Mitch Singerman EAR 834p mod

Frogman, fair enough, I did not address the OP's question directly. I inferred that the OP was trying to make a decision on whether to do the mods, so I shared an opinion based on my own decision to go another direction. I used retail prices for illustrative purposes, but my thought was that if you have c. $1200 - $1500 to spend, you have many choices on Audiogon, many of which may greatly exceed the potential of a modded 834P. When I had an 834P and was considering the upgrades, I bought an AR PH-3 SE which had been upgraded by Great Northern (for $1250 – 1500, cannot recall exactly), on Audiogon. A bargain, perhaps, but similar in price to the ballpark figures you suggest (i.e., an 834P with upgrades, but not including serious power supply upgrades; I sold my 834P Deluxe on the Gon for $875.) The AR is vastly superior in every way to a stock 834P, and really opened my eyes to what I had been missing. I have not heard a modded 834P, but I talked to Mitch, and have no doubt that his mods improve the stock 834P (but I recall that including power supply mods would cost considerably more than $300.) I have been in the OP’s shoes, and am very glad I didn’t get the 834P mods done, so I am trying to convey that experience to the OP.

Lloydc, thanks for your comments re your experiences with the two phono stages. I know your comments were meant to be helpful, but I guess it's a pet peeve of mine that oftentimes a OP asks a question that relate only to a specific item and and then receives suggestions about some other item that is supposedly better.

Having said that, and going back to the EAR vs. The AR: I know the AR PH-3SE; a cousin owns it and I have listened to it in my system as well as his. It is a very good phono stage. As usual it comes down to system synergy and personal preference. I disagree that the AR is "vastly superior in every
way" to the EAR. Not in my system and not according to my priorities. I think that for me it comes down to the fact that the EAR is a pure tube design, and the AR is a hybrid. I like the AR very much, but I definitely hear the influence of the FET's in the signal path. While arguably somewhat more detailed than the EAR, to my ears it is also a little bleached sounding compared to the EAR. While some will say that the EAR is tubey or even mushy sounding, I hear more of acoustic music's natural tone colors through it; as opposed to everything having a drier, grayish color, something that is particularly objectionable to me. Also, and certainly not least in my system's case, the EAR has much more gain that the AR, which allows me to eliminate the line stage and use a high-quality passive pre for a significant improvement in the area of detail and purity, without the common criticisms of passives (the subject of a different discussion).

Regards.

I agree that Frogman’s characterizations of the EAR and AR are spot on; he knows what he’s talking about! It is easy to imagine systems, or listening habits, where the EAR works very well. I would actually like to hear a “maxed out” 834P; surfing the web, it looks like some people have carried the concept to amazing lengths. Regards,

Thanks for your input gentleman. I had looked into a AR PH-3 but the gain was not enough for my LOMC. So, I could change my cartridge and sell the EAR for a PH3 or go with the EAR mod and try to strike middle ground. Choices! Well I already own the EAR and the AR33EV, so maybe I should try the mod. The units I had looked at in the $850 range used were, EAR 834p, GCPH Parts Connection modded, PH3, and Moon 5.3LP. They all have their pros and cons of course. Thought I would try a classic. However the mod will raise the price of that choice to $1200. I have an older PS Audio Phonolink that gives me detail and speed but the EAR has those liquid vocals and mids, so I had hoped to get close to the combination of the two, without spending $3300. I tried a side by side of my old Phonolink against the newer GCPH and didn't hear much difference with most songs. Tried it against the $1700 Whest and although the Whest was better the Phonolink did really well and helds it's own on almost all points. The Phonolink is really amazing considering it's age (from the Randy Patter PS ownership, not Paul & Stanly). All help is appreciated but it is funny how many links get answered way off the subject of the original question. Thanks

I've been using an EAR 834P MM/MC for about 5 years -- modded by Mitch Singerman and some further mods as per T. Leach, and more of my own concoction. The tube set is Tung-Sol 5751 in the gain stages and a Telefunken rib-plate 12AX7. (synergistic tube choice cannot be under estimated here)

I can say that it is one component in my system I never think of rolling out. It does everything I want a phono stage to do and does it so well. Currently using it with a London Decca Super Gold cart on a Well Tempered Amadeus TT. IMO I am "there."