Schiit Mani Phono Preamp

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by Szeppelin75, Dec 28, 2017.

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  1. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Panama
    Anyone hear of this little wonder? anyone tried it?

    I have an Art Pro Audio DJPRE II, how do you think it fancies against it?

    Thanks
     
  2. Synthfreek

    Synthfreek I’m a ray of sunshine & bastion of positivity

  3. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Panama
  4. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    Tons of info online and around here about it. I do not think it would be a major upgrade over what you have now. You may prefer the sonic signature of it over the Art depending on your tastes and system. When I had it I liked it a lot until my last move when RFI became an issue because I was too close to a radio station. I ended up selling it and buying a MOFI Studio Phono.
     
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  5. Szeppelin75

    Szeppelin75 Forum Resident Thread Starter

    Location:
    Panama
    That's what i thought, thanks a lot
     
  6. Hglaser

    Hglaser Well-Known Member

    Location:
    Northern Virginia
    I tried one. Not bad at all, but in my system the sound was a bit thin, and flat. Tried a few things and settled on the iPhono2. Sweet sound and far more configurable, albeit at a higher price point.
     
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  7. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    Norbert Becker likes this.
  8. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
  9. Warren Jarrett

    Warren Jarrett Audio Note (UK) dealer in SoCal/LA-OC In Memoriam

    Location:
    Fullerton, CA
    Mike Moffat is amazing, with a long history of designing equipment that sounds VERY good. No, better than "very good"... the best in its time. Theta DS-Pro D/A converters. And then his home theater equipment, that was revolutionary in its sound. So anything associated with him is going to sound incredible, no matter the price.
     
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  10. Music1212

    Music1212 Forum Resident

    Why don't you believe this guy?
     
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  11. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    Because I own a Mani and based on what I hear, the guy doesn't know what he's talking about. :targettiphat:
     
  12. Music1212

    Music1212 Forum Resident

    fair enough
     
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  13. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    That guy's reviews, like any reviewer, need to be viewed with a certain amount of skepticism, or at least acknowledgement that what sounds good to one person in one system might not sound good to another person in another system. Lots of factors at play.
     
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  14. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    Well, both seem like respectable and knowledgeable people that care for audio, at least from following their channels for a while now. The immaculate testing done and amount of products being matched up against each other point towards a somewhat reliable conclusion.
     
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  15. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    True, but a grain of salt is not an ocean of salt either. Most claims here have some degree of truth to them, but few are entirely correct. If what you say is true then no recommendations on this or any other platform should ever be taken as meaningful because you will think differently. At least he has done the work and tested each and every amp for himself to give an evaluation. There are happy owners of any product, but the ones who have them all can give more perspective.
     
    Last edited: Dec 29, 2017
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  16. SNDVSN

    SNDVSN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow
    I've just set up my Mani and it's anything but thin. I was using a 2m Bronze with a CA 640p and was unhappy at the lack of bass, I thought it was the cart that was bass light but as soon as i connected up the Mani I had a much fuller sound. I've since fitted an MP-110 which sounds pretty good, I'll live with it for a few weeks before I decide if i'm selling the Bronze.
     
  17. Warren Jarrett

    Warren Jarrett Audio Note (UK) dealer in SoCal/LA-OC In Memoriam

    Location:
    Fullerton, CA
    Why does anyone believe any review? Aren't ALL reviews positive, which means they are not written for the benefit of us learning something, but for the benefit of whoever makes the stuff?

    But, for me, I know the guy who designed this Mani phono stage, Mike Moffat... well, I know his previous work. He is uncompromising, in terms of providing excellent sound.
     
  18. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I'll say it again just in case there is any confusion, the Mani sounded great in my system with 3 different cartridges, it's just that the RFI was a deal killer for me. Had it not been an issue after my last move, I'd probably still be using it.
     
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  19. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    How come you want to sell the Bronze?
     
  20. Leonthepro

    Leonthepro Skeptically Optimistic

    Location:
    Sweden
    I dunno about that, every review from the guy I linked has consistent scores on several areas of how carts and amps perform. For example bass, treble, tracking and so on.
    But why would you strive for a review to be either negative or positive when you can just make a neutral one.
     
  21. bluemooze

    bluemooze Senior Member

    Location:
    Frenchtown NJ USA
    I'm very happy with the other three Schiit pieces I own, but the Mani doesn't have any midrange. Every time someone posts that they own one they're all excited about the excellent bass and treble but when I ask them about the midrange they're at a loss for words.

    For any Mani owners in this thread, how's the midrange? :)
     
    Leonthepro likes this.
  22. They are not ALL positive.
    You also kind of know the designer of the Lounge LCRMKIII. You sat right next to him once at your house.
     
  23. patient_ot

    patient_ot Senior Member

    Location:
    USA
    I never had a problem with midrange when I had it. That said I did not digitally record anything with the unit and analyze the frequency response. I think the presence or lack of midrange on any phono pre has to do with the cart you pair it with, not to mention the rest of the system. I tried three different carts with my unit and at one point was using loading plugs also to fine tune the loading. It may be that the default loading values in the phono pre don't match well with your tastes or the cartridges you are using.

    The other thing I would say is that every company seems to design the "house sound" of their phono pres a little differently. For example, I have a Rega Fono Mini and that is tilted more towards the midrange with rolled off bass and highs IMHO. It can be a little "polite" sounding IMHO/IME compared to say the Mani or the Studio Phono I'm mainly using now. Between the Fono and the Mani I definitely preferred the Mani, but the Mani was sensitive to RFI and the Fono is not. The MOFI Studio Phono sort of comes down somewhere between the two - highs definitely aren't as airy and detailed as the Mani, but the mids and bass are much more punchy and less polite than the Fono.

    In general, I would say many listeners don't want detail or flat/accurate sound. They want fat midrange and bass with their turntable set up. I generally don't want that. Too much goosed up mids and bass and everything sounds dull to me. On the other hand screaming bright is not what I want either.
     
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  24. SNDVSN

    SNDVSN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Read the post again.
     
  25. SNDVSN

    SNDVSN Forum Resident

    Location:
    Glasgow
    Why would anyone design a phono stage with no midrange?
     
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