EAR 834P value
- Thread starter antonio1
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JezmondTutu
pfm Member
Don't know but I think I sold my mm/mc one with a vol control for around the £600 Mark a year or two ago without the box.
manicatel
pfm Member
There's a couple of different versions, one with a chrome plated front, one just mm, another with the mm/MC switch. I don't think there's anything much performance-wise between them, & likewise I don't think there's been any official upgrades, Mk2 versions etc. however, being a valve unit, there's always the opportunity to tweak them & there's quite a few unofficial mods out there. £500-600 seems about right, I think. And for that money, it's a great sounding unit. EAR also have a good rep for excellent & cheap servicing of their stuff.
Matt.
Matt.
Actually, there were improvements to the design between early versions and current versions.
The current model line up consists of the 834 (MM only), 834 (MM and MC via a rear mounted switch), the 834P Signature (MM/MC with volume control so it can be used as a stand alone preamp) and the 834 De-Lux Chrome version of the signature.
Price wise, a good 834P seems to fetch around £700 used, the basic version between £400 and £600 and the delux version, not a lot more than the 834P.
They can be tweaked further with a few valve and component changes to turn a good valve phono stage into a very good one. plenty on the net about how to do this.
There should be several hundred pounds to save opting for a used MM only version then add your own head amp or SUT at a later date. That's one way to look at it. The other is to spend the extra few hundred for a competent MM/MC stage and you have an all in one box solution. Only draw back is there's no easy way of altering loading save for whipping the casings apart and manually changing components which needs an understanding of the circuit and expertise with a soldering iron. The stock MC stage should suit a wide variety of carts having said that.
The current model line up consists of the 834 (MM only), 834 (MM and MC via a rear mounted switch), the 834P Signature (MM/MC with volume control so it can be used as a stand alone preamp) and the 834 De-Lux Chrome version of the signature.
Price wise, a good 834P seems to fetch around £700 used, the basic version between £400 and £600 and the delux version, not a lot more than the 834P.
They can be tweaked further with a few valve and component changes to turn a good valve phono stage into a very good one. plenty on the net about how to do this.
There should be several hundred pounds to save opting for a used MM only version then add your own head amp or SUT at a later date. That's one way to look at it. The other is to spend the extra few hundred for a competent MM/MC stage and you have an all in one box solution. Only draw back is there's no easy way of altering loading save for whipping the casings apart and manually changing components which needs an understanding of the circuit and expertise with a soldering iron. The stock MC stage should suit a wide variety of carts having said that.
Tony L
Administrator
The case design changed at some point, they used to be bolted together out of flat slabs and had a rather naff printed plastic laminate front panel, later ones are a bit more solid with a wrap-around sleeve case and a gloss painted metal front. I've had one of each over the years and don't think much changed inside.
PS They sound a lot better if you swap the cathode follower tube from a ECC83 to an 82 or 81 type IME. I ran mine with a GE 5751 as the input (back position) to drop the gain a bit, a really nice early Tesla 83 as the RIAA position (middle) and a lovely vintage black plate RCA 5814A as the cathode follower (front). It transformed the thing to my ears.
JezmondTutu
pfm Member
Intersting to hear that Tony as I didn't like mine that much with a transistor power amp into my Obelisks - much prefer the Brinkmann. All subjective of course but I didn't like what it did to the bass.
Tony L
Administrator
To be bluntly honest I sold my last 834P as I preferred the inbuilt phono stage on my Quad 34, even against running the 834P straight into the power amp (mine had the vol knob)! I must add the caveat that my Quad's phono stage has been modified (HPF dramatically reduced) and setup with regards to loading and capacitance specifically for my cartridge (a 2M Black) whereas I only did a little light tube-rolling with the EAR - I've no idea what it's stock loading is, or how to alter it. Even so the extent to which I preferred the phono stage in a fairly budget vintage preamp to the 834 really surprised me, not what I was expecting at all!
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
So are you getting along fine with the Fein then? Cracking little phono stage with small footprint and a volume control.
Cheers,
DV
jonnypsvinyl
pfm Member
Agree that plain jane MM with no vol control and external SUT is the way forward. I also think there is better out there for the money. The Croft has been mentioned, and I'd add Haden Boardman's (AudioClassics) units, which are excellent, and the EE Minimax, which goes for similar money to MM/MC 834 secondhand.
Arkless Electronics
Trade: Amp design and repairs.
I would not recommend changing v2 for anything other than the correct ECC83/12AX7 as this unit has feedback eq'ed RIAA and any change here will cause inaccurate eq and hence change the tonal balance away from correct/neutral. Even v1 would have some effect on this due to changing the anode resistance at v1 and thereby effecting the impedance of the feedback summing point..... in fact looking again at the diagram, I wouldn't even change the cathode follower valve type as it's DC coupled to the previous stage and the cathode resistor is chosen for the ECC83 and should really be changed to a suitable value to give a good operating point for the follower 
JezmondTutu
pfm Member
It's a class act and does exactly what I want - glad I kept vinyl despite the Weiss. Unlike you I switch over the XLR's on my speakers if I want a bit of vinyl!
Interesting Tony, it certainly wasn't what I expected from the 834P, I guess there's synergy with some systems but not with LP12/Naim/Shahinian! Maybe it works better with step ups into the MM input.
Darth Vader
From the Dark Side
Save the wear and tear ang get a two-way XLR expander such as this one http://rover.ebay.com/rover/1/710-5...0001&campid=5338728743&icep_item=360994263569
Cheers,
DV
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