Tardcore Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 could be interesting. not sure I am a fan of placing all of the controls on the bottom, but I guess these are all 'set it and forget it' settings. LINK relevant text: "Also in Modi-like case is the Mani – a phono pre-amplifier with switchable load/gain in both MC and MM domains and a fully passive RIAA network. Again, a low noise linear power supply does the juicing. So far, so good. However, at $129 the Mani has the potential to become the goto option for incoming vinyl heads. It will put the likes of NAD, Pro-ject and Rega on immediate notice as soon as it starts shipping in August." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodigitaljazz Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 A challenger appears. May sell my pre-amp to pick one of these up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevorxramage Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Yup. Will definitely by picking one of these up to give it a go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted June 3, 2014 Author Share Posted June 3, 2014 the $99 Wyrd USB Descrewifier is sort of cool too. I don't really have USB problems with my current PC/USB DAC setup, but I know a lot of people do and I probably will in the future. If their claim of a 1 step solution to all USB power/noise issues holds up, it's a worthwhile investment. oh, and somebody give me $1700 for their new integrated. thanks in advance. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
biodigitaljazz Posted June 3, 2014 Share Posted June 3, 2014 Good luck with the sale. I dont think I've ever had 1700 in my life. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I auditioned a few Schiit headphone preamps and I was underwhelmed with the sound of all of them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Looks really interesting but I just picked up a Musical Fidelity V-LPS II on eBay for ~$90 so I'm gonna play with that for a while. Thanks for posting this though. I'm gonna read up and curious to hear some reviews if any of you decide to order one. drownmeinestrogen 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
allenh Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 Looks really interesting but I just picked up a Musical Fidelity V-LPS II on eBay for ~$90 so I'm gonna play with that for a while. Thanks for posting this though. I'm gonna read up and curious to hear some reviews if any of you decide to order one. Most Musical Fidelity phono stages take some beating unless you want to spend a big pile of money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevorxramage Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I auditioned a few Schiit headphone preamps and I was underwhelmed with the sound of all of them. There are no Schiit headphone preamps... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted June 4, 2014 Author Share Posted June 4, 2014 There are no Schiit headphone preamps... I didn't quite get that either. I assume he meant headphone amplifiers. Requiescat and trevorxramage 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
trevorxramage Posted June 4, 2014 Share Posted June 4, 2014 I auditioned a few Schiit headphone preamps and I was underwhelmed with the sound of all of them. I didn't quite get that either. I assume he meant headphone amplifiers. If that's what you meant I'd love to know what you were testing with because you're the first person I've seen have a negative thing to say about these amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 Most Musical Fidelity phono stages take some beating unless you want to spend a big pile of money. What do you mean by "take some beating"? I chose the V-LPS II because it pairs extremely well with my VPI HW-19 turntable. I do plan on doing some customization of it by replacing caps and other minor tweaks. Already modded it slightly and also upgraded the crappy wall wart for a Pyramid power supply that I also modded. I'll eventually build a Sigma11 PSU for it. That's my next project. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted June 5, 2014 Share Posted June 5, 2014 If that's what you meant I'd love to know what you were testing with because you're the first person I've seen have a negative thing to say about these amps. Yes, of course that's what I meant. Sorry. And yes, they sound pretty blah. At least the two I listened to, which were the Asgard 2 and the Valhalla 2, if I remember correctly. They didn't sound nearly as nice as the slightly more expensive, but well worth the extra money, Burson Soloist SL. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Questhate Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 BTW - Product page went up for this: http://schiit.com/products/mani-phono-stage I may get one to swap into my system. Given that Schiit always provides excellent sounding products at their price points, I'd expect this to sound better than the built-in phono stage on my preamp. Who knows though. I've heard the entire Schiit line and have owned most of their products at one point or another. Value for money, you cannot beat Schiit. They've even managed to take the value proposition out of DIY. It's to the point that I'm ordering a Ragnarok and Yggdrasil blind without hearing them first (although all of the RMAF impressions have been spectacular). trevorxramage and Requiescat 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Questhate Posted October 20, 2014 Share Posted October 20, 2014 Yes, of course that's what I meant. Sorry. And yes, they sound pretty blah. At least the two I listened to, which were the Asgard 2 and the Valhalla 2, if I remember correctly. They didn't sound nearly as nice as the slightly more expensive, but well worth the extra money, Burson Soloist SL. I have to respectfully disagree with xxmartinxx here. Although it's a bit ridiculous to compare a $249 Asgard 2 to a $599 Burson Soloist SL, I'll take an Asgard 2 any day regardless of price. I didn't like the original Asgard, because it was overly smooth and hazy sounding (pairs well with Grados, but not much else), I don't find that to be the case in the Asgard 2. The Soloist, on the other hand, is bright and analytical which gives a sense of "apparent detail" but definitely not a pleasant experience (strange the Soloist sounds like the complete opposite of the 160). EDIT: actually I heard the Burson Soloist, not the Soloist SL (which I assume sounds similar) so grain of salt obviously. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki993 Posted October 22, 2014 Share Posted October 22, 2014 I have to respectfully disagree with xxmartinxx here. Although it's a bit ridiculous to compare a $249 Asgard 2 to a $599 Burson Soloist SL, I'll take an Asgard 2 any day regardless of price. I didn't like the original Asgard, because it was overly smooth and hazy sounding (pairs well with Grados, but not much else), I don't find that to be the case in the Asgard 2. The Soloist, on the other hand, is bright and analytical which gives a sense of "apparent detail" but definitely not a pleasant experience (strange the Soloist sounds like the complete opposite of the 160). EDIT: actually I heard the Burson Soloist, not the Soloist SL (which I assume sounds similar) so grain of salt obviously. Plus to most of us, Id imagine, more than double the price hardly qualifies as "slightly more money".... So back to the Mani...has anyone heard this thing yet? Any comparisons? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted October 22, 2014 Author Share Posted October 22, 2014 It's available on their website now. They must have added it recently. Did a quick search and haven't found any reviews. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 I have to respectfully disagree with xxmartinxx here. Although it's a bit ridiculous to compare a $249 Asgard 2 to a $599 Burson Soloist SL, I'll take an Asgard 2 any day regardless of price. I didn't like the original Asgard, because it was overly smooth and hazy sounding (pairs well with Grados, but not much else), I don't find that to be the case in the Asgard 2. The Soloist, on the other hand, is bright and analytical which gives a sense of "apparent detail" but definitely not a pleasant experience (strange the Soloist sounds like the complete opposite of the 160). EDIT: actually I heard the Burson Soloist, not the Soloist SL (which I assume sounds similar) so grain of salt obviously. Both Burson amps sounded great with the Audeze headphone (both the LCD-2 and LCD-3s) I was trying them out with. I actually thought that the Asgard sounded better than Valhalla. The Schiit stuff sounded dull comparatively, so we seem to agree. I didn't try them with Grados, so there may lie the difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxmartinxx Posted October 23, 2014 Share Posted October 23, 2014 Plus to most of us, Id imagine, more than double the price hardly qualifies as "slightly more money".... So back to the Mani...has anyone heard this thing yet? Any comparisons? I was comparing $1-2k headphones. In that context, what's another couple hundred bucks? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 I have read and heard from several people that most of the Schiit products are going to take well into 100+ hours of "burn-in" to start really opening up and closer to 300 hours of burn-in time to really sound their best. Something to keep in mind. Of course, there are ways to do this relatively easily so it's not a complete downside at the price point they're offering their products at. Of course, this begs the question why they don't offer either a "burn-in" service or just charge slightly more to the bottom-line in order to sell already burned-in products. Would be nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tardcore Posted November 4, 2014 Author Share Posted November 4, 2014 It would be a pretty large undertaking to put together the facilities to have every product they manufacture just sit and suck juice for 300 hours. I think you need to read up more on the company and how they do business. trevorxramage 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajxd Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 "Burn in" lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
agaetisbyrjun Posted November 4, 2014 Share Posted November 4, 2014 Somebody's full of schiit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Requiescat Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 It would be a pretty large undertaking to put together the facilities to have every product they manufacture just sit and suck juice for 300 hours. I think you need to read up more on the company and how they do business. It really wouldn't be a "large undertaking" at all. Yes, you'd need the proper equipment, space, and power to do it but there are plenty of companies that offer "burn in" type services for a rather small surcharge that can be given as an option at the point-of-sale thus not requiring every unit to go through the process in house. Morrow Audio would be a great example of what I'm referring to. Of course, I'm just sharing what I've read and heard from several Schiit owners and journalists who've reviewed various models Schiit produces. The general consensus is close to 100 hours as I mentioned. I understand how they do business and what their business model is. I'm just suggesting, if the burn-in theories are true, it might not be a bad idea for them to offer it. I know at least a few journalists who've reviewed their products who even stated that they wish they were sent pre-burned in units as the sound got better after the review had been published which obviously would affect the final written review. Even if they don't offer it to their standard customers, it might be a smart idea for the units they send out for review. They can still operate under their "low cost" business model while offering these types of services. Obviously, "burn in" is going to be subjective and somewhat a matter of opinion (especially for solid state gear) but I felt the information was worth sharing. Up to you how you take it or whether you feel it's relevant or not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sad Heart Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 I would love to swap this for my 551p just for the sake of it matching my Modi and Asgard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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