Phono stage good for classical and jazz?

Just purchased an ear834 with classic 1, dv10x5. The ear does not seem to be as in favor as it once was, but I liked having a tube in the signal line.

I am sure there are better units, but the options to mod the EAR down the line is appeling to me. Good sound off the bat, and a better/different sound after a year for change up.

Haven't spent a lot of time with it, but so far, Saxaphone Colossus, Lush Life, and Tonight at Noon paired with the ear have delivered.

Good luck

Thanks for the advice Frogman!

I am researching the Telefunken but haven't found any NOS outside of ebay. Is there any place you recommend (not sure if you need to pm me).

I was wondering about the mc/mm debate. For crude comparison, I tried the 10x5 on mc (which is too high output for the ear), but it sounded worse than I anticipated. I think you are right, I'm sticking to hi output mc/mm on this one.

Frogman, thanks for the extensive write up. It got me thinking about system add-ons. I would like to either grab a spare pre or another cartridge to change up the sound and the Herron sounds like a good place to start.

But first the Raytheon's.