EAR 834P Phono Stage

I'm thinking of upgrading my Musical Fidelity XLP Phono Stage and am leaning towards the EAR834P with Volume Control so I can connect this directly to my 8000P power amps, has anyone has any experience good or bad with this unit?

There's also a Project Tube Box on ebay which finishes tomorrow and a new MEIXING MINGDA Valves MC/MM phono stage, anyone had any experience with these products?

Cheers!

Spenny

 

ear is ok there are better.

no xp of project,

avoid the meixing like the plague

try graham slee era, too killer

 

I was thinking of going the same route, as I also have an XLPS.

Everyone I have spoken with have said it is definately the right choice.

 

Try the Loricraft Missing Link, and the Dynavectors as well. The Loricraft is a delight, and has switchable loading. The DV is also very nice indeed, but you need to fiddle inside to change the loading. I tried a few and the best for me was the Loricraft

 

Tried a few here as well,incl Tom Evans Microgroove,MF XPLS3 and couple of others before settling on Trichord Dino and NC power supply.

You really have to try a good selection with your own system before deciding...

 

I am using the EAR. Much better compared to my previous Lehmann Audio Black Cube SE. 10x better (subjectively) soundstage and warmer sound. Valves... Mmmmmm

JJ

 

Hi Spenny,

Check out my comments in this thread: http://forum.hifichoice.co.uk/viewtopic.php?t=18657


Enjoy the musicâ„¢

Lawrie.

 

I can't comment on the xlp (never heard one) but I have used an 834p for a good few years now and I love it. I recently changed the valves to sovtec lps and replaced the cheap alps pot with a dact stepped attenuator, which improved things even more.
My 834p drives my Monarchy Audio sm70 amp direct, with no problems.

 

it gets my vote (the EAR 834P) for being the most reliable valve product ever made!

The kind of product that is just so damn sensible, and does such a good job you forget its there.

They hold their second hand value even better than Naim too.

 

Yep, the EAR834P is superb, I have first hand experience of it, brilliant.

 

An under-rated product IMHO. A bit forward sounding but big, lush natural sound which gets to the heart of the music. Does all the soundstagey, image kind-of-thing superbly and makes an awful lot of phono stages sound forced, grainy, shut-in, sat-upon and plain wrong!

Not suggesting it can't be bettered but I think a lot of systems it's evaluated in simply are not up to it. You cna change the tubes as you've heard, you can play with the inners a la Thorsten approach. You can bypass the transformers (if you have one of the MM/MC models) for better separate ones such as MC3/MC4 or Stevens & Billington (who make Tim's anyway), Audio Innovations or others. The power-cable is non-captive so you cna play with these too if you believe in them. You don't get adjustable dip switches which some argue degrade performance anyway. You get a good slab of gain (40db+) for MM and another 20db I think it is when hitting the MC switch (MM/MC versions of course).

Basically an adaptable bit of kit if you like it's basic dna.

Paul

 

My preference and money went on the Dynavector P-75, which is a stunning phono stage at the price but alas has no volume control capability.

John

 

Another thumb-up for the 834P - I've got the Deluxe and it's the business..
Tested it against the Graham Slee Gold, Tom Evans Microgroove, and Dino, and in my system the EAR was by far the most musical..
The only one that comes close is the Brinkmann Fein, which is a touch more expensive.

 

Can anyone comment on differences in sound quality between the different 834P models? E.g. stock MM, "Signature" MM/MC (with optional volume control), and "Deluxe". Specifically, is the Deluxe worth it over the cheaper models, as it's quite a bit dearer.

Also, is the volume control really not that great? Is it possible to bypass it if you don't like it?

Cheers,
Dunc

 

You can buy the Deluxe without volume control - mine hasn't got one...
And as for sound differences between the different models, I didn't test them against each other, but Les at Walrus assured me the deluxe is best because it's much heavier so "helping to isolate the valves more", and there were uprated components.
Me? I didn't care cos the Deluxe was shinier
Besides, I got it at a good price..

 

834P is a very good phono stage & as others have mentioned holds it's value well if you decide to move it on.

 

Does anyone know what load impedence the EAR 834P provides? I'm getting a basic MM version 2nd hand but don't see any published specs anywhere, and apparently the manual doesn't say anything about it.

 

I emailed EAR Yoshino asking about the differences in sound quality between the different 834P models and the 864 phono stage - just got a reply from Tim de Paravicini saying that they're all the same. Cool.

Dunc

 

Looks like I paid extra for 1kgs worth of bling!
Let's call it mass-loading then it's justifiable...

 

Well, I assume he meant the electronics are the same, so I suppose it's possible the extra tonnage might improve sound somewhat.... maybe...

Dunc