a Dual CV120 (40 wpc) sounded great ...inca tech claymore,ion obelisk,
leak delta 70, and lately the Morgan Audio Deva...set up now with the inca tech pre and power amp....to my ears anyway,I thought they sounded better with the older amps...leak,dual,pioneer,but I think that is because I prefer a warmer sound.... I have since re educated myself about speakers..
After listening to these speaker for a couple of hours,I realised I must have had cotton wool in my ears all these years!!...
I have acquired one of Stan Beresfords audio routers and next week Im going to do some serious comparison with amps/speakers and then there will be a sale....look at all the amps I have accumulated over the years and all of them have speakers too! b+w dm4,dm14,Kef concordsX2...rogers ls7,export monitors, tdl nearfield moniters,Linn Sara 1,musical technology,etc etc
I by no means call myself an audiophile,but I have an itch I need to scratch and it has to stop!!
By the way,a good friend of mine says the EARs sound better than his electrostatics,and he IS an audiophile lol:cool:
£65 looks incredibly expensive when compared with this -
http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tamp_tsa_2200.htm
All those loverly Watts for less than £250.........
seoirse2002
19-02-2012, 11:44
They are a three-way dynamic dipole design, with exposed tweeters on top...have a look here and scroll down to them
http://www.positive-feedback.com/Issue34/rmaf_dr.htm
jandl100
19-02-2012, 11:49
£65 looks incredibly expensive when compared with this -
http://www.thomann.de/gb/the_tamp_tsa_2200.htm
All those loverly Watts for less than £250.........
He doesn't give up, does he! :lol:
... I bet it doesn't have the openness and sheer clarity of the Mini-T though. ;)
It probably doesn't, but if I was going to spend the best part of £300 on a power amp, I wouldn't be looking at new pro/club amps, put it that way ;) Far better to look "old school" when pro amps were the original top end of domestic audio...
... I bet it doesn't have the openness and sheer clarity of the Mini-T though. ;)
Why do you think not Jerry?
Aren't they both based on very similar technology?
seoirse2002
20-02-2012, 10:24
You know,I felt the same when I got them first and couldent understand what all the fuss was about...then I realised...I was so used to listening to all my other speakers that I was accustomed to a certain "sound"
Then it hit me...its the lack of colouration in the EAR primary drive that makes them different....well, I suppose lack is the wrong word...but compared to other speakers Ive listened to,they are certainly uncoloured...as I said before,a snare drum sounds like a snare drum and a cymbal sounds like a cymbal...telling the difference between an electric piano and a concert grand is obviously a piece of cake and some of my favourite music has got a new lease of life.
I've heard them but unfortunately was not able to grasp any idea of their quality on account of the way Tim de Paravicini always demonstrates them:
a) too quiet
b) big band music
So I have no way of answering the o/p.
seoirse2002
20-02-2012, 10:37
Hi Martin,
Yes,Ive seen them being demo'd.
They need their backs against a wall,and the built in stands make sure they are just the right distance away,and they dont mind a corner side wall...never played big band,Im afraid, unless Ella Fitzgerald,Frankie,Tony Benett,Etta James count.
jandl100
20-02-2012, 10:48
Why do you think not Jerry?
Aren't they both based on very similar technology?
Well, yes & no - the Mini-T has the TA2020 chip. To my humble ears, there is a very special transparency and immediacy to that chipset's sound that marks it out above any others I have heard. But it is power limited, although if you aren't interested in flexing the wall with technodance then I've used a Mini-T very successfully with quite inefficient speakers (I mentioned my MBLs and they are 83dB/W). To me, it has something special that other, more powerful, t-amps lack.
They need their backs against a wall,and the built in stands make sure they are just the right distance away,and they dont mind a corner side wall...never played big band,Im afraid, unless Ella Fitzgerald,Frankie,Tony Benett,Etta James count.
Thanks, but you misunderstood: I don't like big band music but it's all TdP ever plays!
seoirse2002
20-02-2012, 11:43
what kind do you like?
seoirse2002
20-02-2012, 12:00
LOL me too...
Check out Duke Ellington's album Such Sweet Thunder:
http://jazztimes.com/articles/10439-such-sweet-thunder-duke-ellington
As beautiful music as you will find anywhere. Just hear Johnny Hodges playing on "Star-Crossed Lovers".
smalleyexy
01-03-2012, 01:19
Tekton's appeal, because they remind me early EPOS - run the main driving force to enhance the highest octave of the treble and completely get rid of.
Thanks, but you misunderstood: I don't like big band music but it's all TdP ever plays!
Is it seriously what TdP is into?
Maybe I'm confusing big band though with brass bands playing 70s pop music covers...
seoirse2002
01-03-2012, 10:32
http://theartofsound.net/forum/picture.php?albumid=122&pictureid=735Maybe Ill get some Glenn Miller and see how it sounds through them...
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