ear 534

I haven't heard the EAR 534, but the ASL AQ 1008 sounds sweet to my ears driving a pair of Alon Model V's. The only thing I wish it had was triode mode, but the EAR doesn't have this either. They both have a push-pull design, but the ASL has twice the power. If you own the ASL, I suggest hanging on to it. -Mark

To chime in here

I've heard an EAR Integrated ..not sure which model but relatively new matched with ML Summits (newer version)

The Air Extension and overall musicality was very impressive

IMHO both components had excellent synergy

I own an EAR 890 which is the best sounding amp I've owned. It retailed for $5,500.00 when I bought it, now goes for $7,500.00. However, to my ears, it beats the Air Tight I had before which was $8,500.00. How much do we value music making?

From what I've heard, the 534 is on the warm, soft side of things while I've found the 890 to be musically neutral.

Unless you buy a used EAR that was purchased at a much lower price than current pricing and the seller does artifically inflate the "original" price based on today's pricing - an approach that I think is close to fraudalent, though it is perfectly ok to say the model is now selling for $xyz new. Otherwise, Tiger is right about most any European piece of equipment bought today with our shrinking dollar.

Currently any EAR is not a good value and can easily be bettered by many amps. EAR is a quality product, just not a good value new, now.