I too have an EAR 859 and I love it.
I agree with the poster who shouted about the trannies - very big OPTs and very low operating points on the tubes.
I gather from a number of posts that the US distributor or dealer network is perhaps not the best friend to the manufacturer (saying about "who needs enemies" comes to mind). In Japan (where I am), EAR has a great reputation and their products see lots of bidders when they come up for auction. The 859 (or its decedent, the 869) was a StereoSound component of the year at one point if I am not mistaken. The 861s show up from time to time, as do the V20, and a couple of the other amps. I'd love a set of 509s but they are tough to find. The phono stages have a decent reputation as well.
I agree with the poster who shouted about the trannies - very big OPTs and very low operating points on the tubes.
I gather from a number of posts that the US distributor or dealer network is perhaps not the best friend to the manufacturer (saying about "who needs enemies" comes to mind). In Japan (where I am), EAR has a great reputation and their products see lots of bidders when they come up for auction. The 859 (or its decedent, the 869) was a StereoSound component of the year at one point if I am not mistaken. The 861s show up from time to time, as do the V20, and a couple of the other amps. I'd love a set of 509s but they are tough to find. The phono stages have a decent reputation as well.