[phuzzyday]

I was going to create a new topic here, since the subject wavers a bit, but I think it would have gone against our guidelines.. I hope it gets seen anyhow.

First.. About me.. I guess!

I'm a 'mid budget.. audio enthusiast.'. I used to think I was some kind of audiophile but I've seen too many people using that label who believed more in 'Voodoo' than tangeble sound. Of course, that's not everyone! I might change my mind on that title, but I'm not sure I have spent the cost of entry. Which in itself is an issue that I really object to.. but that's another post.

Anyway, if people want to get an idea of who I am based on my equipment, here you go. Paradigm Monitor 9 speakers, a newer Sony surround amp which is bi-amping. A Harmon Kardon Rabco ST-7 turntable. Judging by my research it might be the only one working perfectly in the world. Zero tracking error, and flawless operation. I am a bit of an authority on these things I guess. I have solved every problem that they seem to ever get. I also found a modification that made a huge difference to tracking problems. I love this thing. LOVE love. Almost emberassing to talk about. I have been passing the signal from my shure M97xE through the phono preamp of an HK 930 amp. Does that amp raise my cred? I have read that the preamp is lacking anyway, and using the preamp of another receiver just feels lacking anyway. Not a proper setup. I also have one of those Pickering XSV3000 Stereohedron carts with the original stylus on it. I'm preserving that one for now. There's no wear on it, and I like it that way.

I read about schiit for a long time. Really like their approach. No nonsense and all that. Design legends make me feel better. I am also aware of suggestibility. So I pretty much expected to hear no actual difference, and to imagine there was.. a bit of a difference.

So that sets the stage for the stage. (I'm kind of proud of this one.)

So, my first impression, after looking at the teardown pictures of this unit, was that it was a lot heavier than I expected! Didn't look like there was much in there. Guess the pictures don't give the right impression. The chinese wall wart that they supply with no apologies looks.. pretty common.. but it works, and I really don't think they would hinder the unit with a power supply that hurts it in any significant way.
Some people have criticized the bright white LED on the front of it. In the wrong setup it might be an issue, especially in a darker room, but for my system, it screams 'finally a quality component'! I just like it I guess. But that's one of those subjective things. I feel bad for the people who don't like it, but I hope it's not high up on their list of problems in life.

So I hook it up, and I get sound! That's it folks. Good night.

Seriously though, (and that might be a better policy for the rest of this review...) I had a hum. Turned out there was a ground wire inside the turntable that was barely hanging on. Once all that was sorted, the hum was gone. It was at about -70db at 60hz. I didn't notice it before. Does that mean the old setup had more background noise?
Actually, yes, it did. This thing is very quiet when it should be. The noise floor is fantastic. I am currently set up running directly into my m-audio fast track pro interface. Levels are set so that the loudest records come dangerously close to clip level. (Some hit it.) The noise floor is just below 90db from 400hz up, and just below 75db below that point. The overall level indicator on my audio software shows -68 db, all wired in, cart lifted up. So.. how does it sound? I'm not going to say that every record I have now slams the digital versions, that would be stupid. I can safely say... that my table has never sounded this good for sure. I am not doing a/b with the old pre... Yet... But to speak of the sound I am hearing here, it's real pretty! Being a very hetero guy, that was a weird word to use... But yea, I am certainly understanding more easily the appeal of vinyl. On the noise front again, they did something that greatly improves the static pop situation as well! Very clean, pleasant sound.
The enlightened among us know that the reason a lot of older vinyl sounds so good is the care that was taken with how it was mastered. I can certainly see that more easily now. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that they were made before so many engineers lost their freaking minds.
So, yea, my vinyl enthusiasm has increased a bunch!
I don't have... Let me check again.... Nope, I don't have a $10000 tube preamp to compare it against, or one of those $500 preamps that this one is supposed to compete well with, not that my other components would show that difference for sure, but I feel VERY good about this purchase, even here in Canada where, with UPS, this thing ran me $240 CAD, with duties also.

