EAR 834L

[IHP]

Hi All,

Just wondered if anyone had a view on this pre, especially when stood against a Croft 25R ?

Cheers for any input.

[walpurgis]

I've just sold mine, I had it many years.

It's a very nice sounding pre-amp, though it seems best suited to working with valve power amps, as it sounded great with my Modern Classic Tubes CT15 EL34 monoblocks and also incredibly good driving a friend's Leak Stereo 20. I tried it with Class A solid state amplification and it was not as good.

A friend uses an 834L with a big EAR 861 valve power amp and needless to say that sounds superb too.

I had a Croft Super Micro and the 834L beat it hands down, there was no comparison in terms of grip, transparency and detail.

If you can pick a good one up second hand for say £400, you have a bargain in sound terms. Its easily as good as the lower end Conrad Johnson pre-amps for instance.

[DSJR]

When launched, the EAR was a bargain. Soft and warm toned, it was still clear enough to deeply involve one in the music and I'm reliably told that tube-rolling can make it a tad more neutral too :)

Most lower-caste Crofts are neutral to a touch "raw" in comparison and which presentation you prefer is really system and taste dependant. The Super Micro in original un-updated trim would equate to a Micro Basic now Glenn has done some detailed work on the circuit - the Micro basic could be updated too by the way...

These days, the 834L's are silly money and it's a tragic bloody shame that Tim has priced almost all his products outside of European (and especially UK) interest, going for the "expensive is better" status led far eastern market, where I understand he and his products are very popular still.

As above, if you can get one for a very few hundred quid, grab it and give it a go.

[IHP]

Thanks both, I'm rather curious about EAR stuff and agree it's a tad high priced but as always there are used bargains around.

[DSJR]

...And you know what happens with itches that need scratching :)

[walpurgis]

You might be lucky Ian. My very clean 834L sold for just under £330 on ebay, so keep an eye on the listings.

Also, if you can't find an 834L, a Conrad Johnson MV10L would give you a similarly pleasant listening experience at around the same sort of money, they are more common.