EAR 834 line stage

I don't know anything about the preamp but I have the EAR 534 power amp. It sounds marvellous, is built like a tank and punches $$$ above its weight, which is considerable. Also, when I wanted info on the tubes EAR responded with the information immediately. The only criticism I have relates to the manual which is very basic but who needs a manual for a power amp anyway. My experience is totally different to that of newbee.

I believe the 834 is now pretty old. I have the newer 868, which does not at all match the description @newbee gives of the 834. The 868 weighs 20 lbs., is very solidly constructed---including chassis mounted RCA and XLR jacks, and sounds great.

One of The best preamps i’ve heard.  Very musical, open , detailfull . À piece of Art from Tim de Paravicini !

u know, that one that ive never come across. with as much experience as folks have across all these message boards, the fact that i haven come across multiple conversations praising the line stage tells me ...dont bother. very vew pieces of gear dont have a strong fan club of some type, and i dont come across anyone singin its praises. 

 

Art Dudley reviewed the EAR 868's big bother, the 912 pre-amp. He said it was the first pre-amp he had heard in a long time that filled him with lust, that it rivaled his Shindo Monbrison ($12,9000). The 868 and 912 were both designed and built by Tim de Paravicini, the two pre-amps sharing a number of design features.

Contrary to the opinion expressed directly above, Paravicini and his designs have a strong cult-sized fan base amongst hi-fi aficionados with deeper roots (and perhaps a better command of the English language ;-) than he. Paravicini's clients include Pink Floyd Studios in England, Water Lily Records in California (whose recordings feature state-of-the-art sound quality, and have been awarded Grammy's for engineering), and Mobile Fidelity Sound Labs.