On another note, the awesome friend who gave me this table, with his collection of about 50 records, several years ago, is going to love this also. The only condition was that I was to convert his collection to digital. I'm finally finishing that job. Actually I re-started with this pre. His FLAC files are in my cloud account, waiting to be shared. If anyone wants a sound sample, PM me for a link. His tastes are a bit different from mine, but I have been enjoying listening to all that stuff while converting it! Ever heard of 'War'? I hadn't. Manhattan Transfer also. A bunch of stuff I wouldn't have ever given a listen to if it wasn't for this. Very cool new horizons opening for me.

Oh yea. I decided there must be an easy, fast, and cheap way to split a vinyl rip into seperate tracks, and that I was finally going to figure it out. The software that did everything I needed, with ease, including the recording? Audacity. It beat Audition for this job hands down. I love these open source geniuses!

Another point of interest was that the dip switches were set to the lowest gain setting, while the book said they would be one step up from there by default. The gain seems great, so not sure of any implications. They haven't responded to that question. They probably have too many people keeping them busy with trying to reproduce religious experiences.

I have one other query. Needless to say, linear tracking has almost completely vanished. Does it seem weird to anyone else that so many people, whose cables cost enough to buy a car, happily accept a 2% tracking error? These are people who would freak out if their VTA was out by half a hair... Just doesn't compute to me. Anyone else?

Anyway, yea, buy this schiit.

PD

 

[Topspin70]

Got my Mani yesterday and I have this to say: those poor sounding records that I regretted buying? They weren't poor sounding. It's the phono input of my Rega Brio amp. It's like a toy compared to the Mani. And all this while I thought I made a smart move getting a Rega amp cuz these guys gotta be good with phonos right? Wrong. Sure, it does the job, but the Mani lets you hear deep into the music and feel the musicians. It's light years ahead. I'm rediscovering music hidden in my record collection all over again.

 

[Keith.a.w.420]

Got my Mani yesterday and I have this to say: those poor sounding records that I regretted buying? They weren't poor sounding. It's the phono input of my Rega Brio amp. It's like a toy compared to the Mani. And all this while I thought I made a smart move getting a Rega amp cuz these guys gotta be good with phonos right? Wrong. Sure, it does the job, but the Mani lets you hear deep into the music and feel the musicians. It's light years ahead. I'm rediscovering music hidden in my record collection all over again.[/QUOTE

Got my Mani yesterday and I have this to say: those poor sounding records that I regretted buying? They weren't poor sounding. It's the phono input of my Rega Brio amp. It's like a toy compared to the Mani. And all this while I thought I made a smart move getting a Rega amp cuz these guys gotta be good with phonos right? Wrong. Sure, it does the job, but the Mani lets you hear deep into the music and feel the musicians. It's light years ahead. I'm rediscovering music hidden in my record collection all over again.

Cool, thanks! Thanks the answer I was hoping for! I appreciate it.

 

[Keith.a.w.420]

I was going to create a new topic here, since the subject wavers a bit, but I think it would have gone against our guidelines.. I hope it gets seen anyhow.

First.. About me.. I guess!

I'm a 'mid budget.. audio enthusiast.'. I used to think I was some kind of audiophile but I've seen too many people using that label who believed more in 'Voodoo' than tangeble sound. Of course, that's not everyone! I might change my mind on that title, but I'm not sure I have spent the cost of entry. Which in itself is an issue that I really object to.. but that's another post.

Anyway, if people want to get an idea of who I am based on my equipment, here you go. Paradigm Monitor 9 speakers, a newer Sony surround amp which is bi-amping. A Harmon Kardon Rabco ST-7 turntable. Judging by my research it might be the only one working perfectly in the world. Zero tracking error, and flawless operation. I am a bit of an authority on these things I guess. I have solved every problem that they seem to ever get. I also found a modification that made a huge difference to tracking problems. I love this thing. LOVE love. Almost emberassing to talk about. I have been passing the signal from my shure M97xE through the phono preamp of an HK 930 amp. Does that amp raise my cred? I have read that the preamp is lacking anyway, and using the preamp of another receiver just feels lacking anyway. Not a proper setup. I also have one of those Pickering XSV3000 Stereohedron carts with the original stylus on it. I'm preserving that one for now. There's no wear on it, and I like it that way.

