EAR-Yoshino 834 and 8L6
Integrated / Pre-Main Amplifier

The EAR 834 and 8L6 have been designed to meet a wide variety of needs, from the most demanding of audiophiles to the professional seeking high quality monitoring equipment in the studio field. The circuit design uses push-pull output and driver stages, a high quality in-house-designed output transformer and low negative feedback. Tube life is long (and replacement costs modest) and the circuit operates in pure
Class A.

An unusual feature of the 8L6 is that it can be used as an integrated amplifier or as separate preamplifier and power amplifier. This is selected using the switch at the rear of the unit marked ‘Pre/power split on’. In integrated amplifier mode the front panel source selector works in the usual way to select any of the five inputs available on the rear. No connection is required between the ‘Pre out’ sockets and the ‘Power amp in’ sockets.

In pre-main mode the (passive) preamplifier section is disconnected internally from the power amplifier section, requiring an external connection between the ‘Pre out’ sockets and the ‘Power amp in’ sockets. This facility is provided to allow the user the option of connecting a signal processor such as an equalizer between the pre and power sections.
An additional benefit is that the ‘Pre out’ sockets remain active when the 8L6 is in integrated mode, so that a second 8L6 (or other amplifier of similar gain) can be used ‘slaved’ to the main one for bi-amping.

Specifications:

• Power output 50 watts/channel (30Hz - 15kHz at 1% THD into rated load)
• Power Bandwidth 15Hz - 40kHz at less than 3% THD
• I.M.D. Less than 1% at any level from 10mW to 50 Watts
• Output Damping Factor 12
• Signal to Noise Ratio 85dB
• Input Sensitivity 200mV
• Input Impedance 47k Ohms
• Power Consumption 200 watts total
• Weight 20kg
• Size W 405mm, D 405mm, H 150mm
• Valves List 2 x ECC83, 2 x ECC85, 8 x EL34

Reviews


Excerpteds from The Absolute Sound, issue 199
by Aaron A. Shatzman

Hi-Fi World
by Eric Braithwaite