Theta Casa Nova vs Audio Prism Mantissa
I LOVE seeing reference to the classic, overlooked, and largely forgotten AudioPrism Mantissa! I proudly owned and used one for over twenty years. I bought mine new from a prominent Columbus, OH high-end retailer who did not carry Audio Prism and who had never heard of it but was able to order one for me. The outboard power supply and dual mono circuit layout with dual stepped ladder resistor attenuators was classic. I had long conversations with it's designer Victor Tiscareno when it was new.-he could not have been nicer and more generous with his time over the phone to a complete stranger. It's nostalgic to me because the original duo of Victor Tiscareno and Byron Collet were only in business for 6-7 years between '92 and '98 or '99 when Mark Levinson took over the line of preamps and amps and rebadged them with slight modification as Red Rose Music. My Mantissa faithfully served me well with many hours of enjoyment, primarily with three amps-a McCormack DNA.5 given the 'Full Monty" upgrade by Steve McCormack, a DNA1 also heavily modded by SMcAudio, and an ARC VS110. Solid state or tubed, the Mantissa mated well. It is very easy on the four tubes-mine often went for three years of heavy use before needing to be replaced. Only a month ago, I replaced mine with an ARC Ref 6, a pre that cost 3-4 times more adjusted for inflation. The Ref 6 affords a more expansive soundstage and more detail, but the differences are largely in character as opposed to qualitative. The Mantissa was that good. Be sure to clean the rotary switch contacts at the rear of the pre with some isopropyl alcohol as they are prone to oxidation which affects SQ. I have zero knowledge about the other pre you mention, but the Mantissa is a great pre that is well built and reliable. |
Good question. I still have about two dozen pair of mixed 6922's and equivalents and 12AU7's and equivalents left over from the Mantissa and my advice is to use Upscale Audio, Jim McShane or Bob Hamme and simply ask them what they have at the moment that are good and reasonably priced. My experience with tube rolling in the Mantissa is that solid quiet tubes, particularly in the 6922's are far more important than any small character differences among current production and NOS. I splurged on some very expensive Amperex once and they were relatively noisy and not worth the price. The 12AU7's are cathode follower buffer tubes and have far less impact on SQ. The Mantissa came with JAN Philips tubes-both for the 6922 and 12AU7 and IIRC they were among my favorites for overall clean, dynamic, uncolored sound. I recall having long discussions with Victor Tiscarino on the subject-he recommended I stick with the stock tubes but had no objection to tube rolling. This might be helpful to you; http://raptorelectronics.com/subpage3.html |
Thanks Fsonicsmith. I'm currently demoing both the Casa Nova and the Mantissa so opening her up and tube rolling isn't an option as I don't own the unit. Trying to settle on one of these two units? Any idea of what the fair market value on the Mantissa would be as I would need to consider this as well in making a final decision? Are you in Columbus Ohio if so I'm in Columbus as well |