I read about schiit for a long time. Really like their approach. No nonsense and all that. Design legends make me feel better. I am also aware of suggestibility. So I pretty much expected to hear no actual difference, and to imagine there was.. a bit of a difference.

So that sets the stage for the stage. (I'm kind of proud of this one.)

So, my first impression, after looking at the teardown pictures of this unit, was that it was a lot heavier than I expected! Didn't look like there was much in there. Guess the pictures don't give the right impression. The chinese wall wart that they supply with no apologies looks.. pretty common.. but it works, and I really don't think they would hinder the unit with a power supply that hurts it in any significant way.
Some people have criticized the bright white LED on the front of it. In the wrong setup it might be an issue, especially in a darker room, but for my system, it screams 'finally a quality component'! I just like it I guess. But that's one of those subjective things. I feel bad for the people who don't like it, but I hope it's not high up on their list of problems in life.

So I hook it up, and I get sound! That's it folks. Good night.

Seriously though, (and that might be a better policy for the rest of this review...) I had a hum. Turned out there was a ground wire inside the turntable that was barely hanging on. Once all that was sorted, the hum was gone. It was at about -70db at 60hz. I didn't notice it before. Does that mean the old setup had more background noise?
Actually, yes, it did. This thing is very quiet when it should be. The noise floor is fantastic. I am currently set up running directly into my m-audio fast track pro interface. Levels are set so that the loudest records come dangerously close to clip level. (Some hit it.) The noise floor is just below 90db from 400hz up, and just below 75db below that point. The overall level indicator on my audio software shows -68 db, all wired in, cart lifted up. So.. how does it sound? I'm not going to say that every record I have now slams the digital versions, that would be stupid. I can safely say... that my table has never sounded this good for sure. I am not doing a/b with the old pre... Yet... But to speak of the sound I am hearing here, it's real pretty! Being a very hetero guy, that was a weird word to use... But yea, I am certainly understanding more easily the appeal of vinyl. On the noise front again, they did something that greatly improves the static pop situation as well! Very clean, pleasant sound.
The enlightened among us know that the reason a lot of older vinyl sounds so good is the care that was taken with how it was mastered. I can certainly see that more easily now. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that they were made before so many engineers lost their freaking minds.
So, yea, my vinyl enthusiasm has increased a bunch!
I don't have... Let me check again.... Nope, I don't have a $10000 tube preamp to compare it against, or one of those $500 preamps that this one is supposed to compete well with, not that my other components would show that difference for sure, but I feel VERY good about this purchase, even here in Canada where, with UPS, this thing ran me $240 CAD, with duties also.

On another note, the awesome friend who gave me this table, with his collection of about 50 records, several years ago, is going to love this also. The only condition was that I was to convert his collection to digital. I'm finally finishing that job. Actually I re-started with this pre. His FLAC files are in my cloud account, waiting to be shared. If anyone wants a sound sample, PM me for a link. His tastes are a bit different from mine, but I have been enjoying listening to all that stuff while converting it! Ever heard of 'War'? I hadn't. Manhattan Transfer also. A bunch of stuff I wouldn't have ever given a listen to if it wasn't for this. Very cool new horizons opening for me.

Oh yea. I decided there must be an easy, fast, and cheap way to split a vinyl rip into seperate tracks, and that I was finally going to figure it out. The software that did everything I needed, with ease, including the recording? Audacity. It beat Audition for this job hands down. I love these open source geniuses!

Another point of interest was that the dip switches were set to the lowest gain setting, while the book said they would be one step up from there by default. The gain seems great, so not sure of any implications. They haven't responded to that question. They probably have too many people keeping them busy with trying to reproduce religious experiences.

I have one other query. Needless to say, linear tracking has almost completely vanished. Does it seem weird to anyone else that so many people, whose cables cost enough to buy a car, happily accept a 2% tracking error? These are people who would freak out if their VTA was out by half a hair... Just doesn't compute to me. Anyone else?

Anyway, yea, buy this schiit.

I was going to create a new topic here, since the subject wavers a bit, but I think it would have gone against our guidelines.. I hope it gets seen anyhow.

First.. About me.. I guess!

