E.A.T. E-Glo I
The story behind European Audio Team (E.A.T.) is that of one woman, company owner and CEO Jozefína Lichtenegger.
While studying for her MBA at the University of Economics in Bratislava, Slovakia, Lichtenegger (née Krahulkova) sold vacuum tubes for her brother-inlaw, Alesa Vaic, then owner of Czech Republic–based tube brand VAIC. After VAIC shuttered in 2003, Lichtenegger founded her own retail business and engaged 100-year-old tube manufacturer Tesla Vršovice to supply 300B and KT88 tubes made to her specifications. When the owner of Tesla retired, she bought the company. She christened her new endeavor E.A.T. (The original Tesla continues as TESLA ElectronTubes, s.r.o.)
Lichtenegger brought over workers from Tesla, including the craftspeople who make E.A.T.’s 300B and KT88 tubes, entirely by hand. These highly skilled employees bring a lifetime of knowledge to their unique professions. “We have three dedicated tube builders,” she told me via email, “Kveta Perglerova, Miluse Rösslerová, and Martin Orna.”
“The tradition of making the world’s best vacuum tubes is the DNA of E.A.T.,” Lichtenegger said. “This is how I started European Audio Team 20 years ago.”
The E.A.T. E-Glo I is a beautiful machine, subtle in design but so substantially built that it makes a serious visual impression.
Jozefína Krahulkova and Pro-Ject founder and CEO Heinz Lichtenegger were married in 2010, creating a true EU audio power couple. E.A.T. and Pro-Ject share production facilities. Joining forces with Pro-Ject allowed E.A.T. to start producing cartridges, phono stages, and turntables.
“Thanks to Pro-Ject,” wrote Anthony Chiarella, national sales manager of E.A.T.’s US distributor, Vana, Ltd., in an email, “E.A.T.
