@noromance
Thanks man, saw this post, but also felt the OP was looking for someone who has heard both. I have not heard the Ear.
@bigmac1963
I do have the Trumpet, and like it a lot. I've had it for 3 years now. Personally, I think it is still one of the best values on the market today in it's price point.
Over that 3 year period, I have swapped quite a few tubes (both the 12ax7 and 12ay7's) to arrive at the overall sound signature I prefer. It is nice to have both the 12ax and 12au's, as they affect different things. After a year, I also was able to snag a used SBooster power supply, and that improved things as well. One you get the Trumpet tweaked to your personal preferences, for me, it can be a wonderful addition to your vinyl rig setup. All that said, the stock tubes are not bad either, but believe me, there is a difference going to old venerable tubes as an option. The Trumpet reacts very well to different tubes, where some units may have been voiced to a certain tube and replacing *can* sound worse. That is not the case for the Trumpet.
One of the best things about the Trumpet vs some of its completion is the various options for resistance loading and gain. Looking at the Ear, those options are very limited. Using MC carts from .25mV up to a couple MI carts at 2.4mV and above, it can handle them all. I have not found as cart yet I could not optimize to my liking. Having not used the Ear, of course, I can not make a comparison between the same carts feeding each.
If the Trumpet has a downside, I would say it is noise floor vs some, but that is also dependant on tubes used and cart gain necessary. Personally, that does not bother me much as it seems to 'go away' when playing music.
If I had to guess, between the buying the stock Trumpet, purchasing various tubes, and the SBooster power supply, I have probably spent a tick over $2,200 in total, but still have extra tubes to try out again in the future. And I do still swap just to see if what I remember still holds true to my preferences.
