Nick Gorham wrote:
Keith G wrote:
"Easynews" wrote in message
. ..

Hi all,
I am upgrading my vinyl capabilities shortly and have about £1000 to
spend. I have a Rega P2 turntable, Quad 12L speakers, and a fairly
old Denon integrated amp / tuner with a reasonable phono stage. I was
intending to buy the EAR 834P phono stage, upgrade my fairly basic
cartridge, and buy an integrated amp- is this a good idea? Should I
take a different course, or if replacing the amp is the way, have you
any suggestions for ones I should try out?
Thanks for any advice, I'm a newbie when it comes to hi-fi.
Paul




You're definitely thinking along the right lines - valves are the
magic ingredient when it comes to getting the *life* and sparkle out
of vinyl.

The Denon is likely to have a fairly good onboard phono stage (I have
one myself and can vouch for the recent models, if nothing else) but
it is not a patch on the valve phono I use (unfortunately) - the ss
phono is flat by comparison and will render the music 'blameless' (and
bland) much like CD. (Which, of course, suits some people just fine! ;-)

But, I'm not sure I would bother with the EAR - I had one and it was
my introduction to valve phonos and a quantum leap forward at the
time, but it's gone now and I don't miss it! The sound is pleasant
enough but 'bloated' in comparison with the WAD phono stage I built:


Glad you posted that Keith, it saved me from having to post that the EAR
is pants, and not to bother with it.

Oh, I posted it anyway, never mind :-)


Well, I have to say that I've got the 834P (with the MC step-up) and I
rate it very highly - plenty of sparkle and life. New, though, they're
very expensive.

Rob