Which is a better Rega pairing? Uturn Pluto or Schiit mani?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by dbsimon88, Nov 21, 2017.

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  1. dbsimon88

    dbsimon88 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Hey all I’ve decided to spend more and return my ART DJPRE II and get either the highly regarded Schiit Mani or the Uturn Pluto. I was leaning toward the mani, but then I found the blind comparison done by Analog planet and listened to the two samples myself and like most I agree the Pluto sounded the better of the two. I have also heard however which sounds better may depend on your pairing since sometimes one preamp may play nice with your system while another may not. For this reason I made this thread hoping for people who have a rega TT (even better a rega planar 2) to chime in if they have used one of these preamps and found great results or more ideally tried both and can offer some insight. Additionally I am using the stock carbon mm cart for now and eventually get the ortofon red 2m > and beyond that the blue someday.

    Ps I apologize I made this post on my phone, difficult to edit poll.

    Thanks!
     
  2. MattG

    MattG Unreliable Narrator

    Location:
    Maryland
    I've never heard the Pluto, I've got an RP6 with Exact 2 cart running through the Mani and I like it a whole lot.
     
  3. Ken Clark

    Ken Clark Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago Suburbs
    The preamp really doesn't care what table your using, but it does care what cartridge it's hearing.
     
  4. dbsimon88

    dbsimon88 Active Member Thread Starter

    Location:
    USA
    Oh then I should have asked which pairing would be better with my stock carbon mm and future ortofon red/blue.
     
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  5. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Man, that's a lot of words for a poll.

    The Schiit is the better choice. Beyond just a subjective personal choice, look at both companies and the products they offer. Which one do you think has the better R&D, engineers and production?

    Schiit has an impressive line of DAC's, amps and Preamps. Some of which are very highly regarded and sells for thousands of dollars. In doing that, their technology and production trickles down to the Mani.

    U-turn makes two entry level turntables and has an entry level phono stage so they can get beginners up an running with their turntable.

    Depending on your level of interest and compulsion, you might want to consider the advice of "buy it right and buy it once". If you are one that is prone to exploring and upgrading, neither of these options will be your final choice. Get a budget up to about $500 and the improvement is not subtle.
     
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  6. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
  7. H8SLKC

    H8SLKC Forum Resident

    Location:
    Boston, MA
    Schiit is a darling around here. U-Turn is the red-headed step sister, not audiophiley enough for some of the snobs. Never mind the Mike Fremer comparison and survey that you noted, which found the Pluto sound preferable to the Mani.

    I have a Pluto through which a 2m blue plays and it sounds great. Good luck deciding and let us know how it goes.
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2017
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  8. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Lots of people disagree with your assessment. File B is the Pluto. File A is the Mani.

    U-Turn Pluto Versus Schiit Mani: The Votes Are In!
     
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  9. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Hi-fi is like a school of fish sometimes. The prestige element demands owning something others have a high opinion of.
     
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  10. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    A bit harsh and impolite to call someone a snob for having an opinion and then odd to site Fremers opinion/article. As far as I know he invented being and audiophile snob.
     
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  11. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    Come on guys, we are talking about $100 phono stages here... let's keep it civil. It's funny that the lower end gear always gets the most responses, and elicits the most emotion out of people.

    Honestly - how big of a difference sonically do you really think we are getting out of a Mani vs Pluto? The biggest difference in my mind is the configurability / flexibility of the Mani.... to me that was worth the extra $40.
     
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  12. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    I don't know the two circuits, but implementing op-amps can be difficult. It's cheap and easy, but not often done well if ever.

    We might also add that matching a phono stage to a table is a bit deceptive. You might do better thinking in terms of cartridge/arm matching to phono pre.
     
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  13. John Storey

    John Storey Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Hamilton, ON
    I’ve brought this up before, but I had a Mani, and experienced radio interference. Sometimes I could barely hear it, but when I could, it drove me crazy. I also found the Analog Planet comparison, though after I bought the Mani. I figured the Pluto sounded better; though the Mani still sounded great. A few months later I sold the Mani and bought a Cambridge Audio CP1. I still have it today, and am thrilled with it.
    https://www.amazon.com/Cambridge-Au...1511278179&sr=8-1&keywords=cambridge+audio+cp
     
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  14. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    The only thing that concerns me about the Mani is that it has no capacitance added on the input, which makes it susceptible to RF interference. It should have 100 pF to eliminate the possibility.

    The one thing I don't really like about the Pluto is its relatively low gain: 36dB. Would 40 dB really have been that hard to do?

    And people do get exited about the lower end stuff. I see lots of people who are new to vinyl. Get it right and those people enjoy vinyl. Get it wrong and they won't. Simple.
     
