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EAR 834P + Bent Audio Stepups = greatness?

I have an EAR 834P unmodified and am constantly reading how this amp is certainly one to be on the short list of anyone who wants a decent entry level phono. I have the deluxe version so it can handle low MC carts. When modified, many claim this unit is exceptional competing with units well past its price point. My question, if paired with exceptional step ups from Bent Audio, would the EAR perform in the same league as higher end units? The EAR has a very short signal path, is very simple so there shouldn't be much to lose from the cartridge to the main amp save for problems with the decent but not wonderful internal step ups. throwing in some of the world's best into the chain, would I see a world of difference or would money be better spent on a new phono outright? By that I mean, should I modify the unit and get the Mu's or would that $1600 or so paired with the 900-1000 I might get selling the EAR get me more on the used market?

Thank you in advance
zanth
mgreene
107 posts
 
That's true to a certain degree Paul, re apples and oranges; but Thorsten's list of mods is somewhat definitive. Afterwards you have a generic hi-end realization of the EAR circuit, somewhat akin to the way that 60's manufacturers made their own versions of the RCA manual RIAA circuit.

When the original poster asked about changing out the stepups, I assumed that he either had the skills to do so or was willing to have it done.

BTW: anyone thinking of applying ALL the mods, I think it would be easier to build from the circuit from scratch than work from the EAR board as I did.

Mike
mm2550
16 posts
 
I am an EAR 834P and am contemplating the same move. I have a nice power cord, tubes, and isolation, but no mods yet. Candidly, I'm surprised by the lack of enthusiasm for the Bent Audio Step up, which has been absolutely raved about by Arthur Salvadore. If this combo is so ill-considered, I would be very interested in what folks would suggest in the $2,000 to $3,000 range. Any advice would be appreciated. Has anyone on this forum actually tried the Bent Audio step up with a relatively affordable phono stage, like the EAR 834P? Also, the new Bent Audio step up could be a step forward? Thanks! Mark
dan_ed
2,451 posts
 
Now lack of enthusiasm for the Bent Mu here. I don't own a stepup now because I don't need one. But I have heard how good the original MU sounds when setup well and they don't come around very often on the used market. I know John Chapman has been working a long time to get the new version right. I have seriously considered buying a pair if I get some extra cash.
flemke
596 posts
 
I bought my 834p with the idea that I was going to butcher it up when ever I felt like it. After 5 or 6 time under the hood, I think sounds better with every change. After all the mods, I added the ZYX phono pre preamp ccp-1. This seems to be the icing on the cake.

Tim
mgreene
107 posts
 
Hi Mark, some people philosophically dislike stepup transformers.

I was semi-convinced myself, some years ago when I went to a Loesch style front end = FET step up/tube/RIAA/tube as an upgrade from the a lightly modified EAR. From reading here, and elsewhere, it seems that all transistor units are considered current SOTA - yet many folks have recently sold some of the above SOTA units in favor of Doshi's Alaap - which has tubes and a SS fron end.

Although I considerd the Loesch marginally better in all "audiophile" parameters, I missed something I was getting from even the cheap XFs in the EAR. Note that some of what I missed is often referred to as phase artifacts by those who have decided to dislike XFs.

Distortion artifacts or not, I felt I lost some of the gestalt of faked/live sound - if that makes any sense. In other words, as a sometime musician, I know that stereo does not sound like real music - but has a "fake/real" sound of its own that I enjoy on its own merit.

I am looking forward to implementing the S&B stepups in my latest phono pre and compare it to the FET front end again. I think that any lack of current enthusiasm about the S&B stepups is based on the fact that they are no longer available to the DIY'er. If I could get a set of silver ones like Arthur's, at anything like a reasonable price, I would snap them up quickly.

Regards

Mike
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