Manley Chinook - chronic issues


I’ve had this Chinook that I purchased from Upscale in September, it has no time on it. I have not enjoyed a single record at this point. I have been plagued by chronic static and popping issues. It is defiantly the Chinook as I have used other sources and a different preamp with no issues. There seems to be a constant crackle pop on all vinyl and now to add insult to injury the Chinook made 4 loud bangs back to back tonight and it really worried me so I shut down the system. These were not dirty vinyl click or pops but loud bangs.

I had narrowed down that one of the tubes on the output channel was bad, and it was replaced. Yet the issues continue and now have progressed with the loud bang. I also have a loud "fuzz" noise coming through the right channel. At this point I swapped the left input channel to the right and the "fuzz" noise flipped to the left channel. More bad tubes?

I can’t deal with this preamp anymore, what was suppose to be a get away has turned into nothing but constant stress.
Bad tubes? Bad board?


lps4eloise
Manley is a good company. The chinook is a good product that is typically very reliable. Obviously you have an occult problem somewhere in that preamplifier, and like everyone else said it is probably very minor, if and when it is properly identified. Complaining here on Audiogon is not going to help you one bit. You need to contact upscale audio and or Manley, and I am sure they will solve the problem.
Over the years have had two chinooks. Both were trouble free with MM or MC carts. unit is well made. would wonder  if yours got dropped in shipping.

would return to manley have them look at it.


Check your earthing connections. I had a similar problem with my Manley Steelhead, and the solution was to connect everything really tightly to one single earthing point. 
tkr, Are you sure your problem was like that described by the OP? Because his problem does not at all sound as simple as a grounding problem really is. What he describes seems most likely due to a bad solder joint or a defective diode or transistor or op amp, somewhere.
I have a chinook and it’s been trouble free. Your issue sounds like bad tubes to me. Maybe it’s overloading with incorrect settings? But you switched tubes and the distortion switched too. That’s a sure sign of a bad tube. Contact Kevin or buy some new tubes I say.