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  15. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    I have dealt with the radio interference too... in one room more than another. But usually just moving it, changing the gain would eliminate. It can happen, but does not mean it will always happen.

    The Mani definitely is not perfect (what is?) but the positioning to eliminate interference is something we do with most inexpensive phono stages. For instance, I had a Bugle 2 that I returned because no matter what I did I could not quiet it down....

    To me it was a trade off I could live with considering everything else the Mani gave me - including what I thought was the most complete soundstage. The radio interference was something that is fleeting and can be eliminated by positioning.

    Your quoted point, agreed - it does not have to get personal though. Whenever it does, it is usually rooted in one person thinking their OPINION is more correct than anothers.... which is never true. Heck, for the price these go at I would personally buy both, and return what I did not like. (in fact, that is what I did, just not with the Pluto, but I tried 651p, Mani, Bugle, Pho 8, etc). Because of budget it is always "this vs that" then you are always left wondering what you missed, how green the grass was... I always recommend - buy both if you can.
     
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  16. Guildx500

    Guildx500 Forum Resident

    Location:
    California
    I’ve seen a lot of reports of RF interference with the Mani and the response I’ve seen from the manufacturer was essentially we did our best if it doesn’t work for you return it. So I would look elsewhere. Rotel RQ 970 was a good one around this price but I’m not sure if they still make it.
     
  17. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    The Rotel RQ-97o is long discontinued. They can be found preowned fairly easily though.

    @Vinyl Addict why did you return the PHO-8? I had one for a while and really liked it.
     
  18. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    Thirty-six is honestly a better match for the output of most budget cartridges.
     
  19. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    Maybe I am missing something, but I have read a lot of posts, reviews, etc and this is the first time I ever heard the Rq 970 thrown out as an option, but always looking to learn something new! Also did a quick search on Google, and there weren't many returns - seems like a pretty obscure choice - what did you compare it to? Did you actually own a Mani - or did you just go on "reports?" Is the Rotel perfect, with no issues of its own??

    Cheers
     
  20. TheVinylAddict

    TheVinylAddict Look what I found

    Location:
    AZ
    First off - OP we're going OT.

    Yeah, I suspected this one was coming :) Now, first I KNOW there are a lot of happy owners of the Pho 8 - some forums call it their "unofficial official phono stage under $500". Plus, I fully accept that I could have gotten the proverbial "bad one". When I bought it, it was Amazon, and had Audio Advisor and another seller (Kraft Street?) out of Michigan. Kraft Street was Prime shipping, had them in stock at the time, so I took that route, they got good reviews and all.

    Bottom line - I was expecting it to blow the Mani away. It just was not the case - it was similar but not better - and in fact on some LP's it just seemed to be "missing" the depth and did not shine on some types of music. Seemed a little thin and elusive at times. YMMV. But having the Mani for $130 vs the Pho 8 for $300 - I just could not justify the Pho 8, it just did not give me anything more. I spent a LOT of time with it, it never opened up, never offered anything compelling over the Mani. Again, YMMV.

    I was shocked actually - that is when I really started believing all the reviews about the Mani being the best at its price point. When I first bought the Mani, I was REAL skeptical... but after trying, auditioning, against a lot of other choices, I ended up with two.

    Now I own an Lounge LCR for MM and LCR/Copla for MC anyway - which for $300 is hard to beat and IMHO (note I said MHO) it is better in every regard than either the Mani or the Pho 8. I will probably be auditioning a few sub $1000 stages in the next few months, because I just got my GT-2000 and it is wonderful!! So I can then compare them to the $300 LCR giant killer!!! (btw, Lounge is working on a tube stage that is supposed to be ready sometime early 2018 - may try that).

    Again, maybe my Pho 8 was the proverbial "bad one" but I ya gotta dance with who brung ya!

    EDIT: I still use the Mani in my shop set up - the main HT uses the Lounge set up.
     
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  21. jupiterboy

    jupiterboy Forum Residue

    Location:
    Buffalo, NY
    What do you do with all that gain?
     
  22. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    I think every thread like this ends with "Get the Lounge" and it's not just the same person saying it over and over. I'd say get the extra $150 and make it happen.

    I certainly can't think of a time when someone did this and went back to a Pluto or a Mani.
     
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  23. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Agreed, but I didn't hear the big deal with the Lounge. It's ok, and a definite step up from the Mani and Pluto. But it isn't "all that."
     
    Last edited: Nov 21, 2017
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  24. Dennis0675

    Dennis0675 Hyperactive!

    Location:
    Ohio
    Do you think the ifi is worth the extra $100?
     
  25. HiFi Guy

    HiFi Guy Forum Resident

    Location:
    Lakeland, FL
    Absolutely. That's what I'm running now- the iPhono 2. But I think the difference is $200. Still worth it.
     
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