Schiit's First Phono Preamp - The $129 "Mani"

I have a Rega RP6, it doesn't have a separate ground wire, it grounds through the rca cables coming out of the tonearm.

 

Out of interest Vinyl Addict, please use Google Maps of your location and type in the search term "radio stations" curious to know how many and how close they are. Not that any component should be susceptible to the issue we face/faced with the Mani, but am curious. According to my Google Mapping, there are approximately 8 radio stations/towers in my vicinity with at least two of them not 2 miles away from me.

And for those of you who have experienced no problems at all with you Mani, i request you do likewise. There is no doubt that these issues are real. It is just that some lucky folks are not affected by them.

 

Yes, I mentioned this when it came up before. I have a small local radio station within a mile or so of my home.

 

Thanks for this input. In all honesty a well designed/shielded unit should not be so afflicted. Will be interesting to see/hear from those WITHOUT issues about their respective proximity to such.

 

I have a radio station 1.5 miles from my house and do not experience any issue with my Mani.

 

Thanks for this wounded land, am trying best to understand the issues. Every bit helps

 

RF interference and ground hum are, by many accounts, two of the trickiest issues to identify by source in this hobby. For me, replacing a Bellari VP130 with the Schiit Mani mostly cured my RF interference issue. Replacing the interconnects mostly solved my hum issue. Rewiring my tonearm would likely take care of the rest, but I'd rather save for a new table. Blaming the Mani or, for that matter, the Bellari is likely folly. Even if swapping another preamp into the system appears to solve the problem. I accept that it appears to solve the problem. I can't yet accept that it's evidence of a design flaw.

 

Gabe, am searching for answers to this dilemma. Given that the issues disappear when, at this point, any other phono stage enters the equation remains puzzling. The introduction of the Schiit Mani brought with it hum, noise and RFI. I will say this that at least a dozen people have reached out to me with similar experiences. By no means conclusive, but it does highlight that this is not an isolated issue/concern. And as for folly, THREE phono stages/preamps were swapped out and ALL of them were dead silent in comparison. FOUR different sets of interconnects were swapped out, and THREE different turntables. If it were not for all of that, I might not be so quick to focus on the Mani as the root cause.

Am moving on from this, because I tried and tested all I could without the benefit of bench testing equipment, and have returned the Schiit Mani for a refund and am in the process of such. If others do not face such issues with their Mani I am ecstatic for them.

 

I don't doubt any of that experience. I just think the search for meaningful conclusions is likely to frustrate. You could send two units, you could send twelve units, back to Schiit and they might be unable to reproduce the issue you had. RF and hum are tricky. Satisfactory answers are hard to come by.

 

No mani issues. Have two stations within two miles. Possibly a third on am

 

Mine is also fine, and I'm within a mile or two of numerous stations in native Syracuse, NY.

The Grado Blue on my U-Turn Orbit, on the other hand...HUMMMMMM.

 

IIRC, many Grado carts are noted for their lack of shielding...

They often offer very good bang-for-the-buck though, if your particular setup doesn't have hum issues with them.

(guess they kinda have to, otherwise they wouldn't be doing as well as they have as a cart company...)
.

 

No Mani issues with hum. 3 stations 3/4 mile away (mix of FM and AM).....with caveat that I have 1980s entry level turntable (JVC AL-A1BK) with entry level AT311EP cartridge.

 

Tried to buy one since I'm in the states next week (sent to usa mailbox) and they are all back-ordered until June - bummer!

 

The Schiit Mani can be truly "Hit" or "Miss" not just here in this thread, but in private messages, I have been regaled with countless anecdotes regarding the Schiit Mani. Its perfection and imperfection are indeed very real. Good fortune to those who do not physically meet the criteria for hum/noise/RFI.

I learned yesterday, that I live in the vortex of Columbus Ohio's radio and television towers and transmitters from all sides. Living on the 16th floor of 22 story building with no similar buildings for miles in every direction does not help matters. And if anything is going to set off an improperly shielded and isolated device that is it.

