Yes, nitewulf I am looking for tube only. Anyway thanks for your recomendation,
Rafael
Rafael
Linestage search
I´m looking for a linestage for my EAR 509´s monoblocks.
The input impedance of the 509´s is 25K
My first options are the following:
1. EAR 868 (used)
2. Coincident Statement Linestage (used)
I didn´t have the opportunity to hear any of them, so I would really appreciate advice on the choice.
Thank you all.
32 responses Add your response
Hi Rafael, Ron Nagle is a reviewer for the Web site Enjoy the music.com. He’s done professional reviews of the EAR 868 and the Coincident Statement Line Stage. I’d think that makes him a pretty rare bird 😊. Of course it’s just one man’s opinion but he may be able to offer you insight on these two fine components. I believe that he responds to email. Just a thought given that you're not able to audition either of them. Charles |
The EAR-Yoshino 868 is a no-frills version of the $13,500 EAR 912 (no meters and faceplate handles, fewer controls), a pre-amp Art Dudley gave a rave review to awhile back. The 868 is an over-looked bargain, selling for around $3000 used, $3500-4000 used from dealers. I would much rather have one in my system than a comparably priced ARC, for instance. EAR’s designer Tim de Paravicini has a vast, deep knowledge of electronics and circuit design, amongst the best in the world of still-living masters. Though EAR is a low-profile company in the U.S., it and Tim are very well known in the UK. He designed and built the electronics in Roger Waters’ recording studio, as well as those in the state-of-the-art tube tape recorder of Kav Alexander of Water Lily Records. Kav’s work on the Meeting By A River album (with the great Ry Cooder) won him a Grammy for best engineering. Paravicini is rather opinionated about hi-fi, having little use for boutique parts and audiophile tweaks. Perhaps that’s why he is not more popular amongst fickle, trendy, High End consumers (present company excluded, of course ;-). He rarely modifies existing products, working on their design until he considers them "finished", not a work-in-progress. He therefore does not benefit from a steady stream of reviews of frequent "new" model introductions---in reality updates of models whose sales have begun to decline. If you like the sound of your 509 (what’s not to like?!), there is every reason to expect you will like the 868. Available with or without a phono stage, it has excellent hook-up provisions: A balanced/XLR input, five unbalanced/RCA inputs, two balanced/XLR and two unbalanced/RCA outputs, and a pair of tape ins and outs. If you have patience, and can wait for a couple of months to maybe a year for one to come up used, be ready to jump on it---they go fast. The one on Audiogon last week went in just hours.
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1. EAR 868 (used) 2. Coincident Statement Linestage (used) A couple 3 years ago I accompanied a friend to go audition a pair of AZ Adagio floor standing speakers. Gorgeous looking speakers, by the way. The setup had EAR 100w amps. I asked of the preamp and could swear I was told ‘Frankenstein’. Knowing then Coincident made an amp called by that name, I said as much, you mean Coincident? The seller agreed. Obviously looking back there was a communication breakdown. An analog source was used primarily until a digital one was asked for. Isoclean PLC was in use as we were informed. The presentation IMHO was as close to SS as one could ask for in spite of the tubes. It lacked the sheen or luster of tubes what so ever. The bass was remarkable though. Whenever one decides to mix and or match different houses and the numbers regarding input and output IMP and gain coincide, everything will work on paper. One should as well be prepared to move on if the sonics don’t butter one’s bread, and that possibility exists a lot. As the sound or ‘synergy’ is another story altogether. A real world certainty is staying in the same house will yield more synergistic parings more often than not. The noteable disparity then hinges on performance, not electronic matching. Of course too, digging or not digging a brand’s voice plays a role. Were it me, I’d try hard to get an EAR pre. I’d bet too, either of your choices would do quite well…. Good luck. |
charles1dad No, it's the Jumbo Shrimp. Hey just going from the Manly website on their Jumbo Shrimp product under specs. and it states switchable gain from 45dB or 60dB and they mention those gains not once but at 8 different times!!! If it’s a typo, it’s a humdinger. http://www.manley.com/products/view/mspr Cheers George |
