EAR Yoshino 834L Deluxe Preamp Review

[amirm]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) stereo preamp designed by Tim De Paravicini. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $3095 (£2,699.00).

I am not a fan of chrome front panel but realize this is a personal thing. The case is stamped sheet metal which feels cheap compared to that. Controls are large and easy to manipulate.

Back panel sports gold plated RCAs but they seem kind of tarnished/dull:

Note much else to say than let's measure it.

Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) Preamp Measurements
As usual, we set the input to 2 volts and adjust the volume for "unity gain" (same output voltage):

We are heavily distortion limited. 2nd harmonic is dominant by far. Noise level is actually good:

I was impressed by the wide bandwidth but found the very low frequency rise strange:

Channel separation is quite poor for a stereo product:

Distortion doesn't depend on frequency although it is quite high:

We see that reason for high distortion is very early saturation:

Volume control accuracy is good:

Conclusions
I guess if you are a tube guy and want lots of second harmonic distortion, you have it here. I am disappointed with the packaging and performance in the absolute.

I can't recommend the Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) Preamp. Use a transparent preamp for heaven's sake and save lots of money to boot.

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As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

 

[Talisman]

Thanks for the review Amir.
I don't understand the rating of headless panther, this is a tube preamp, does exactly what you expect, high distortion with the second harmonic predominant, but quite good noise level.
Clearly for much less money you can get much better performance, but nothing really "broken" here.

 

[amirm]

I don't understand the rating of headless panther, he is a tube preamp, does exactly what you expect, high distortion with the second harmonic predominant, but quite good noise level.

It is not what "I" want. So I rated it accordingly. It also has a cheap enclosure especially for its cost.

 

[Matias]

Not bad for a tube preamp. I mean, someone who buys this wants lots of 2nd harmonic distortion and gets it with quite early saturation, and without other hums and noises. This preamp achieves its goal, at a price. Channel separation is the only major flaw. Not that I would buy it myself but still.

 

[phoenixdogfan]

When you're buying one of these you're buying a "sound effects" device which will color absolutely everything you listen to. Kind of like buying several bags of ultra premium coffee, brewing them up with state of the art extraction, and then giving the resultant pour three or four squirts of Ghiardelli chocolate syrup.

 

[MacClintock]

It is not what "I" want. So I rated it accordingly. It also has a cheap enclosure especially for its cost.

I agree, there cannot be a "reasonable" criterion for "good for a tube amp cause it has a lot of 2nd order distortion". Next time somebody comes around and says he likes noise or clipping and then we have to value this as well?

 

[ta240]

I agree, there cannot be a "reasonable" criterion for "good for a tube amp cause it has a lot of 2nd order distortion". Next time somebody comes around and says he likes noise or clipping and then we have to value this as well?

But it is still a bit like a truck review site buying a sedan and going "It can't hold much gravel so it is bad!"
It is literally doing what it is supposed to do and doing it quite well.

In the real world the 2nd harmonics would barely dip into the audible level and no power supply noise or any other noise. In all honesty, for anyone interested in a Tube preamp this seems like a glowing review.
I mean, as long as you are okay with violating the sanctity of the music and just enjoying it.

 

[Short38]

There are so many nails in this coffin that it resembles a porcupine.

 

[ta240]

It is not what "I" want. So I rated it accordingly. It also has a cheap enclosure especially for its cost.

At least it doesn't have ugly meters

 

[AnalogSteph]

Not bad for a tube preamp. I mean, someone who buys this wants lots of 2nd harmonic distortion and gets it with quite early saturation, and without other hums and noises. This preamp achieves its goal, at a price. Channel separation is the only major flaw. Not that I would buy it myself but still.

I wouldn't even be worried about the xtalk, it still beats FM stereo and sure as hell beats vinyl. That's a lot of distortion though, particularly IMD, even if it's technically still HiFi (as per DIN 45500).

BTW - no multitone?

 

[GWolfman]

If 2nd harmonics and good performance (for a tube), this is what you want. But for the price? No way.

