Mr Underhill
pfm Member
I went up to Cambridge the other day as my EAR534 power amp was off song. How did I know this? The music just wasn't grabbing me, where normally I HAVE to listen I could happily sit and read a book!
My initial thought was to replace the main valves, as I bought a spare set of NOS (New Old Stock) tubes when I bought the amp, 2nd hand.
Having opened her up and replaced four of the valves I then approached the other four, and found an awkwardly placed stripped screw head, so I dropped Mr de Paravacini an email and asked if I could bring the amp back for some TLC.
EAR Yoshino's premises is on a small industrial estate near Cambridge, although the EAR logo outside adds a certain something for my money!
I arrived at 0900 and carried the amp through onto the shop floor. We are talking about a UK manufacturing business, and the premises reflects that. The guys work on a series of benches to one side which has been set up to allow a certain workflow.
The main man wasn't in when I arrived, although I know he was working to gone 2000 the previous evening as we had a quick chat. My feeling was that this was a group of characters who got on with the job in hand, but with a certain level of banter that made the atmosphere professional and friendly.
By the time Tim arrived my amp had been tested and was in the process of being stripped.
It was great to stand there and watch the amp being taken apart, gave me some insight for my next valve swap, and respect the design of the uber-heavy beast that allows easier handling for access and disassembly.
Having sorted out the stripped screw head it was back for more testing, one of the channels being slightly on the noisy side.
At this point Tim came over to see what non-EAR valves had been fitted. He is NO fan of valve modifications, as he said, 'Do these people not think we know our business, and haven't tested what we use?'.
Of course if you can persuade a potential customer that you have some mystic knowledge and possess some magic ingredient then there is money to be made - as we all know.
Two of the valves fitted were GEC military spec. Tim pointed out that military spec refers to a certain more rugged build, and the existence of deep supply chains. He then popped upstairs to do some research on the valve, the results of which he later shared with me.
The amp was tapped and valves swapped as we watched a couple of oscilloscopes, looking to identify the cause of the raised noise floor, and remove ringing.
The result? Three new valves and a cleaned and fettled amp - that sounds great.
I bought my pre, an EAR864, 2nd hand and that needed some valves replaced eighteen months ago. It too had been subject to some valve swapping, and came with some additional valves. Having played with some alternatives I bought a set of EAR valves, for a very reasonable price, and they are what I now use. The others do shade the sound, but whether that is an 'improvement' is debatable.
Tim & I spoke about the state of the HiFi industry, and some of the hair raising issues he had with UK dealerships; as well as his experiences in Japan, a place for which I have an abiding affection.
I was very happy to spend a half day with EAR, and feel privileged to meet a man who has worked around the world with so many top people and companies. I honour him for retaining his manufacturing in the UK, and exporting the majority of his produce.
The only downside was almost breaking my back getting the amp back onto its shelf, which sits above all the other HiFi on its own shelf eight feet up the wall!
My initial thought was to replace the main valves, as I bought a spare set of NOS (New Old Stock) tubes when I bought the amp, 2nd hand.
Having opened her up and replaced four of the valves I then approached the other four, and found an awkwardly placed stripped screw head, so I dropped Mr de Paravacini an email and asked if I could bring the amp back for some TLC.
EAR Yoshino's premises is on a small industrial estate near Cambridge, although the EAR logo outside adds a certain something for my money!
I arrived at 0900 and carried the amp through onto the shop floor. We are talking about a UK manufacturing business, and the premises reflects that. The guys work on a series of benches to one side which has been set up to allow a certain workflow.
The main man wasn't in when I arrived, although I know he was working to gone 2000 the previous evening as we had a quick chat. My feeling was that this was a group of characters who got on with the job in hand, but with a certain level of banter that made the atmosphere professional and friendly.
By the time Tim arrived my amp had been tested and was in the process of being stripped.
It was great to stand there and watch the amp being taken apart, gave me some insight for my next valve swap, and respect the design of the uber-heavy beast that allows easier handling for access and disassembly.
Having sorted out the stripped screw head it was back for more testing, one of the channels being slightly on the noisy side.
At this point Tim came over to see what non-EAR valves had been fitted. He is NO fan of valve modifications, as he said, 'Do these people not think we know our business, and haven't tested what we use?'.
Of course if you can persuade a potential customer that you have some mystic knowledge and possess some magic ingredient then there is money to be made - as we all know.
Two of the valves fitted were GEC military spec. Tim pointed out that military spec refers to a certain more rugged build, and the existence of deep supply chains. He then popped upstairs to do some research on the valve, the results of which he later shared with me.
The amp was tapped and valves swapped as we watched a couple of oscilloscopes, looking to identify the cause of the raised noise floor, and remove ringing.
The result? Three new valves and a cleaned and fettled amp - that sounds great.
I bought my pre, an EAR864, 2nd hand and that needed some valves replaced eighteen months ago. It too had been subject to some valve swapping, and came with some additional valves. Having played with some alternatives I bought a set of EAR valves, for a very reasonable price, and they are what I now use. The others do shade the sound, but whether that is an 'improvement' is debatable.
Tim & I spoke about the state of the HiFi industry, and some of the hair raising issues he had with UK dealerships; as well as his experiences in Japan, a place for which I have an abiding affection.
I was very happy to spend a half day with EAR, and feel privileged to meet a man who has worked around the world with so many top people and companies. I honour him for retaining his manufacturing in the UK, and exporting the majority of his produce.
The only downside was almost breaking my back getting the amp back onto its shelf, which sits above all the other HiFi on its own shelf eight feet up the wall!