EAR 843P the best MM only phono stage ever?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by theflattire, Oct 29, 2022.

  1. SonOFJames

    SonOFJames Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
  2. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    I got the MM only model and it was at something like $289 and then shipping.
     
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  3. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Continue to be impressed with my clone. Sounds fantastic.

    One little “upgrade” I did was throw some JJ E83CC’s in there (NOT to be confused with the stock ECC83-s). Holy crap - those E83’s are completely worth the hype.

    Easily beat out my Tung Sols and Mullards (new production).

    At some point I may investigate the collectively agreed upon internal upgrades (capacitors and what not) and see if I can have my local repair guy put them in for a
    reasonable fee.
     
    Last edited: Dec 7, 2022
  4. SonOFJames

    SonOFJames Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    I'm already "budgeting" about $300 for 3 vintage Blackburn Mullards for mine after I get it.
     
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  5. Paul K

    Paul K Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Careful with that though. They have to be really quiet. The JJ E83CC sound amazing and have beaten out all comers in this application and that includes Teles, RCA Black and Mullards.
    Plus they are way cheaper.
     
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  6. SonOFJames

    SonOFJames Forum Resident

    Location:
    SoCal
    If they sound like Billie Holiday is "in the room" like the vin BB Mullards, I would be interested. If you look around carefully you can get off branded BB's. Yes, testing, and a reliable seller is very important here as you say.
     
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  7. Paul K

    Paul K Senior Member

    Location:
    Toronto, Canada
    Well...they are an affordable try.
    I think they have haligraphy.
     
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  8. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    I used to have 834p first and it was a huge upgrade over the phono stage in Quad 99 preamp I had back then. I fell in love with 834p immediately. The sound is just right, very natural, textures of instruments and sounds and spaciousness of sound is truly great on it. I was so much impressed that I very quickly decided I want a 834L line stage as well to go with it, but lucked on a great s/h 864 preamp (which is basically 834p + 834L in one case, plus output transformers). This was an incredible piece of hi-fi kit and I knew that the only thing that would replace it could be only a higher-end EAR preamp.

    Many of my fellow hi-fi users here in Croatia were very much into modifying 834p. Mostly with some capacitor replacements, bypassing the MM/MC switch and using a better outside SUT (many agree that 834p's ibternal SUT is its weak point, if you're using MCs), using an outboard PSU and putting in better tubes - NOS Mullards and Telefunkens seem to be the go-to choice. Such versions of modded 834p are in some super high-end systems of my fellow enthusiasts here.

    Personally, I didn't go the modding route and managed to uograde to a 868PL, which is a different design altogether by Tim. It is a big step up from 864, but it costs a lot more as well. But actually, when you see the level of SUT you get in it and also that it's pretty similar to topnof the range 912, but with less features - it's still a bargain.
     
  9. Doctorwu

    Doctorwu Senior Member

    I never want to mod any piece of gear i buy except maybe experiment with tubes, the 890+ 834L + 834P + MC4 combo is truly magnificent, it really should be enough for any sane person, but audio gear lovers always have an itch to scratch, so one-day funds permitting I hope to upgrade to the 868 you own.

    I can't praise enough the wonderful MC4 step-up, it elevated the 834P sound to levels I didn't think it was capable of, I think it's the same transformer as in the 868, could be wrong though, will only consider selling the MC4 if i ever upgrade to the 868 or if I get really lucky the 912.
     
    Last edited: Dec 11, 2022
  10. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    From what I know from others (don't have first-hand experience with this), a better SUT is the biggest upgrade of 834p. So, I can inagine MC4 elevated 834p to another level. 868's SUT is equivalent to MC3, which is the same as MC4, but with one less load setting option, if I'm not mistaken.

    Your preamp section is superb, that stiff can take a hell of a TT/cartridge, amp and speakers before it becomes any kind of bottleneck. And actually, if one likes the sound of 834p, especially with your SUT, I'd never really consider it a "bottleneck" under any circumstance. As I've said, that component sounds just right.
     
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  11. Doctorwu

    Doctorwu Senior Member

    EAR products I heard are so musical, and as you said, they sound just right, I imagine the 834P + MC4 is pretty close to the 868P, I'm crazy to even think of upgrading, but as i said, itch to scratch :)
     
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  12. Mr Bass

    Mr Bass Chevelle Ma Belle

    Location:
    Mid Atlantic
    I have the EAR 834 with volume knob running directly to the power amp. There is no lack of detail that way albeit mine has a few basic mods (nothing elaborate). I do think running it through a preamp does affect detail to some extent. It also benefits from NOS tubes.
     
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  13. popol_vuh

    popol_vuh Guest

    Keep in mind that the phono stage in 868 is entirely different to 834/864 and looks the same as 88pb phono stage. I cannot really compare these phono stages directly since i changed from 864 to 868 and that means an entirely different line stage as well at the same time.
     
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  14. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
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  15. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    Have you looked inside yet? Wondering how closely it matches the pictures in the ad, hard to believe they can sell it for around $200 with tubes even if using the cheapest parts available :)
     
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  16. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Not yet, but eventually after it breaks in I have some tubes to swap and I'll let you know what I find in there. :)
     
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  17. theflattire

    theflattire Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Honolulu
    I think I would swap out caps first, then the tubes.
    Man I really want to try one but gonna have to wait!
     
  18. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    My Douk Clone continues to amaze me. I am going to consider it an absolute steal at this point.
     
  19. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Haven't opened it up yet to look inside, but sound-wise I can report to be very pleased. Glad I took a chance - probably the best $300 you could spend on a phono preamp.
     
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  20. ceylon

    ceylon Member

    tavish classic costs half the ear, and both run mm/mc. maybe theres a mm-only version of the ear.
     
  21. theflattire

    theflattire Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Honolulu
    Tavish Classic cost almost the same, maybe you're thinking about the Vintage? Vintage was only available as a kit I think.
     
  22. Davey

    Davey NP: Portishead ~ Portishead (1997)

    Location:
    SF Bay Area, USA
    No, the Vintage and the Classic are about the same, the Vintage just uses a different tube set. They were both available assembled in the past for around $800, or the Vintage as a partial kit too, but neither readily available now.
     
  23. Ontheone

    Ontheone Poorly Understood Member

    Location:
    Indianapolis
    Now the EAR Classic Phono looks interesting to me, and is available in MM-only configuration if you like. From Twittering Machines recent review:

    "The 834P first hit the hifi market in 1994 (!), and the updated Phono Classic features upgraded circuitry, a larger case, and three 13D16 vacuum tubes inside, an ECC83 variant which came in the original 834P, while an internal switch allows for 12AX7s for those inclined to roll."

    [​IMG] [​IMG]

    Review: EAR Phono Classic MM/MC Phono Preamplifier - Twittering Machines
     
  24. Spooky

    Spooky Forum Resident

    Location:
    Raleigh, NC
    Have been very interested in this unit as well. But really not a lot of impressions about it on the web. And the couple that I have read seemed to indicate it was great but maybe not as “magical” as the original.
     
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  25. Elijah1

    Elijah1 Well-Known Member

    Location:
    United States
    IDK, my Decware phono stage sounds pretty damned good. And it’s not stupid money either
     
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