@ds4000 - I've owned the EAR 834P for many years although don't use it any longer but as to the tube rolling, it is a literal palette in what one can create. Just remember V1 is the input stage, V2 is the RIAA stage and V3 the Cathode follower output. The unit was designed with ECC83 tubes but any 12AX7 variant can be used with some NOS 7025 or CV4004 being quite good. Another very good tweak one can do that yields big dividends is to remove the MC/MM switch and hard wire the connections with silver wire for the MC or MM connections. This tweak is not for the novice but if one can solder, it is well worth it.
The whole point is to have fun as it is a great phono stage by a brilliant designer but built to a price point.