EAR preamp and phono products

I have an EAR 534 amp that really sounds great - I also had an EAR 834P which I thought sounded pretty good - in fact real good until I tried a friends Electrocompaniet phono preamp which caused me to sell and I now own the Electro ECP 1 - check it out ! 995 retail - 800 in a deal on with the Audiogon dealer.

I own both an EAR 834P (NOS) and a MS Phonomena. They are both very cost effective units. I'm a tube kinda guy and I like the EAR, particularly on string tones. Even adjusted for my tube bias I don't see how the Phonomena "smokes" the EAR.

I have listened to the EAR phono preamp at two friends house and feel it is a very good unit for the money. However, if you want a tubed phono preamp, my recommendation is the Quicksilver Phono Preamp which I believe still lists for $900. To my ears, it is more accurate and neutral than than the EAR 834P. The only disadvantage?? There are so few of them in the market (probably 100 +/-), that I've never seen a used one for sale (and I won't part with mine!)
So, if $900 new is too much, go with a used black EAR 834P and save a few hundred.

i have had the 834l for about 2 years - it is a very simple design, and the sound is very similar to my AR sp10. retubed with yugo's it is very clean and transparent. tube life alleged to be about 5 years (left on all the time). some one wrote a review on this in audio asylum and i agree with his comments. the black face unit can be had used in 600 - 700 range which is in my opinion a bargin. this line stage has also been reviewed very favorably in the big mags. i can't comment on the 834p - i use my sp10 for vinyl.

Over the years I've owned many solid state and tube phono preamps. Four or five years ago I bought the EAR 834P and feel it is easily one of the best around, especially for the money. I have no bias one way or another between solid state and tubes although I've found that I prefer tubes in the front end of a system with solid state power amps. Then again, owning Aerial 10t's makes quite a demand on tube amps as they are not terribly efficient and I don't want the expense of owning high powered tube amps. As always, try it in your system. Only your ears will tell you what you like. These days all of this stuff is good. Finding what you like is what this hobby is all about. Have fun with it!

The 834P is a decent unit, but you could do a LOT better for the same price, in my opinion. I'm really not a big fan of tubes though, so I guess my personal bias would steer me clear of these products.

I think the solid-state MS Phonomena SMOKES the 834P, but again, it's just my bias...