I´m learning a lot and clarifying many things. I have no chance to audition any of them and that´s why I´ve started this discussion. I´d welcome any additional comments of the three I list below. *. Charles, your experience with the Coincident Statement Linestage and the aparent no technical issues, confirm it as one of the firm candidates. *. Al, the Manley Neo Classic 300b is on my list too. *. The other on the list is the EAR 868 Al, Charles, Matt, George, Bdp24, I appreciate the help of all of you. Thanks, Rafael |
Rafael, I have no particular knowledge of the Neo-Classic 300B line stage you asked about. But after looking at the info provided for it at the Manley site I don't see any technical issues that would arise pairing it with your 509s. A point to be aware of, though, is that its AC power consumption of 170 watts, in combination with its relatively light weight (shipping weight is indicated as 28 pounds), suggests that it is likely to get fairly hot during use. Good luck. Regards, -- Al |
Mattmiller 10-29-2017Matt, what is confused are the specifications in the description of the Jumbo Shrimp at the Manley website, as I indicated in my previous post. If you look under the "specifications" tab at that link you will see several references to gains of 45 and 60 db, as well as to RIAA accuracy. Even though, as I pointed out, the Jumbo Shrimp does not contain a phono stage. The absurdity of those numbers prompted me to take a look at the manual, which correctly states the 11.8 db gain, as I said earlier. No one who has responded here has confused the Jumbo Shrimp with the Chinook phono stage. That should have been clear upon careful reading of my earlier post. Regards, -- Al |
Al is right in that the 45 to 60 db of gain for the Manley has to be an error. That amount of gain is absurd to the point of insanity. There’s no way I believe that Manley would offer a line stage with over the top gain (unusable in practical terms)level. Now a Phono section (for MC cartridges) is a different matter. Rafael, I’ve owned the Coincident Statement Line Stage for 8 years and it is magnificent (truly top tier sound quality ) in my opinion. I wish you were able to audition one to determine if you find it suitable for your needs. I have no reason to doubt that the EAR or the Manley models (particularly the Neo Classic 300b) would be excellent options as well. There is no shortage of very good choices available to you in your stated price range in the used market or in some cases brand new as well. Good luck, Charles |
George, I'm pretty certain that the 45 db and 60 db gain specs stated in the website description of the Jumbo Shrimp are an error. They apparently apply to a phono input, which the Jumbo Shrimp doesn't even have. The manual indicates a very reasonable gain of 11.8 db. Gains of 45 or 60 db for a line stage would of course be ridiculous. Best regards, -- Al |
rafacampodonicoBe careful with the Manley as it has minimum gain of 45db max of 60db and with the input sensitivity of your EAR's being only 1.2v for full output, you could be very low on the volume control for very loud level playback leaving you with not much control, depending on your speakers sensitivity. Cheers George |
Manley Labs Jumbo Shrimp has 200ohm output impedance and should drive those 509's to perfection. This is a pre amp that will inject some real organic, rich tonal beauty with plenty of rise and decay, its a very special sound and you can buy them for around $2500 to $3500. Has radio controlled remote too not inferred.( RCA only if that's a big deal ) Also, pre amps are very important to the sound of the overall system, very important to find the one that sounds best for you, it would be good to try a few before making your mind up. Matt M |
rafacampodonico They are high gain as they only need 1.2v for full output, most sources these days have over 2v, you should look for a low gain preamp, suggest a Schiit Freya. Which has 3 different output configurations tube, solid state, or passive, and it's remote control volume is about as good as you can get being 128 position relay switched controlled. And it's balanced or SE output with multiple inputs. http://www.schiit.com/products/freya Cheers George |
I thought of these two because I have good references of both and they are in my price range. I think that the Ear 868 could be a good match for the amps because is designed by the same person, and the Coincident seems to be very well built and very transparent. Even though I could consider another option in the 3.5K range, with a good synergy with the amps. |
