Piece of Schiit

[Ammonite Audio]

The Schiit Mani phono stage (http://schiit.com/products/mani-phono-stage) is now available in the UK from www.electromod.co.uk . It's such an interesting, thoughtfully specified little thing that I've bought one, for the princely sum of £120 including postage. And, it's not Chinese, but actually built in the States.

Could this be the Killer Phono Stage? We shall see, or rather hear!

[Barry]

It does seem to be very good value for money. Nice to see a VFM audio item that is NOT made in China.

We look forward to reading your findings. :)

[destroysall]

I haven't heard the little Schiit myself, but I own the Schiit Modi as of recent and love the device! Hearing so much more in my music when compared to the FiiO E10.

Cnet's The Audiophiliac, Steve Guttenberg, reviewed the Mani with a favorable review. He mentions how it paired well with the Zu Audio DL-103 Mk. II, which is interesting indeed. More here: http://www.cnet.com/news/lps-can-sound-better-than-cds-or-files-with-schiits-little-gizmo/

Cheers,
Chris

[awkwardbydesign]

"or the flexibility for high-output MM cartridges like Decca" to quote the blurb. As a Decca owner I would therefore like to see the possibility of changing the loading. A bit picky I know, at the price, but they started it!:D

[Barry]

"or the flexibility for high-output MM cartridges like Decca" to quote the blurb. As a Decca owner I would therefore like to see the possibility of changing the loading. A bit picky I know, at the price, but they started it!:D

The same is true for MC cartridges: it's always useful to be able to play with the loading. IMO, the loading of Decca cartridges is somewhat system dependant. 47K is usually fine, though some prefer 33K and some prefer 68K. (There has been speculation to the effect that Peter Walker made the disc input impedance of the Quad 33, 68KOhm because he thought that was best for the Decca cartridges of the time.)

[Ammonite Audio]

I must admit that 47R loading for MC cartridges does look a bit low, certainly for my Benz Wood SL, but maybe it will just work fine. The Mani would have been delivered today, but the postman clearly could not read the words "please ring the bell" so I missed him :doh:

[Firebottle]

To be honest I'm surprised that a stage of this type has not been produced before.
Simple construction using quality modern SMD devices, a very useful choice of gain settings and at what appears to be a competitive price.

Will be very interesting to hear how it performs,

:cool: Alan

[destroysall]

I must admit that 47R loading for MC cartridges does look a bit low, certainly for my Benz Wood SL, but maybe it will just work fine. The Mani would have been delivered today, but the postman clearly could not read the words "please ring the bell" so I missed him :doh:Any update, Hugo?

[Ammonite Audio]

Not yet - I've been fitting an SME 309 tonearm on my TD-124 and struggling to get it adjusted low enough, so no vinyl listening at all for the moment. I have some new rubber platter discs coming from http://www.audiosilente.com/ which will help to lift the top platter up, hopefully by enough, so not long now.

I can say that it's a solid little thing, heavy enough to stay where it's put, even with leads attached.

[destroysall]

Very nice! I hope installation goes well and things turn out smooth. It's great to know that the little Schiit is well built. Look forward to your review.

Chris.

[Ammonite Audio]

The little Mani has been in place for long enough to form some opinions/conclusions. As stated earlier, it is a very solidly built little thing, surprisingly so given its pocket-money price tag. What a refreshing change to have something with enough weight that it's not dragged off the shelf by the weight of attached cables! The gain and loading options are easily accessed from underneath: the single 47 ohm MC setting is perhaps a bit restrictive and an odd choice given the almost 'industry standard' 100 ohms that many cartridges prefer (at least nominally). The Kontrapunkt B seems OK with 47 ohms, but is rather toppy with 47k.

In use, the Mani is as quiet as a tomb, with no noise, hum etc. The bright white LED is a bit intense, but easily tamed with a bit of tape.

Sound-wise, it's all very smooth. I suspect that it has a fair degree of roll-off at the top end and a bit of LF filtering too, resulting in a slightly 'polite' outlook. The sound is not lightweight, but it does not go very deep. There is a certain joie de vivre about the way it portrays music, but that portrayal is also a tad 2-dimensional and lacking depth. Compared with my ANT Kora 3T (MM only, so fed by an SUT), it felt a bit like a talented amateur violinist going head-to-head with David Oistrakh. Connecting the Mani with the same Audio Note AN-S3H SUT improved matters slightly, but the overall politeness remained.

For the money, it's very good indeed and I can't think of any serious competition that's not made in China. It's no giant-killer, but good enough to keep as a spare phono stage that can be pulled out when needed, without fear of embarrassment.

[MCRU]

I have a few bits of Schiit it' all decent gear.

[walpurgis]

I have a few bits of Schiit it' all decent gear.

My dog left a few bits over the field today. :eyebrows:

[MCRU]

My dog left a few bits over the field today. :eyebrows:

You picked it up surely and took it with you? :lol:

[Andrei]

You picked it up surely and took it with you? :lol:
Yeah that's right. When he plugged the RCAs in he found that there was 0Ω resistance.:scratch:

[cjm123]

Hi Guys,

Oops late as usual to this thread:D. Anyway having owned a Schiit Mani for about 6 months and previously had a Croft Micro Basic 25 I have to say I am impressed. It seems to offer a dynamic, detailed sound and has a pretty flat response and a very low noise floor. I have not heard the LF and HF roll off noted by another contributor to this thread. It does not offer the euphonic sound that some like but for me that is one reason why I like it. There are better phono stages out there offering more holographic soundstage but for much more money and IMHO there are none better for the money.

I should say have not interest in Schiit Audio other than being a satisfied customer and I reckon for the money the Schist Mani is a steal and one of the very few bargains in this industry.

cheers!

Chris