Looking for a new (used) phono preamp to replace EAR834

If you are willing to stretch your budget then there can be no doubt the Herron is the way to go. Even the oldest, earliest Herron is leagues better than anything mentioned here, and if you can reach the new VTPH 2A it is as good as anything that COULD be mentioned here. Its what I sold my PH3 SE for and have been enjoying the last three months or so. Its not warm, except when compared to a lot of what's supposed to be in its class. Its just.... right.

The Herron VTPH 2A is the only component I can think of that can honestly be considered a steal even at full retail.

I have a VPI Classic 3 with Hana SL cartridge right now. Looking for a warmish/liquid sound for mainly vocal focused recordings.

First you have to do before you will find a new phono stage is to replace the tubes in your EAR phono.

If you’re looking for something special find NOS vintage tubes from the top contenders, you can change the sound of your existing phono stage completely if you will find a nice NOS tubes (Telefunken, Mullard, RCA, Sylvania, Matsushita... ). There are 3 tubes in your phono stage as i can see.

Check out the site here....