I'm a 'mid budget.. audio enthusiast.'. I used to think I was some kind of audiophile but I've seen too many people using that label who believed more in 'Voodoo' than tangeble sound. Of course, that's not everyone! I might change my mind on that title, but I'm not sure I have spent the cost of entry. Which in itself is an issue that I really object to.. but that's another post.

Anyway, if people want to get an idea of who I am based on my equipment, here you go. Paradigm Monitor 9 speakers, a newer Sony surround amp which is bi-amping. A Harmon Kardon Rabco ST-7 turntable. Judging by my research it might be the only one working perfectly in the world. Zero tracking error, and flawless operation. I am a bit of an authority on these things I guess. I have solved every problem that they seem to ever get. I also found a modification that made a huge difference to tracking problems. I love this thing. LOVE love. Almost emberassing to talk about. I have been passing the signal from my shure M97xE through the phono preamp of an HK 930 amp. Does that amp raise my cred? I have read that the preamp is lacking anyway, and using the preamp of another receiver just feels lacking anyway. Not a proper setup. I also have one of those Pickering XSV3000 Stereohedron carts with the original stylus on it. I'm preserving that one for now. There's no wear on it, and I like it that way.

I read about schiit for a long time. Really like their approach. No nonsense and all that. Design legends make me feel better. I am also aware of suggestibility. So I pretty much expected to hear no actual difference, and to imagine there was.. a bit of a difference.

So that sets the stage for the stage. (I'm kind of proud of this one.)

So, my first impression, after looking at the teardown pictures of this unit, was that it was a lot heavier than I expected! Didn't look like there was much in there. Guess the pictures don't give the right impression. The chinese wall wart that they supply with no apologies looks.. pretty common.. but it works, and I really don't think they would hinder the unit with a power supply that hurts it in any significant way.
Some people have criticized the bright white LED on the front of it. In the wrong setup it might be an issue, especially in a darker room, but for my system, it screams 'finally a quality component'! I just like it I guess. But that's one of those subjective things. I feel bad for the people who don't like it, but I hope it's not high up on their list of problems in life.

So I hook it up, and I get sound! That's it folks. Good night.

Seriously though, (and that might be a better policy for the rest of this review...) I had a hum. Turned out there was a ground wire inside the turntable that was barely hanging on. Once all that was sorted, the hum was gone. It was at about -70db at 60hz. I didn't notice it before. Does that mean the old setup had more background noise?
Actually, yes, it did. This thing is very quiet when it should be. The noise floor is fantastic. I am currently set up running directly into my m-audio fast track pro interface. Levels are set so that the loudest records come dangerously close to clip level. (Some hit it.) The noise floor is just below 90db from 400hz up, and just below 75db below that point. The overall level indicator on my audio software shows -68 db, all wired in, cart lifted up. So.. how does it sound? I'm not going to say that every record I have now slams the digital versions, that would be stupid. I can safely say... that my table has never sounded this good for sure. I am not doing a/b with the old pre... Yet... But to speak of the sound I am hearing here, it's real pretty! Being a very hetero guy, that was a weird word to use... But yea, I am certainly understanding more easily the appeal of vinyl. On the noise front again, they did something that greatly improves the static pop situation as well! Very clean, pleasant sound.
The enlightened among us know that the reason a lot of older vinyl sounds so good is the care that was taken with how it was mastered. I can certainly see that more easily now. Maybe it would be more accurate to say that they were made before so many engineers lost their freaking minds.
So, yea, my vinyl enthusiasm has increased a bunch!
I don't have... Let me check again.... Nope, I don't have a $10000 tube preamp to compare it against, or one of those $500 preamps that this one is supposed to compete well with, not that my other components would show that difference for sure, but I feel VERY good about this purchase, even here in Canada where, with UPS, this thing ran me $240 CAD, with duties also.

On another note, the awesome friend who gave me this table, with his collection of about 50 records, several years ago, is going to love this also. The only condition was that I was to convert his collection to digital. I'm finally finishing that job. Actually I re-started with this pre. His FLAC files are in my cloud account, waiting to be shared. If anyone wants a sound sample, PM me for a link. His tastes are a bit different from mine, but I have been enjoying listening to all that stuff while converting it! Ever heard of 'War'? I hadn't. Manhattan Transfer also. A bunch of stuff I wouldn't have ever given a listen to if it wasn't for this. Very cool new horizons opening for me.

