I have an EAR 834P and I love it. I picked up mine which was a dealer demo for $600. Just make sure it is a unit that was made from 1996 on up, there was a slight change made to the circuit board. As the stock unit I think it will go head to head with many more expensive units and will out perform most. There is also a gentleman named Steve Huntley at Great Northern Sound Co. who does a killer mod on this unit that will make it truley world class. Steve is formerly from Audio Research, California Audio Labs and Wadia. His number is 651-578-0657. He certainly would be able to give you the low down on most of units mentioned here. I have never auditioned the Melos which really sounds like it could be a great sounding unit judgeing by there past work. I have heard the AR 1 and 3 and feel the EAR 834P for my tastes is a better sounding unit. My personal bias is to have tubes in the front end mated to a great solid state amp. Best of luck in your quest.
