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SUT for EAR 834p?

Hi folks. Happy Wednesday.

When I was younger I owned an EAR 834p (20 years ago?). Loved it, don’t know why I sold it. So I recently bought another one.

I found a very nice 834p (with Mullards) and have been playing through my system with a Dynavector 20x2L cartridge. If I press the moving coil button on the back, it sounds fine but I need to turn the volume up to really enjoy my music.

I’ve read that inserting an SUT between the table (SL1210GR) and the EAR might be a good idea, and if I do that just use the MM input. Supposed to sound "better"?

I’d appreciate experience listeners describing to me what differences I might notice other than increased volume. SUT’s are not inexpensive and suggestions would be appreciated brands/models. Or do I just sell the Dynavector and get a high output MC? Or a high quality MM?

Btw my music is "straight" jazz and classic rock.  And lots of acoustic guitar.  And piano, cello, etc.  

Thank you and Happy 4th coming up (my birthday).

Steve Ashe

 

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slaw's avatar
slaw
20,403 posts
 

Your cartridge has a .3 mv output which shouldn't be an issue with the EAR that has 70 db in MC mode.

slaw's avatar
slaw
20,403 posts
 

The MC/MM switch might be sticking

steveashe's avatar
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steveashe OP
113 posts
 

Thanks for your comments Slaw. The switch is fine. And it plays to a reasonable volume in MC mode when I turn the volume up (not so when the switch is not depressed).

I’ve read through lots of forum threads where it is discussed that the SUT in the EAR is not the best quality. What do better SUT’s do than just raise the volume?  I hope this question makes sense.....

solypsa's avatar
solypsa
462 posts
 

SUT quality can make a rather large difference. They also can cost quite a bit.

Sculpture A Mini Nano has been getting a lot of praise in the $1k arena, and comes in many ratios including 1:20 and 1:26. You could also diy a Lundahl or Jensen and get good results too.

According to a review I read, your MM input is just shy of 50db gain so a 1:20 SUT will give you +6 db over the MC input. Higher ratios more obviously but the load starts getting pretty low ( numerically )...

slaw's avatar
slaw
20,403 posts
 

I use to use a Bob's Devices Cinemag with a Dyna Karat D3 with my EAR 834P. The MM section is superior to the MC section in terms of SQ. I never had a gain issue in MC mode.

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