Oh yea. I decided there must be an easy, fast, and cheap way to split a vinyl rip into seperate tracks, and that I was finally going to figure it out. The software that did everything I needed, with ease, including the recording? Audacity. It beat Audition for this job hands down. I love these open source geniuses!

Another point of interest was that the dip switches were set to the lowest gain setting, while the book said they would be one step up from there by default. The gain seems great, so not sure of any implications. They haven't responded to that question. They probably have too many people keeping them busy with trying to reproduce religious experiences.

I have one other query. Needless to say, linear tracking has almost completely vanished. Does it seem weird to anyone else that so many people, whose cables cost enough to buy a car, happily accept a 2% tracking error? These are people who would freak out if their VTA was out by half a hair... Just doesn't compute to me. Anyone else?

Anyway, yea, buy this schiit.

PD

Right on! Thanks!

 

[Delirious Lab]

Got my Mani yesterday and I have this to say: those poor sounding records that I regretted buying? They weren't poor sounding. It's the phono input of my Rega Brio amp. It's like a toy compared to the Mani. And all this while I thought I made a smart move getting a Rega amp cuz these guys gotta be good with phonos right? Wrong. Sure, it does the job, but the Mani lets you hear deep into the music and feel the musicians. It's light years ahead. I'm rediscovering music hidden in my record collection all over again.

This!!!

I'm in the process of throwing away old scratchy records, and after 3 weeks with Mani I find myself throwing away a lot less than I thought I would. I kept many that I thought I would chuck away and I don't remember them sounding this good from any receiver/integrated's phono input.

The ability to play with the gain setting, although pretty basic, is wonderful. The "default" 42dB gain worked for me until I ran into a few records which, combined with my Shure M91ED and JICO SAS stylus, produced a pretty hot signal: some orchestral LPs, Wagnerian opera, and, of all things, Bud the Spud by Stompin' Tom Connors. So yesterday I flipped over the Mani and slid all the switches to Low (30dB) in the hopes of killing the distorsion and this not only solved things but improved the sound on everything else I played - soundstage depth, instrument separation, presence, you name it. I guess this is what happens when you let Mani do what it does best (RIAA EQ) with as little amplification as needed for a big boy like my Vidar to take over - with Saga cranked up to 3 o'clock, mind you.

 

[Keith.a.w.420]

This!!!

I'm in the process of throwing away old scratchy records, and after 3 weeks with Mani I find myself throwing away a lot less than I thought I would. I kept many that I thought I would chuck away and I don't remember them sounding this good from any receiver/integrated's phono input.

The ability to play with the gain setting, although pretty basic, is wonderful. The "default" 42dB gain worked for me until I ran into a few records which, combined with my Shure M91ED and JICO SAS stylus, produced a pretty hot signal: some orchestral LPs, Wagnerian opera, and, of all things, Bud the Spud by Stompin' Tom Connors. So yesterday I flipped over the Mani and slid all the switches to Low (30dB) in the hopes of killing the distorsion and this not only solved things but improved the sound on everything else I played - soundstage depth, instrument separation, presence, you name it. I guess this is what happens when you let Mani do what it does best (RIAA EQ) with as little amplification as needed for a big boy like my Vidar to take over - with Saga cranked up to 3 o'clock, mind you.

Sounds awesome!

 

[Keith.a.w.420]

Got my Mani yesterday and I have this to say: those poor sounding records that I regretted buying? They weren't poor sounding. It's the phono input of my Rega Brio amp. It's like a toy compared to the Mani. And all this while I thought I made a smart move getting a Rega amp cuz these guys gotta be good with phonos right? Wrong. Sure, it does the job, but the Mani lets you hear deep into the music and feel the musicians. It's light years ahead. I'm rediscovering music hidden in my record collection all over again.

I was without a tt for about a year and recently bought one on Craigslist. It's a Technics 1100a and I replaced the cart with a Nagaoka MP150 cart and sounds a thousand times better, but bass is really lacking. Vocals, cymbals, midrange is great, but depth is lacking as well. I hear that the schiit mani pairs well with the Nagaoka and have read and watched countless Youtube videos. I like the brio as far as digital goes, but the phono stage to me just sucks. For the price, the Mani seems like a no-brainer. I'll probably get it next month since I forked out a lot of cash for the table and cart this month.

