EAR's Tim de Paravicini is sort of England's Roger Modjeski (Music Reference). They are both circuit and tube experts, old-world electronic engineers with a distain for high-end tweaks like boutique parts and after-market power cords. Both companies are relatively small operations with a few select U.S. dealers.
EAR owners tend to keep the pieces they install in their systems for years, and are "I'm done" (a Michael Fremer expression I rather like) purchases. Meaning they sound so musically satisfying that cases of upgraditis amongst owners of EAR products are more rare than with many other brands. One tends to forget about the sound for it's own sake, and listen rather to the music itself. EAR products are also fully developed before they are put into production, with very few Mk.2's of any given model, the models staying in the EAR line-up for years without the frequent, expensive updates to the products of some of the larger companies.
