E.A.T. PRELUDE TURNTABLE

E.A.T. is renowned for its high-end turntables thanks in part to their considered use of mass, E.A.T. has waged war on unwanted vibration, resonance and sound colouration.

The new E.A.T. Prelude, according to the brand, is the first deck which is genuinely affordable but able to provide a neutral sound.

Even though the company had a target price point target, and therefore compromises had to made, they stuck to their underlying principles.  Firstly, only a heavy-weight platter can give you the correct speed and precision. So, here you have a low tolerance (0.01) polished stainless steel bearing in a soft bronze bushing giving you a super silent and smooth movement. Furthermore, this is the same base material found in E.A.T.'s high-end designs.

The dense MDF plinth is protected by eight layers of lacquer,  producing a luxurious look and finish; unusual for this price category where the norm is a particle board chassis with glued-on veneer.

The free-standing motor has no connection to the board to ensure no nasty vibrations are passed to the turntable. Instead, the Prelude gets the iconic green E.A.T. belt.

Most Prelude owners will choose a moving magnet (MM) cartridge. Indeed, it comes with an Ortofon 2M Red, so the tonearm is a lightweight, ultra-stiff and resonance-free, single-cast carbon tube.

The tonearm mass bearing block behaves like an energy sink for all resonances from the cartridge, as well as the low frequencies from the deck. The counterweight implements an anti-resonator damper to reduce the amplitude of the natural tonearm/cartridge resonance. Something else that you don't usually find on a turntable at this pricing.

Finally, the elegant piano lacquer finish fits into every home or type of decor.

E.A.T. E-Glo Petit Tube Phono Pre-Amp

E-Glo Petit is the smaller sibling of the highly acclaimed and award-winning E-Glo S. With its fully discreet, OpAmp-less design, the brand is pretty pleased with the results.

E.A.T. tells us that we can expect stunning dynamics, a clear midrange and high-resolution definition.

The E-Glo Petit plays nicely with both MM and MC cartridges and features a hybrid design using 12AX7 tubes. Inside the attractive aluminium and wood casing, you will find fully discrete circuitry, precise RIAA equalisation, adjustable impedance and capacitance and a switchable subsonic filter. All of which is fed by an advanced power supply.

The specially designed power enables the tubes to stay 'hot' at all times. The upshot of which is that the valves perform at their maximum during the entire listening session.

Furthermore, the power supply is regulated and well filtrated for the best overall performance of the complete package.

With the use of exceptionally low noise 2SK209 J-FET transistors of the in a quad-setup, E-Glo Petit achieves an impressive Signal to Noise Ratio (SNR) of 87 decibels. E.A.T. tells us that no other tube phono preamplifier on the market is even getting near those results.

Price and availability

The EAT E-Glo Petit phono stage is available now at a UK RRP of £1249.
 
The EAT Prelude turntable is available from March at a UK RRP of £999 (inc. dust cover, tonearm and Ortofon 2M Red cartridge).

For more information, go to European Audio Team.