 

[GXAlan]

Thanks for the review.

Amir hates tubes, so I don’t think the panther was unexpected. The panther is his personal opinion with less consideration from the potential buyer. It’s unclear how he looks at the Primaluna differently than this.

When looking at tubes, priorities are
A) noise
B) AC mains noise
C) channel separation
D) channel matching

Since those are “universally” appreciated.

Noise = better than Primaluna
AC noise = better than Primaluna
Channel separation = slightly better than Primaluna
Channel matching = better than Primaluna at low volumes

Tubes never make sense intellectually but within the world of tubes, unlike charge-more-offer-less at least this is doing a nice job with AC mains filtering, etc.

 

[tubess1988]

Where does this fit into the ASR rating chart for preamps?

 

[Blumlein 88]

I've listened to one of these years back. It did have a smooth, and somewhat dark sound in uncontrolled listening. I would have guessed a high frequency gentle roll off, but I never measured the one I heard. It was quiet.

Am I remembering right that it used a transformer coupled output? Maybe I'm thinking of the 834P phono preamp which my friend also owned at the time.

 

[D!sco]

This review doesn't really make much sense. The product is accomplishing it's goals, and the measurements don't really speak for themselves here. The hum is low and the 2nd harmonic is high. If the IMD was high it would be a problem, but that's not here.

Honestly, why even bother reviewing this kind of thing anymore? It seems like the goal is to make a low-effort review of a style that this corner of the internet doesn't prefer. It would be better if it were just left alone.

 

[amirm]

Honestly, why even bother reviewing this kind of thing anymore?

There is a complaint about everything I review...

 

[AndreaT]

Expensive trash. Thank you Amir!

 

[JDS]

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) stereo preamp designed by Tim De Paravicini. It is on kind loan from a member and costs US $3095 (£2,699.00).
View attachment 311173
I am not a fan of chrome front panel but realize this is a personal thing. The case is stamped sheet metal which feels cheap compared to that. Controls are large and easy to manipulate.

Back panel sports gold plated RCAs but they seem kind of tarnished/dull:
View attachment 311175

Note much else to say than let's measure it.

Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) Preamp Measurements
As usual, we set the input to 2 volts and adjust the volume for "unity gain" (same output voltage):
View attachment 311176

We are heavily distortion limited. 2nd harmonic is dominant by far. Noise level is actually good:
View attachment 311177

I was impressed by the wide bandwidth but found the very low frequency rise strange:
View attachment 311178

Channel separation is quite poor for a stereo product:
View attachment 311180

Distortion doesn't depend on frequency although it is quite high:
View attachment 311181

We see that reason for high distortion is very early saturation:
View attachment 311183

Volume control accuracy is good:
View attachment 311184

Conclusions
I guess if you are a tube guy and want lots of second harmonic distortion, you have it here. I am disappointed with the packaging and performance in the absolute.

I can't recommend the Ear Yoshino 834L Deluxe Tube (Valve) Preamp. Use a transparent preamp for heaven's sake and save lots of money to boot.

-----------
As always, questions, comments, recommendations, etc. are welcome.

Any donations are much appreciated using: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php?threads/how-to-support-audio-science-review.8150/

Did you also test the phono section? I have a bare bones 834P phono-only box, which I assume has the same or similar design as the one here.

 

[Blumlein 88]

Did you also test the phono section? I have a bare bones 834P phono-only box, which I assume has the same or similar design as the one here.

I am pretty sure this is line only. You are expected to feed the output of your 834P into the 834L.

 

[AndreaT]

This review doesn't really make much sense. The product is accomplishing it's goals, and the measurements don't really speak for themselves here. The hum is low and the 2nd harmonic is high. If the IMD was high it would be a problem, but that's not here.

Honestly, why even bother reviewing this kind of thing anymore? It seems like the goal is to make a low-effort review of a style that this corner of the internet doesn't prefer. It would be better if it were just left alone.

It is marketed and sold at a high price. The review is an important teaching point for those who deny the audio electronics progress of the past fifty years. Thank you Amir.