Nsgarch - Not only is there a consensus that Steve Huntley does phenomenol rework on ARC and Wadia gear, but this last week I was able to witness his magic on just the first pass of him tweaking my Manley Ref DAC. It's not just an issue of replacing one part with another, but rather to know what type and possible value-change of a component to use. And not only was he able to identify what to change when he first popped the cover on the unit, but the results were absolutely stunning with just a handful of changes. It says much about the stock Manley unit but it says as much about Steve when he could bring on so much improvement with a little bit of effort. Now that's talent.
Compared to his Wadia DAC (actually, 270SE/27 combo), the stock Manley did very well in the mids but fell quite short at the extremes. But after the first round of mods, there was extension and openness on the top that I truly never would have thought possible with this unit. To get even half of the impreovements that Steve achieved would have been wonderful. Other than more definition in the bass with the Wadia, the modified Manley was right there and in fact excelled in many areas.
Next week when Steve completes the other half of the rework, if he can bring on the same degree of extension in the low-end, I will have a unit that performs at the level of all the DAC-of-the-month club models that are getting all the praise today. With this kind of performance, I am content to stay with redbook CDs. And I too am an analog guy which is why I like the Manley so much.
Until Steve's update, I was about to let go of the Manley and seek a "modern" model. And Steve's Virtual Dynamics PC did not allow the Manley to do its magic. Fortunately the Purist Dominus PC came to the rescue or this too could have been the end of the Manley. The Wadia is a nice setup but ohhhhhhhhhhh man, the updated Manley with the Dominus. Thanks a million Steve.
John
Compared to his Wadia DAC (actually, 270SE/27 combo), the stock Manley did very well in the mids but fell quite short at the extremes. But after the first round of mods, there was extension and openness on the top that I truly never would have thought possible with this unit. To get even half of the impreovements that Steve achieved would have been wonderful. Other than more definition in the bass with the Wadia, the modified Manley was right there and in fact excelled in many areas.
Next week when Steve completes the other half of the rework, if he can bring on the same degree of extension in the low-end, I will have a unit that performs at the level of all the DAC-of-the-month club models that are getting all the praise today. With this kind of performance, I am content to stay with redbook CDs. And I too am an analog guy which is why I like the Manley so much.
Until Steve's update, I was about to let go of the Manley and seek a "modern" model. And Steve's Virtual Dynamics PC did not allow the Manley to do its magic. Fortunately the Purist Dominus PC came to the rescue or this too could have been the end of the Manley. The Wadia is a nice setup but ohhhhhhhhhhh man, the updated Manley with the Dominus. Thanks a million Steve.
John