Which 12AX7 tubes for EAR 834P phono stage?


I am experimenting with vinyls, and acquired EAR phono stage for a starter. I've compared the sound of EAR against Camelot Lancelot, and Sutherland PhD on two different systems. To my ears EAR sounds lush and smooth, perhaps a little too much so. I would like more lively and dynamic sound, like Sutherland phono stage. Can I replace the tubes in EAR and make the sound to the direction of more lively and dynamic? Or do I need to look for a different phono stage? I'm currently using a Rega table with Benz Micro MC cartridge loaned from my friend. I will be using a B&O table with moving iron MMC 20CL cartridge when I have everything set up next week or so.
jylee
If you want to put more money in to it (that you probably won't ever recover) and I think you would be far better of getting the coupling caps replaced and maybe a couple of other parts swapped out. Mitch the service tech for EAR USA has been doing these parts swaps for years and with the right parts you can get rid of the overly lush presentation. I think that is the more effective way of doing what you want compared to tube rolling, but I can't see it is the best from a economical point of view. You might be better off selling it and trying a different phono stage.
Yes I agree with Lloydc. Modification + Premium tubes will have exponential improvements.

Good Luck
Mitch Singerman upgraded some of the capacitors and resistors and installed JJ tubes in my 834P deluxe model. I also use Sillpoint cones which improved the imaging, definition, and clarity a lot. To my ears the 834P now sounds much better than my Sutherland Phd.
We added a EAR MC-4 to our 834P, switched it back to MM and were blown away by the improvement.

The built-in step-up transformers defiantly leave something to be desired, but then again we doubled our cost.

There are lower priced alternatives, see www.10Audio for a DIY step-up.

You might want to try a (lower gain) 5751 at V3. This allowed us to turn our volume control up a little where our preamp sounds better.

Cheers