V12

The EAR Yoshino V12 is a valve amplifier based on 12 EL84 output valves, with 6 valves arranged in each bank. Prices exclude valves. Please call for prices.

The EAR V12 was developed from Tim de Paravicini’s admiration for the Jaguar powerplant. Its layout follows the same design philosophy, using the geometry of an engine to create an organised, compact structure with central weight distribution. The chrome finish and distinctive styling give the amplifier a defined presence without making it obtrusive in its surroundings.

Workmanship combines engineering with hand-finished details. Each amplifier has hand-selected and polished wooden end caps on its ‘half moon’ valve covers, making every EAR V12 individual. The chrome transformer covers are shaped to suggest an aerodynamic power block, while the solid construction reflects the level of build applied throughout the design.

The circuit was conceived by Tim de Paravicini as more than a collection of EL84 valves. It uses his balanced bridge mode circuit, which splits the primary windings of the output transformer equally between the anode and cathode circuits of the valves. These windings are capacitively cross-coupled to increase bandwidth. A pentode mode, parallel push-pull class A circuit produces low levels of soft second harmonic distortion with high linearity.

The bespoke transformers are hand-wound in Cambridgeshire, England. The output transformers are designed for ultra-wide bandwidth, providing an extended frequency response at both ends of the spectrum. Each bank of 6 EL84 valves provides 50 watts of audio output and improved low-level detail. The V12 is designed for effective loudspeaker coupling, with power reserves kept conservatively within the amplifier’s capability.