Ghosthouse - Thanks a lot for your comments.
I seriously wasn't hoping to be overly critical - Seriously for the $$ what the Mani is able to deliver is nothing short of amazing - I sincerely just wanted to provide objective and balanced feedback. Going into this I was totally aware of where Schiit spends their $$ and actually am a fan of their business model (no dealer network, no markups, no huge marketing budget, etc.) and can't imagine a better pre for similar money.
As for customer service - I think it was indeed Nick. I had to chuckle a little bit when I received his mail and it was signed "Schiit customer service" :)
Totally agree that the cost of the of LPS can be greater than the Mani itself (It was $122 plus $25 shipping from HK) but in this case, I can sincerely say that it makes enough of an improvement that the Mani + LPS probably could go toe to toe with just about anything out there for up to $500.
Congratulations on the new Freya - Looks like an interesting product and pretty cool that you have both SS and Tube options in one unit - Should be a tweaker's delight.
To answer your specific question: In addition to the Mani (in the budget price range), I have tried a Pro-Ject Phono Box DS, NAD PP4, and briefly the integrated MM in my preamp. Of these options, the Mani destroys them all IMHO.
As for the PSU's - I haven't had mine long enough to offer any thoughts on reliability, but it is built extremely well and does exactly what I wanted it to do. I personally wouldn't hesitate to work w/ Swagman again although I have no doubt that the iFi will be reliable.
Thanks again for your responses guys.
One final note - I have yet to try the Mani/LPS with anything but the cartridge that's setup on my table right now - I have a few others, but just haven't gotten around to trying them out yet - The one that I suspect will surprise me the most is an Ortofon 2M Black - I would imagine that would match the Mano quite well. I'll report back here as soon as I get to it.
Take care
Greg
I seriously wasn't hoping to be overly critical - Seriously for the $$ what the Mani is able to deliver is nothing short of amazing - I sincerely just wanted to provide objective and balanced feedback. Going into this I was totally aware of where Schiit spends their $$ and actually am a fan of their business model (no dealer network, no markups, no huge marketing budget, etc.) and can't imagine a better pre for similar money.
As for customer service - I think it was indeed Nick. I had to chuckle a little bit when I received his mail and it was signed "Schiit customer service" :)
Totally agree that the cost of the of LPS can be greater than the Mani itself (It was $122 plus $25 shipping from HK) but in this case, I can sincerely say that it makes enough of an improvement that the Mani + LPS probably could go toe to toe with just about anything out there for up to $500.
Congratulations on the new Freya - Looks like an interesting product and pretty cool that you have both SS and Tube options in one unit - Should be a tweaker's delight.
To answer your specific question: In addition to the Mani (in the budget price range), I have tried a Pro-Ject Phono Box DS, NAD PP4, and briefly the integrated MM in my preamp. Of these options, the Mani destroys them all IMHO.
As for the PSU's - I haven't had mine long enough to offer any thoughts on reliability, but it is built extremely well and does exactly what I wanted it to do. I personally wouldn't hesitate to work w/ Swagman again although I have no doubt that the iFi will be reliable.
Thanks again for your responses guys.
One final note - I have yet to try the Mani/LPS with anything but the cartridge that's setup on my table right now - I have a few others, but just haven't gotten around to trying them out yet - The one that I suspect will surprise me the most is an Ortofon 2M Black - I would imagine that would match the Mano quite well. I'll report back here as soon as I get to it.
Take care
Greg