Having ruled out ground loop hum. There just isn't any whatsoever to match the noise once the Schiit Mani was connected to the system. Shutting it off and removing it from the system silenced the noise.

Am now up to 8 phono stages versus the Mani which when connected were/are dead silent: no hum, no noise, no RFI. Am going to continue to have friends drop by with their respective phono stages for further tests.

So, while this may not be a problem for everyone, the propensity for such issues is commensurate with certain physical conditions being met.


Re: RFI

'Audio systems can be affected by interference from AM radio stations, TV transmitters, radar systems and many kinds of electrical equipment. AM radio stations are a common source of problems, but usually only when the station is very high power and nearby. Even with 50,000 watt stations, problems are rare when the station is more than a mile or two away. High-powered TV stations can cause problems at distances of two miles (3 km) or more. UHF TV stations are sometimes very powerful (500,000 watts or even more) and can cause interference as far away as four or five miles (6 to 8 km).
AM radio interference typically results in the presence of distorted speech or music in the audio.

I've consulted with a number of audio engineers, some of them even spec, design, build gear for noted hifi audio brands and when I relay the symptoms, and all the ongoing results from my comparisons and the absence of issues with all other phono stages, their comments focus on shielding and isolation; each of them referring to it as a design flaw.

Postscript: I returned my Schiit Mani to Schiit Audio in Valencia, California earlier this week and just yesterday was credited in full for the Mani and the shipping costs. They were indeed good about that, but one comment in one of their emails WITHOUT doing any investigation, a Schiit executive surmised that 'there must be something in my system which does not like the Mani.' - if only that were true and that simple - but no, this assumption is off about 180 degrees

Bottom Line: If you are unfortunate enough to meet the conditions for which a Schiit Mani is not ideal, do not bother with a replacement, (unless Schiit decides to modify its Mani design to address these issues), and request RMA authorization from Schiit Audio and a full refund.

 

No issues with mine I use it on a 2nd turntable setup in my kitchen.

 

You have a turntable in your kitchen? That's awesome...

 

I too got a load if email when I first mentioned the RFI. All kinds of suggestions etc.
Why would I want to need to use "band aids" (ferite caps, tin foil, I heard all the suggestions. to fix the issue, it should work correctly right out of the box.
I got the same response you did when returning the 2 Manis I tried. I remember being confused with his statement.

The Mani can sound great in the right environment, but man, in the wrong environment it's a whole different issue as far as I am concerned.

 

I wouldn't do any further testing. you already proved the mani is the issue. It definitely is weird, I think there's some unlucky combo of the Mani plus X that causes the problem.

 

Fed Ex just came by n dropped me my Schitt Mani. i wanted something affordable, so decided on this preamp.
my Rega RP6 is "naked" now and without a cart as someone came along yesterday and gave me a nice offer to buy the stock Rega Exact.
ordered a entry level Nagaoka MP100 as a try out replacement after reading few good reviews (not many compared to reviews on MP110 or MP150).
will know if this combi works in a few days when the cart ships in from UK. local Nagaoka agent do not stock the MP100 or MP110
so the only way to get one is to buy overseas. this UK company is the same one i bought the RP6 table from

 

You just sold the cart off your turntable because someone made an offer on it?
I'm not sure I could do that.

 

its not an issue bcos the it was a stock cart and i wanted try something esle.

 

I guess I'm pne of the lucky ones. Have had a Schiit Mani for about 3 weeks now with no hum or interference issues. My setup is very modest, but so far the Mani is the single best bang for the buck tone improvement (besides the jump from cheap powered speakers to Elac Debut B5s). Glad my situation is one of the lucky ones because I'd hate not to be able to have the Mani in my system.

 

My Orbit Plus has a built in Mani and I've also used a vintage Realistic unit, neither had any hum issues. Recently I hooked up my Lounge LCR MKIII and it hummed loudly, something I've never gad an issue with where it usually resides. To get rid of the hum I simply moved it far away from the turntable and power strip, and also not on top of my amp where it also hummed; problem solved.

 

I think some Uturns have a built in "Pluto" for a preamp.