Manley Steelhead

I have not personally heard it, though I have a friend that found it very noisy. I would also recommend avoiding the ARC Ref phono and looking into the Aesthetix Io Signature, or the Lamm LP2.

Good Luck.

I heard the Steelhead at CES and while it was "nice" and didn't do anything "wrong", it didn't sound to me like a $7000 phono stage. it is hard to really judge any component in a show situation as setup and system context are so important; especially for a phono stage. but my 3 year old $5000 Aesthetix Io seems to have much better dynamics and "musical involvement"......again system context is very important. the steelhead seemed somewhat tame and closed in in comparison.

the front panel adjustments could be real handy if you change cartridges often, and the volume controls might eliminate a preamp in some systems; but it must deliver the sonic goods. i would recommend a home demo on ANY phono stage as analog setups are so varible.

So do you think, all the hype for this unit is made just to start a new deal ( money makes the world go round )?
This sounds dissapointing to me but it would not be the first time this would be....

I just wonder that Chad Kassem from Acoustic Sounds is so lucky about it ?

We will see......