 

[Topspin70]

I was without a tt for about a year and recently bought one on Craigslist. It's a Technics 1100a and I replaced the cart with a Nagaoka MP150 cart and sounds a thousand times better, but bass is really lacking. Vocals, cymbals, midrange is great, but depth is lacking as well. I hear that the schiit mani pairs well with the Nagaoka and have read and watched countless Youtube videos. I like the brio as far as digital goes, but the phono stage to me just sucks. For the price, the Mani seems like a no-brainer. I'll probably get it next month since I forked out a lot of cash for the table and cart this month.

Same here. I actually love the Brio. It's got clarity, precision, depth, authority. Through the phono, things sound lean, strident and soundstage is clothesline flat. In goes the Mani, and everything changes. The whole soundstage opened up in all directions. Instruments is palpable, cleanly placed and bass goes deep and weighty. I got no idea my old TT and elektra cartridge can deliver such goods. Crazy revelation.

This being head-fi, I should add the same is heard through my cans too.

Hope you get the same results.

 

[Topspin70]

This!!!

I'm in the process of throwing away old scratchy records, and after 3 weeks with Mani I find myself throwing away a lot less than I thought I would. I kept many that I thought I would chuck away and I don't remember them sounding this good from any receiver/integrated's phono input.

The ability to play with the gain setting, although pretty basic, is wonderful. The "default" 42dB gain worked for me until I ran into a few records which, combined with my Shure M91ED and JICO SAS stylus, produced a pretty hot signal: some orchestral LPs, Wagnerian opera, and, of all things, Bud the Spud by Stompin' Tom Connors. So yesterday I flipped over the Mani and slid all the switches to Low (30dB) in the hopes of killing the distorsion and this not only solved things but improved the sound on everything else I played - soundstage depth, instrument separation, presence, you name it. I guess this is what happens when you let Mani do what it does best (RIAA EQ) with as little amplification as needed for a big boy like my Vidar to take over - with Saga cranked up to 3 o'clock, mind you.

Mine came with both in Low and sounded awesome. Clearly I should leave them that way. But my amp volume can't get past 11 o'clock without waking up the neighbourhood. Interesting.

 

[Topspin70]

And oh, cymbals and hi-hats sound unbelievably real with the Mani. Even my yggy can't render them more realistically.

 

[oldson]

have not read this entire thread so sorry if this has been mentioned.
did not want to start a new thread just to ask one question, either.
i read somewhere that Schiit are to release another phono stage later this year, anybody know more?

 

[Delirious Lab]

There are always rumours about what the next Schiit product will be... the most anticipated ones are the Sol turntable and The Gadget. Then there are the clamours for a remote-controlled Ragnarok 2, the hint of a Loki Maxi balanced EQ, a Modi 3 (cuz stacking a Modi 2 with a Magni 3 just doesn't sound right), more modular products (if Lyr 3, why not Asgard 3 and Valhalla 3 with optional DAC or phono?), etc.

But this is the first time I've heard of a new phono stage. Was this about a Mani 2, or a bigger and better unit?

 

[oldson]

mentioned on the above around 1:10 - 1:25

 

[Topspin70]

Yet another vinylphile getting his mind blown. I think Schiit should get into analog big time. Make high end analog sound available to the masses. Just like they did with digital. Sure hit.

 

[riffrafff]

Quote:

By adding the Swagman Labs PSU it has made the Mani smoother, darker, more refining, clearer and detailed. It has turned what is a very good Phonostage into a giant killer. That's what I was trying to get across in my previous post. The detail retrieval I am getting now is as good as my friends Sutherland I believe, plus voices are to die for now.
My RP6 "Rocks" through my Beyer T1's via my Schitt Magni2 Uber, which will be the next to get a Swagman Labs Signature Edition Filtered Power Supply Unit.

What exactly does your Swagman power supply do? I mean, it's still 16VAC out, right? And rectification and filtering is still done on-board in the Mani, yes? Is it filtering the line voltage?