Manley Chinook SE MK2

@theflattire good to know thanks. TMR didn't have the T model in stock but once the PH9.0 is broken in,  more than likely I'll send it in for the T upgrade.  

@samzx12 

Check out the Modwright PH9.0 tube rolling thread too.

Good advice and reviews there.  I don't run the stock Sovteks.

I did both upgrades at the same time so I cannot really attest to how much the tube rectifier did to the sound.  Maybe ask around for someone who did the upgrades one at a time.

theflattire, I am curious to know where you got the information that most audiophiles prefer the Modwright to the "Manley" (by which term I assume you refer to the Chinook)?  Both units seem well thought of by most who offer opinions, but I have never read of a credible direct comparison between the two.

@theflattire is the information on a Modwright website?

@lewm Was either here or SHF. Maybe the also a speaker forum(maybe Polk?), can’t remember which. The one I remember the most mentioned that the Chinook was noisy. Just google Chinook vs. Modwright PH9.0. You may find it often compared to the Rogue Ares Magnum, Tavish Adagio (which I had) and the Heron. I also looked at the Zesto Andros but it was a bit too much. Here’s the post from SHF: "Having owned both I strongly recommend the Modwright. The Chinook was fine in low gain/moving magnet mode, but noisier than a 1970’s window AC unit in high gain/moving coil mode. The Modwright is dead quiet and in a different league sonically. I had my PH 9 further upgraded to the 9.0 X and could not be happier."  There weren't a ton of head to head comparison but I took the ones I found to heart.  Of course one has to take all the comparisons with a grain of salt.

The other thing that swayed me away were the up and down reviews of the Manley while the opinions on the PH9.0 were almost unanimously positive. The folks who liked it, liked it, but the folks who didn't, well didn't. I also changed my mind about having all the adjustments. I found that simple is better for me, something I started to prefer in my phono stage journey.

@samzx12 The thread is here somewhere just do a search. I went with Reflector 6C45s(sovtek) and Mullard 6DJ8s. Consensus was Siemens 6922 but they are kinda pricey.