EAR 88pb, Opinions?

Sonics aside, I would be careful about buying EAR gear. I had an EAR amp and it was very very difficult to obtain access to the el34 tubes. I recommend asking for a photo or two of the inside of the unit to see how it is assembled. IMHO.

The 88Pb is a wonderful sounding phono stage. I little forward, but superior in the way it plays music. You would probably use the 4 ohm tap for the dynavector.
The colume control is handy as the 4ohm tap has a lot of gain.

It is competitive with anything in the 5 - 10k range, just depends if it suits your tastes.

>>It is competitive with anything in the 5 - 10k range<<

It is grossly overpriced.

Considering the fact that I owned and home auditioned a good number of very highly regarded preamps up to $12,000, and didn't get from them the kind of complete satisfaction the EAR 88pb gives me for much less money, I'd say the EAR is a real bargain. I agree wholeheartedly with Downunder. Not only does the 88pb sound wonderful, it also provides top notch imaging/soundstaging. I feel it sounds best using either Tungsram 7DJ8s or JJ Tesla 7DJ8s. For now, I prefer the latter, but others might differ.

Opus88. I am afraid you and I have wooden ear's and everything "audiofeil" sells is the best and offers great value. - NOT!!

Audiofeil, If you have nothing value to add please keep out of any audio discussions because you my friend are the worst type of dealer and unsure why anyone would buy anything from you or why manufacturers would bother lowering their products name by being in business with you.

Most other non dealers here on gon are just trying to give "their" impressions of equipment hopefuly that they have listened to in their own systems. That my friend does give some help to other audiophiles, myself included.