What it is
EAR 912 Professional Tube Control Centre — flagship valve preamplifier with on-board MM/MC phono stage. Studio-grade design used by mastering facilities (The Exchange London, Mobile Fidelity). Hand-built Cambridgeshire UK. Tim de Paravicini's reference creation.
Stereophile Class A (Art Dudley): "took the world by storm... a Class A preamplifier in every sense, and an heirloom-quality instrument that represents the apex of both build quality and design ingenuity... imaging that sounded more real to me than the overly precise sound I associate with the high-end audio salon experience."
Robert H. Levi (Positive Feedback): direct comparison vs Audio Research Reference 3 — "the E.A.R. was consistently more detailed, bold, and lifelike. The E.A.R. soundstaging was bigger and deeper (lots deeper)... imaging was decidedly more solid and richly focused."
Front-panel cartridge loading switches (3/6/12/40Ω SUT steps + gain attenuation -6dB/-12dB) make 912 the most flexible MC interface in any EAR product — outclasses 88PB which requires internal microswitches. Two phono inputs (dual turntable / dual tonearm support).
Who it comes up against
10 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, Characterful, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Silent Path brief, the Music First Audio Baby Reference V2 keeps the slot decisively.
With the Whest Audio 60Se Pro, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Audio Note P1 SE, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Whest Audio 60Se Pro gives up quietness at rest under the Silent Path weighting.
it was ghostly in its silenceHomeTheaterReview, Kessler, 2009
it was ghostly in its silenceHomeTheaterReview, Kessler, 2009
9 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Characterful, PRaT, Reference, Romantic, Silent Path
Against the Anchored brief, the Audiolab 9000Q keeps the slot clearly.
With the Musical Fidelity M8x Vinyl, the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the weaker preamplifier for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
it was ghostly in its silenceHomeTheaterReview, Kessler, 2009
8 lost · Anchored, Artisan, Cavity-Native, Intimate, PRaT, Reference
Against the Anchored brief, the NVA P50SA MKII keeps the slot clearly.
With the Longdog Audio P6100M (pair), the pairing gives up most on quietness at rest.
With the Rega Aria Mk3 MM/MC, the pairing gains most on quietness at rest.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Longdog Audio P6100M (pair) gives up quietness at rest under the Anchored weighting.
it was ghostly in its silenceHomeTheaterReview, Kessler, 2009
it was ghostly in its silenceHomeTheaterReview, Kessler, 2009
4 lost · Cavity-Native, Characterful, Romantic
Against the Cavity-Native brief, the Leema Neutron keeps the slot clearly.
With the Leema Hydra II, the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Leema Hydra II gives up vocal presence under the Cavity-Native weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
2 lost · Artisan, Reference
Against the Artisan brief, the Exposure 3510 Preamplifier keeps the slot clearly.
With the Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units), the pairing gives up most on vocal presence.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Exposure XM9 Biamp 2x2 (4 units) gives up vocal presence under the Artisan weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
1 lost · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the Audio Note M2 Phono keeps the slot clearly.
With the Audio Note P1 SE, the pairing gives up most on midrange truth.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier — but it loses here on fit: the pairing with the Audio Note P1 SE gives up midrange truth under the Intimate weighting.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.
reference EAR Tim de Paravicini valve preampEAR 912 Professional + Stereophile reviews
0 lost· 2 won · Intimate
Against the Intimate brief, the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre takes the slot by a whisker.
On its own merits the EAR Yoshino 912 Professional Tube Control Centre is the stronger preamplifier for that brief.
It sits well above the share of the budget this brief aims at the preamplifier position.