ART EPA-100 Tube Conditioner
Surviving information on the ART EPA-100 is thin. It appears to have been a single-channel tube conditioner (the company called it a "Tube Conditioner") designed to warm up and boost a signal passing through it. The unit had an instrument input, a balanced XLR output, and an unbalanced ¼-inch output. Power came from an external AC adapter. Rectification was solid-state, not a tube rectifier. ART listed a manufacturer's suggested retail price of $212.50. A contemporary ad in Audio (January 1982, p. 77) lists a Technics EPA-100 at $299.
The front panel had an Instrument In jack next to Send and Return jacks. That suggests the EPA-100 could work as an insert effect or as a standalone preamp stage. The company's own description said the box was meant to "condition your sound" as it traveled through the tube stage, and that it delivered "tube warmth and a boost when you need it." The factory box included a power supply, a manual, and an instrument cable.
Production years are not documented. No dimensions, weight, frequency response, THD, or S/N figures have turned up in period literature, and no user reviews from the era have been located.
Known specs:
- Type: Single-channel tube conditioner
- Input: Instrument jack
- Outputs: Balanced XLR, unbalanced ¼-inch
- Rectification: Solid state
- Power: External AC adapter
- MSRP: $212.50
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