Have you also considered the PS Audio GCPH? $500-$600 on the used market, flexible, high quality, entry level phono stage. |
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i ve used the mani for a couple of months now and am quite pleased with it, has great detail, pace, good bass, not overly so, i think its faults are of omission then commission, I some times get some overload on the highs, but the sound stage is very good, I'm impressed by this phono preamp, really.. does take a little time to warm up but when it does, easily listen for hours.. my system is scout 1.1, sonic frontiers sfl-1, krell 200s with straight wire virtuoso thru out won't be sorry for such a minor investment, believe me I think its that good. Regards |
chiming in here since I've had a week to really hear this piece of Schiit. As a replacement while my $2500 retail unit is in the shop, I find it to be a great value.
As anything else, great sound is the the sum of all pieces. For $150, good enough to hold me over. My opinion also takes into account owning a1K retail unit as well.
If I didn't need the extra gain, I would have considered the Orbit for even less money.
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Thanks guys - much appreciated.
My friend ended up purchasing one, but his vintage receiver is getting "renovated" (new caps, cleaning pots etc..), so he has not had a chance to listen to it yet.
He'll appreciate the feedback |
Been listening to one for two weeks now and am going to keep it. It's just one of the best values in audio ever. With all the phono stages I've owned, and I've owned quite a few, my sense is that anyone who is in the market up to $1500 for a phono pre and doesn't try this preamp is missing out BIG TIME. |
I love it, too. Very easy to listen to, great soundstage and deep bass (all with MM cart, I didn't use it much with an MC). Swagman Labs makes an external power supply for it, which will improve it ever further. However, even without the upgraded ps, it is a remarkably balanced and authentic sounding phono stage.
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I read that it does not appreciate the connection of step-up transformers for mc heads with very low output.
Can anyone confirm this?
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I would think that SUTs added to the Mani in MM (lowest gain settings), not MC (highest gain setting), mode would work. In MC that would overload the input.
Why not call Mike Moffat at Schiit and ask? |
I got a Mani 11 days ago. A distinctive step up from my economical Behringer phono pre. I've never had any other phono preamp so I can't qualify how good it is to others in and above its price range. I'm also not sure how long to get fully burned in, thinking a month and it should be fully seasoned.
I do have one question. I keep it on 24/7. The Mani or the wall-wart PS never gets even a little warm. I figured it is best to keep it on so it's always ready. Is it good practice to keep it always powered up? |
I think so; I keep mine on 24/7. |
Brother in law has one with linear PSU
MoFi Ultradeck, Ortofon Bronze
amazing for the $$$$$$&
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I'm late to this thread, but I just took delivery of my Schiit Mani on Nov. 9, 2019. It replaces a hand-wired PTP, all NOS tube MAGI Phonomena phono stage (about $575 used) and a Jolida JD9 ($399 in 2011 for v1 closeout), which weighs 10-1/2 lbs. The Mani weighs 1 lb.. I am astounded at what a complete package this is: its truth-to-timbre is impeccable, as its articulation, musicality, speed (without being zippy), all in a package with the footprint of a 3x5 file card. Its light weight makes it easy to configure the DIP switches to optimize for cartridge changes. I can't say enough good about this unit. |
