I imagine most of you know Eastern Electric's name from their better known DACs, phono stage,integrated amplifiers and the amazing minimax pre-amp. They offer incredibly value, "bang for the buck." Includes single ended outputs;
balanced outputs; multiple ohm taps for different levels of speaker resistance.
The designer set out to build the best
cost no object amplifer. He came up with a real winner. There are three excellent professional reviews comparing THESE monoblocks to some very expensive gear, including Einstein 20K amplifiers. One of these was a PANEL review where all the judges were blown away. These amps are incredible. They'll drive anything. To my ears, they are the best of tube gear along with great frequency extension in lows and highgs. And, they provide better bass than I've ever heard in my system. However, audio wanderlust has set in and I'm going in a completely new direction. New = $5,000. My price $3200 obo. You save 36% over new.
These have seen light use as I don't use the main system as much as I should. I've only seen one pair of these used available before. I'm certainly questioning my own sanity in selling them, but, hey you have to try new things from time to time.
There are three amazing professional reviews of these amps, including a multi-panel review. Ask me and I'll send you all the cut and paste reviews I collected before I bought these.
I'd rate the amps about an 8 or 9 only because they are not literally brand new. For the most part, they look great.
Feel free to ask questions. Thanks.
I have positive feedback on Audiogon.
Pix on request. They are sharp. Nice meters.
Purchased from manufacturer.
Original boxes, manuals, even the white tube gloves.
Some Review Excerpts:The Eastern Electric M156 Monoblock tube amplifiers were put through an unusual gauntlet of evaluations because we determined early on that they appeared to be an unusual product. By every standard, the amps proved themselves to have a very high level of audio performance at any price and an extraordinary level at their current price - and opinion shared by at least 6 individuals in several different rooms and systems.
Anyone who is thinking of upgrading their tube power amp or amps seeking better sound and/or more power should definitely try these. We at Stereomojo value value, and these represent an outstanding bang for the buck. Stereomojo Maximum Mojo Award
by Stereojomo. Received the Maximum Mojo Award.
At their price, they're not cheap, but they pack a lot of value and performance into their solidly built chassis. They're very well built; they have a grand presentation and tons of power for what I would call a very reasonable price. If any of this appeals to you, I haven't personally auditioned a more recommendable pair of amps with such universal appeal and I'm pleased to offer them my highest recommendation. excerpt by John Potis
[My note]: Utilized ULTRA expensive Einstein for evaluation
….was surprised at how good they sounded compared to the Einstein's in this ultra-revealing system. The big horns and bass cabinets still disappeared leaving a huge soundstage that extended from side to side across the 30’ width and up to the 20’ ceiling. No shrinkage at all. There was still plenty of detail throughout the audio spectrum and nothing was lost in translation. Depth and layering were about equal. No veiling was introduced. Vocals had the same warmth and presence and dynamics were equal if not a bit better on really big drums and orchestral crescendos. The top end did not suffer roll off and had close to the same amount of sparkle and transient response, but perhaps not quite as much speed. The Acapella’s plasma tweeters, which do not use conventional cones but a field of gas to reproduce upper frequencies, are the fastest in the industry. An amplifier that is slow would be exposed immediately. It didn’t happened.
One area actually was noticeably superior and that was the low end as produced by the big bass towers. There was more grip and control and an overall firmness that even the owner a bit begrudgingly recognized. In fact, here is a direct quote by Al Helo whose home and system we enjoyed that night: “Long warm up time. Once warm these bad boys are excellent.Open, plenty of power, no bloat, very good bass, very nice mids and extended open high end. No over blown tube sound, but does retain the smoothness of tube amps. Not the sterile, etched sound as in solid state. They have that bloom in the mids that I like in tube amps. The sound unfolds and blooms from a very black background. Not as fast as OTL's (his Einstein’s) but what is! Strong controlled bass. These amps would definitely be on a list to hear if I was in the market. Considering price these amps should be a contender on anyone’s list”.
Overall, every listener said how impressed they were by the “little” Eastern Electric’s. I was asked several times how much they cost, as if the panel found it difficult to believe.
More review excerpts. In terms of treble performance, from the M-156s I heard glimpses of genius; absolute genius. And once you hear these glimpses of genius you start to listen for them and only then does it start to sink in how varied treble execution can be from disc to disc because once you know of what your system is capable I can't think of an amplifier with a better overall treble presentation. I can't say for sure, but I wonder if a large amount of the credit here should go to the Permalloy step-up transformer I mentioned before
No matter the speakers involved, the M-156 monos never failed to create a big soundstage with plenty of space and an excellent sense of depth—something not always easy to do in my modest room. But dimensionality is one of the things these M-156s do very well….. he M-156 amps do indeed sound fast and with such power on tap, they perform well, dynamically speaking, at most any volume range.
But there's no mistaking their increased fluidity and rhythmic fun factor once tethered to the M-156 amplifiers. The speakers perform with a new freedom and abandon that is both exciting and addictive. The bigger the musical production the harder you'll fall for the M-156's musical prowess and their seemingly limitless power.
I found the Eastern Electric M-156 amplifiers unusually adept at driving my Tidal Pianos through the big stuff. I pulled out discs I haven't listened to in years such as the Soundtrack of Jurassic Park [MCAD] for awesome tight and deep bass and pounding macro-dynamic swings. Reiner and the Chicago Symphony's Scheherazade [Living Stereo] demonstrated excellent dynamics on both the micro and macro level along with upper frequency finesse and lower frequency power
But the smaller stuff such as Belafonte At Carnegie Hall [Hybrid SACD] proved every bit as enjoyable and demonstrative of the M-156's virtues. The acoustic guitarists had an unusual level of physical presence in my room on "Darlin Cora" and I'm certain I've never heard a more intimate portrayal of Belafonte's voice, which came across with excellent clarity, uncolored transparency and emotive nuance. The M-156's proved surprisingly adroit at reproducing the exceptionally subtle and nuanced bass lines of the acoustic basses and by then I'd come to expect nothing less than the holographic soundstage and well-placed instruments on stage. Image delineation and focus was outstanding. The sense of the hall was first-rate as I felt as if I could jump out of my chair and navigate the stage with my eyes closed.
But if you value top-to-bottom linearity, transparency and superb coherence, you may want to give due consideration to these amps.
They're very well built; they have a grand presentation and tons of power for what I would call a very reasonable price. If any of this appeals to you, I haven't personally auditioned a more recommendable pair of amps with such universal appeal and I'm pleased to offer them my highest recommendation.
John Potis
