Anyone heard the E.A.R. "Acute"?

Calvinj, keep me posted on your tube experiments. Do you have any other tube gear in your system? What is the rest of your system (amp, speakers, etc.)? I am running my EAR through a Primaluna Integrated Amp, so thinking I will be experimenting with those tubes next. My preamp and driver tubes on my integrated that drive my power tubes are all 12au7's, so there is a lot of good NOS tube options that may enhance my EAR sound. Enjoy the fun!

I'm running the gato fm6 from Denmark. I have the kr audio va900 "The Baby Kronzilla" tube amplifier. I use the ear acute CD player. I use the the Resonessence Mirus dac. I use cabling from high fidelity, clarity cable and atlas mavros. I will be trying the ediswans tubes in my EAR next so far the Siemens are far ahead of all else I've tried.

Maybe also try one Siemens and one Ediswans too. Were the Amperex's a dud? Thinking of trying an Amperex with the Siemens when they arrive too. I can see how this can addicting yet so fun. I know what you mean!

I talked to my tech about EAR products. He said the products sound good but the way they are put together is not first rate. He also said they used the cheapest parts available. He said for what they are charging you should get a better made product.

In absolute terms, what isn't overpriced in high-end audio? I personally would not buy anything for the listed manufacture price, but that could just be me. The build quality may not be as good as other competitors, but everybody I've talked to (dealers and non-dealers) say Tim's circuitry design is unbelievable which is the reason the sound quality is so good. Granted, he could use better parts. but that would certainly drive the price even more which would exclude me from being able to buy. I can understand your issues with the parts he uses though. If you can find a used EAR Acute 3, I would say the price is worth the performance, even with the questions about the build quality. The flexibility of tube rolling is a bonus as well to help tailor the design to your liking. There is much debate in the digital world though and beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder.