I’ve also been thinking about trying 5751’s in my VTPH-1. Frank Van Alstine used them in his PAS-3 mod, citing it’s superiority to the 12AX7. The 5751 is a little lower in gain and a little quieter, in general, than the 12AX7.
The EAR 324 is not the budget tube EAR phono amp, but the rather expensive ($6k) solid state one.