EAR 834P Deluxe with Dynavector 20 HX H output Cart.

And to complicate it, there is the third option of combining the low output cartridge with an external SUT and the MM input of the EAR. It can make a big difference, but there is an element of luck as no one can really tell what a particular SUT sounds like as it will depend on the cartridge and phono stage used.

dogberry, when I get the cart. I will see how it sounds, from what I am told there is a SUT built into the EAR I will be using. So hopefully I will be fine.

If there is one thing EAR do know a lot about, it is Transformer Winding.

Prior to the EAR Brand developing TDP produced the TX4 SUT - later to become known as the The Head or the The Brick.

This is one of the most sought out and revered SUT's I know of. 

It is a Legacy Item, that is cherished. 

The MC4 is the go to EAR SUT today, and it will be found coupled to the 834P.

How the inbuilt MC Stage on the 834P, compares to the above is an unknown to myself.

How other SUT's compares to the 834's MC Stage is also an unknown.

I have a Dynavector 20X H, owned and stored. As a Cart' it was my first exit from MM and the predecessor to my use of MC. I was always content with it in use, I certainly did not seem to need to experience MM anymore.

So don’t you think, if EAR make a great SUT, that the SUT built into the EAR is very likely to be excellent? Plus, it does away with the need for an extra set of RCA connections and an extra pair of external low capacitance RCA cables to connect an external SUT to the EAR MM inputs. Those advantages alone might more than make-up for any difference in quality between an external EAR SUT and the built in one.

My experiences to date is that when one surmises about a outcome, it is quite similar to advertising, in the context, the individual is forming a pattern of thought on selected words only and not evidence, through their own direct experience.

I know the 834P Phonostage very well, I have been demo'd it on numerous occasions as a EAR and Clone.

Neither versions have been able to take myself to the place I want to own one.

I have not been demo'd or compared the 834P MC with any of the other EAR's mentioned, which makes it difficult to give an accurate description based on my preferences. 

I have been introduced to the MX4 last year for a short duration, and can confirm, it has a lot that is making a model, one would like to have an extended experience of, especially in the home system.

I still claim the Sculpture A SUT's with the nano-crystalline core, is the SUT I will be trialling at home in the future, the impression the two models from this brand made during the demo's has been indelible. 

My Mr Nixie DIGNA has been compared at Bake Off's to a selection of 834P's and I can say the DIGNA is much more to my liking, especially with an off board SUT in use.

The DIGNA Built in MC Input has been very much enjoyed by most who have heard it, including myself, but the SUT used for my preferences has the edge. 

The Local HiFi Group selected this design as their choice to compare Analogue items for nearly a year, or until another member had a Bespoke Built Valve Input/Output Phon' built to very similar Spec' to my own Bespoke Built model.

Today I will allocate the DIGNA approx' 30% replay time, as it makes such a good impression with a SUT, with a Head Amp I loan, it blows me away on Rock.