I have, but it is not a fair comparison. The base Herron is almost
5 times more expensive than the base Eros. The EROS is designed for MM and HOMC's. If you are using LOMC's you will need a step up device for the EROS. (The EROS will work with some MOMC's and most HOMC's.) The Herron is, IMO, focused on LO/MO MC's. That being said, the Herron is a damn fine piece of kit.
So the comparison....I was safekeeping the vinyl rig for a buddy who was relocating and did not want to put his audio kit into storage. So I had the Herron in house for about 3+ months. He had, IMO, less than worthy tubes in the unit. So I loaded it up with Siemens 12AX7's and a 12AT7. (ECC801S). The improvement was not subtle. The Herron is a hybrid design the first stage is FET. It has a an overall transparent presentation, great timbre and imaging. I run a LOMC that outputs 1.4mV. The Herron handled it very well with a very low noise floor. That made for a blacker background and fine resolution. Not really much to dislike, nor should there be at the price. (Well maybe I DO dislike the price!!
) I did not care for the clunky, funky loading double RCA plugs. I did not perceive them as a plus. Simpler to just solder what you need in place. But this is a high end commercial unit so, IMO, lots of bells and whistles added to the production cost that do not contribute to the sound quality.
My EROS has a modified PS, with DC Link film caps and a choke. The cathode bypasses are Mundorf EVO Aluminum Oil, the output caps are Russian KBG Aluminum Foil/PIO. The tubes are Seimens EF86, Amperex 7308 and RCA 12BH7A. The SUT is a home brew based on Hashimoto MH3 trannies. So the EROS/Hashi combo is probably just a little more than half the cost of the Herron with the pricey tubes that I put in.
My, and my buddy's, take? They were close enough to call a draw over about three 2-3 hour listening sessions. I would say that the Herron is slightly more refined and gave a bit deeper sound stage on a very few well recorded orchestral albums. For Blues, Jazz, vocals and chamber pieces a draw.
So, again, in my case I cannot make a direct comparison with my Eros to the Herron. But I could definitely come up with better ways to spend the extra two grand!!!
Cheers,
Geary
