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So the power supply is quiet but the unit itself is sensitive for interference. That's what I got from this. I've noticed that some reviews do blame the power supply.
@@paulboyce8537 My experience was that it needs to be well-spaced from other components. Which is good practice anyway. In my tight space, I often fall into the trap of stacking gear. More than anything, it didn't like being near the LED light. Sounds great - just give it space from other devices. Hope this helps.
@@soundmatters Mani 2 is looking like the strongest choice on the price range. I have PLX-1000 with Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge. The other choice is ifi Zen Phono but it only offers 110 pF. Recommended load capacitance for the Ortofon 2M Blue is 150-300 pF. ifi Zen Phono as an option looks very good with it balanced output option but for MM cartridge it seems to fall short. For MC it seems to be a brilliant and very capable preamp option. What I have now is Nobsound T1 Pro (US$25) hooked on ADC and to headphone amp. It works OK but I don't think it gives any justice for the 2M Blue and HD600 headphones. That said it has changeable op amps in it and the board is very impressive for the price and size. It does MM/MC. Overall quality is very good for the very small price. But I don't think it has enough gain as I have the volume at full to get some good listening out of the headphone amp. Also I think there might be too many conversions on the way from Phono to line to digital to analog. I do have a receiver also that would do the same in one box with Mani 2 maybe with better sound. But for now only have the headphones. I do have some proper speakers and stuff but they are a bit too big for the current space. I might experiment the surround system I have with the soundbar. No idea how that's going to sound.
Advice: I want to attach my Anthem P2 -- 375wpc amp to an inexpensive preamp for turntable and also streaming unit for apple airplay2 and out to sub as well... Thoughts?
I'm looking to upgrade from the basic project phono box mm that I have currently and this is in my list of possibles. I see for a similar price you can also get a chinese clone of the ear834 all valve phono stage that uses three ecc83 tubes. I think I might like the tube sound but don't really know what what it is, I've heard terms like "holographic" used to describe the sound but what does that actually mean? I like my valve guitar amps but can anyone explain what a tube phono stage going into a solid state integrated amp would sound like? Or would something like the Mani be better? I have a Project Debut S and Yamaha s301 amp, really like sound of the Yamaha amps I've heard generally.
You have to be careful choosing the right cable to your phono stage capacitance, ideally you need to measure the capacitance if you know the capacitance of the arm and cartridge what can be added to the capacitance of the cable, ideally you need to measure this with a capacitance tester, a lot of cables generally seems to be higher than the specs claim and can be up to 300 pF greater than the cable is claiming, majority of cartridges want to be between 120 or 200 pF you can help this by making sure the cable is short no more than half a meter ideally, that will keep the capacitance down and be more inspect with the cartridge. This will increase the lower frequencies and bass. Another thing you want it to be 50 ohms cable or lower not 75 ohms!! What most RCA cables are 75 ohms, this is wrong for analog and should always be 50 or below and for turntable to a phono stage something like 43 ohms to 47 ohms coaxial. And make sure the RCA plugs are 50 ohms most of them are 75 ohms as well. a good cable is the Belden cable 43 ohms at 19 pF/ft triple shielded, if you go with microphone cable you should be alright this will make the cartridge more sensitive and give more grip increase its dynamics
Interesting, most of my turntables are Vintage (from the 1970's) so the RCA cables are not removeable but I have one Technics SL-QD33 with removeable RCA Cables I tend to use really short RCA cable to avoid Avoid interference but never looked into Capacitance, and see how it affects it's sound
Upgraded from a Mani 1 to the Mani 2 with a 2M Bronze and was surprised by how powerful and energetic the sound became. Amazing to have a good, affordable hifi product made in the USA to support.
Great review, interesting findings, I might try out the V2, I bought the Mani v1 and it was okay but but not as good as my DJ Pre II. last I checked it goes for $55-$65 (used to be $39.99) but for that price it is a Hidden GEM ( I still believe it is the BEST preamp under $100 ) it has no MC setting but it's very neutral and it's detail and clarity are INSANE paired with my Technics SLQ2 and Ortofon 2M black even the Project Tube Box DS2 loses to the DJ Pre II in detail Clarity and Dimension and it cost 10 times more, but the DS2 is more punchy and exciting especially on older lower fidelity records adding life to the party so to speak, with the Pre II if the recording is flat so is the Play back but play anything from John Williams, Tom Waits, or anything pressed to a really high standard in the 70's 80's or 90's and HOLY CRAP it sounds like YOU ARE THERE
100 percent agree. owned both the mani1 and the art pre2. the art pre 2 sounds MUCH better on my system. naim 72/140 + rogers ls35a. to step up the SQ for the art, power it with a 9v batt. after getting the art, straightaway put the mani up for sale online
Please, please, oh please consider reviewing the new-ish Schiit Skoll phono preamp - the Mani 2 has a big brother with a very attractive price considering that it’s even balanced. It would be great to hear how the Skoll stacks up against phono stages like the Moon and Project Tube Box. Cheers! 🍻
I’ll check it out! Thanks. Out of the others you mentioned, I think the Moon 110lp performs the best from a signal to noise ratio. I have the project too, who I love for its two inputs and easy control (plus musical tube colouration). But: the Moon does perform very well as a phono pre that does MM & MC. My current go-to affordable MM-only is Michael fiddler’s (Classic Audio) Spartan 15. Hope this helps shed some light 🎶🎧
@@soundmatters - I’ll definitely look into the Spartan 15. The phono stage game is insane with all of the choices out there. I’ve inadvertently collected several over the last 5 years trying to find the next best thing. I went from a Rega Fono MM M5 to an iFi Zen Phono (your take is accurate), and a Pro-Ject Tube Box S2. I recently acquired a new Technics SL-1210GR and want to bump up to the $500-$1K category. The competition is fierce and your channel is much appreciated. Thanks for the great content.
Great review. I got the mani and was shocked. Had to try the mani 2. Wow another amazing upgrade. Wish I could find your Pro ject amp here in the US would love to hear it. Sumiko Olympia Pro ject Debut Carbon Evo mani 2 Rotel A11 Tribute Zu Dirty Weekend MK II Happy for now, you know how it goes.
Thanks Jack! Glad you enjoyed the review. It's a great-sounding preamp and it's priced ridiculously reasonably. Great rig, btw. Love the Debut Carbon Evo!
Thanks for watching. I've reviewed the previous version: the iFi Zen Phono, which I found very nice and quiet and more transparent-sounding than the Mani 2. The Mani 2 build feels more robust though. Both are nice pres at the price. I'll aim to review. the new Zen 3 soon. Happy spinning!
curios about this, because i found the mani1 not better than the built in preamp of the technics 1500, which i use as well. is the mani2 such an upgrade to the sound? cheers
To my ears, yes, but I can't speak directly for the Mani 1. It seems most people agree the Mani 2 is much better than the original though. The SL1500 built-in phono is pretty decent though as far as built in phono stages go. Happy spinning and thanks for you comment
In my experience, yes. But some AV receivers have better built in preamps than others. I haven't heard the Pioneer myself, but generally speaking, a purpose-made device will often outperform a built in alternative.
@@AllAboutAUS - generally speaking: lower noise floor, wider soundstage, more accurate adherence to the RIAA curve. I'd give one a go and see what you think. For the price, the Mani 2 is a great upgrade. My day-to-day phono stage is the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS2, which I think does sound better and has some additional musicality from the buffer tubes. That said, it is more expensive.
Rega phono mini is arguably a little more transparent, but less exciting to listen too. Plus: the mani 2 give you more control and the option to move to a MC cartridge if you would like. That said, the Rega is also very handy with its usb connectivity. Hope that helps 🎶🎧
![[Live] ศึกมหึมันส์มวยไทยสังเวียนเดือด เวทีมวยชั่วคราวสวนสยาม | จันทร์ 30 กันยายน 2567](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/pM1k6f7JXUc/mqdefault.jpg)
Thanks for watching! Drop your comments and questions below. If you'd like to support the channel, check the video description for many DISCOUNT CODES codes to enjoy money off various products and feed your vinyl habit! (I earn a small commission - no additional cost to you). Thank you for your support!
So the power supply is quiet but the unit itself is sensitive for interference. That's what I got from this. I've noticed that some reviews do blame the power supply.
@@paulboyce8537 My experience was that it needs to be well-spaced from other components. Which is good practice anyway. In my tight space, I often fall into the trap of stacking gear. More than anything, it didn't like being near the LED light. Sounds great - just give it space from other devices. Hope this helps.
@@soundmatters Mani 2 is looking like the strongest choice on the price range. I have PLX-1000 with Ortofon 2M Blue MM cartridge. The other choice is ifi Zen Phono but it only offers 110 pF. Recommended load capacitance for the Ortofon 2M Blue is 150-300 pF. ifi Zen Phono as an option looks very good with it balanced output option but for MM cartridge it seems to fall short. For MC it seems to be a brilliant and very capable preamp option. What I have now is Nobsound T1 Pro (US$25) hooked on ADC and to headphone amp. It works OK but I don't think it gives any justice for the 2M Blue and HD600 headphones. That said it has changeable op amps in it and the board is very impressive for the price and size. It does MM/MC. Overall quality is very good for the very small price. But I don't think it has enough gain as I have the volume at full to get some good listening out of the headphone amp. Also I think there might be too many conversions on the way from Phono to line to digital to analog. I do have a receiver also that would do the same in one box with Mani 2 maybe with better sound. But for now only have the headphones. I do have some proper speakers and stuff but they are a bit too big for the current space. I might experiment the surround system I have with the soundbar. No idea how that's going to sound.
@@soundmatters I ordered this one so lets see. For MM this appears to be best for the price. Hopefully it has little more kick than the T1 Pro.
Have you tried the iFi Zen? Equally small with metal housing. It's truly incredible; I would love to see a direct comparison review.
I’ve got that one lined up for review incidentally 🎶🎧
Advice: I want to attach my Anthem P2 -- 375wpc amp to an inexpensive preamp for turntable and also streaming unit for apple airplay2 and out to sub as well... Thoughts?
I'm looking to upgrade from the basic project phono box mm that I have currently and this is in my list of possibles. I see for a similar price you can also get a chinese clone of the ear834 all valve phono stage that uses three ecc83 tubes. I think I might like the tube sound but don't really know what what it is, I've heard terms like "holographic" used to describe the sound but what does that actually mean? I like my valve guitar amps but can anyone explain what a tube phono stage going into a solid state integrated amp would sound like? Or would something like the Mani be better? I have a Project Debut S and Yamaha s301 amp, really like sound of the Yamaha amps I've heard generally.
You have to be careful choosing the right cable to your phono stage capacitance, ideally you need to measure the capacitance if you know the capacitance of the arm and cartridge what can be added to the capacitance of the cable, ideally you need to measure this with a capacitance tester, a lot of cables generally seems to be higher than the specs claim and can be up to 300 pF greater than the cable is claiming, majority of cartridges want to be between 120 or 200 pF
you can help this by making sure the cable is short no more than half a meter ideally, that will keep the capacitance down and be more inspect with the cartridge. This will increase the lower frequencies and bass. Another thing you want it to be 50 ohms cable or lower not 75 ohms!! What most RCA cables are 75 ohms, this is wrong for analog and should always be 50 or below and for turntable to a phono stage something like 43 ohms to 47 ohms coaxial. And make sure the RCA plugs are 50 ohms most of them are 75 ohms as well. a good cable is the Belden cable 43 ohms at 19 pF/ft triple shielded, if you go with microphone cable you should be alright this will make the cartridge more sensitive and give more grip increase its dynamics
Interesting, most of my turntables are Vintage (from the 1970's) so the RCA cables are not removeable but I have one Technics SL-QD33 with removeable RCA Cables I tend to use really short RCA cable to avoid Avoid interference but never looked into Capacitance, and see how it affects it's sound
I like KISS, and KISS sounds good through this. KISS is rock and roll.
Upgraded from a Mani 1 to the Mani 2 with a 2M Bronze and was surprised by how powerful and energetic the sound became. Amazing to have a good, affordable hifi product made in the USA to support.
It’s a great little pre 👌🎶🎧 enjoy!
Great video. I’m very happy with my Schiit Mani 2, but am wondering what an upgrade could bring to the table 😊
Great review, interesting findings, I might try out the V2, I bought the Mani v1 and it was okay but but not as good as my DJ Pre II. last I checked it goes for $55-$65 (used to be $39.99) but for that price it is a Hidden GEM ( I still believe it is the BEST preamp under $100 ) it has no MC setting but it's very neutral and it's detail and clarity are INSANE paired with my Technics SLQ2 and Ortofon 2M black even the Project Tube Box DS2 loses to the DJ Pre II in detail Clarity and Dimension and it cost 10 times more, but the DS2 is more punchy and exciting especially on older lower fidelity records adding life to the party so to speak, with the Pre II if the recording is flat so is the Play back but play anything from John Williams, Tom Waits, or anything pressed to a really high standard in the 70's 80's or 90's and HOLY CRAP it sounds like YOU ARE THERE
100 percent agree. owned both the mani1 and the art pre2. the art pre 2 sounds MUCH better on my system. naim 72/140 + rogers ls35a. to step up the SQ for the art, power it with a 9v batt. after getting the art, straightaway put the mani up for sale online
I have both the Mani 1 for my mono lps and the Mani 2 for my stereo lps. I say they are both excellent for what you pay for.
Yep! A real bargain. Great to have a dedicated mono setup 🎶🎧
Please, please, oh please consider reviewing the new-ish Schiit Skoll phono preamp - the Mani 2 has a big brother with a very attractive price considering that it’s even balanced. It would be great to hear how the Skoll stacks up against phono stages like the Moon and Project Tube Box. Cheers! 🍻
I’ll check it out! Thanks. Out of the others you mentioned, I think the Moon 110lp performs the best from a signal to noise ratio. I have the project too, who I love for its two inputs and easy control (plus musical tube colouration). But: the Moon does perform very well as a phono pre that does MM & MC. My current go-to affordable MM-only is Michael fiddler’s (Classic Audio) Spartan 15. Hope this helps shed some light 🎶🎧
@@soundmatters - I’ll definitely look into the Spartan 15. The phono stage game is insane with all of the choices out there. I’ve inadvertently collected several over the last 5 years trying to find the next best thing. I went from a Rega Fono MM M5 to an iFi Zen Phono (your take is accurate), and a Pro-Ject Tube Box S2. I recently acquired a new Technics SL-1210GR and want to bump up to the $500-$1K category. The competition is fierce and your channel is much appreciated. Thanks for the great content.
Great review. I got the mani and was shocked. Had to try the mani 2. Wow another amazing upgrade.
Wish I could find your Pro ject amp here in the US would love to hear it.
Sumiko Olympia Pro ject Debut Carbon Evo mani 2 Rotel A11 Tribute Zu Dirty Weekend MK II
Happy for now, you know how it goes.
Thanks Jack! Glad you enjoyed the review. It's a great-sounding preamp and it's priced ridiculously reasonably. Great rig, btw. Love the Debut Carbon Evo!
Would you say that this phono preamp is a good upgrade from the built-in fluance rt80 preamp?
Yes 100% 🎶
@@soundmatters awesome thx!
Thanks for the great review. I also have the Mani v1 and this is a very worthwhile upgrade, with a much lower noise floor than the original.
Thanks for watching and enjoy the upgrade 🎶🎧
Thanks for the review. I wonder how it compares with the new iFi Zen 3.
Thanks for watching. I've reviewed the previous version: the iFi Zen Phono, which I found very nice and quiet and more transparent-sounding than the Mani 2. The Mani 2 build feels more robust though. Both are nice pres at the price. I'll aim to review. the new Zen 3 soon. Happy spinning!
curios about this, because i found the mani1 not better than the built in preamp of the technics 1500, which i use as well. is the mani2 such an upgrade to the sound? cheers
To my ears, yes, but I can't speak directly for the Mani 1. It seems most people agree the Mani 2 is much better than the original though. The SL1500 built-in phono is pretty decent though as far as built in phono stages go.
Happy spinning and thanks for you comment
Is this mani 2 any better than the built-in ones that you find on AV receivers these days? Say Pioneer VSX-935
In my experience, yes. But some AV receivers have better built in preamps than others. I haven't heard the Pioneer myself, but generally speaking, a purpose-made device will often outperform a built in alternative.
@@soundmattersthanks so much for the prompt reply. May I know better in what way?
@@AllAboutAUS - generally speaking: lower noise floor, wider soundstage, more accurate adherence to the RIAA curve. I'd give one a go and see what you think. For the price, the Mani 2 is a great upgrade. My day-to-day phono stage is the Pro-Ject Phono Box DS2, which I think does sound better and has some additional musicality from the buffer tubes. That said, it is more expensive.
How does this compare with rega fono mini a2d?
Rega phono mini is arguably a little more transparent, but less exciting to listen too. Plus: the mani 2 give you more control and the option to move to a MC cartridge if you would like.
That said, the Rega is also very handy with its usb connectivity. Hope that helps 🎶🎧
Try pro ject s2 ultra
I aint a audiophile. Is this a plug and play?
You can absolutely plug and play this phono stage if you have a moving magnet cartridge!
@@soundmatters I have the AT lx 120 usb. I really dont know what a moving magnet cartridge is.haha just got it last week.
@@PyroClit ATLP120 will be moving magnet 👍 so you're got to go with the Mani 2 right out of the box. No need to touch any switches. Enjoy!
@@soundmatters Thanks for the info. Buying one
@@PyroClit Enjoy!