Phono Stage upgrade to complement Dohmann Helix One Mk 2

Dear @drbond : I’m a MUSIC lover and normally I listen to classic and Jazz/Blues recordings. I don’t play any instrument and my prefered reacording instrument is piano but I listen everykind of classic scores and I like too some type of Opera scores too.

Now, time to time I listen old rock recordings of the .Presley and B.Haley times or disco Music recording from the 70’s-80’s that some of us danced in the discoteques of those times. Btw, these kind of disco music listened at average 95db SPL with peaks around 105db SPL is way demanding and a ytrue tests that only a few system can do it in the rigth way with out compresión or any kind of " colapse ".Several of these type of recordings ( that mainly came in single 33rpm or 45rpm from Italy, England and Germany. ) can sounds really agressive and way ( sometimes. ) strident in almost all system but the really good ones. As I said a " tourtuose " test for any room/system as is the Telarc 1812 at those SPL. No, I don't listen at that SPL. Normally I listen at around 82db at seat position, sometimes even lower.

In the last 30 years I attend every week to listen the seasons of different classic Orchestras and twice a week ( obviously not during Covid. ) to Jazz/Blues clubs and eventually to big events when comes groups as Eagles, Foreigner and the like.

Yes, I always try to be seated at near field position but in the big " rock " live concerts. We have to take care our valuable ears.

R.

drbond, You might talk to Dave Slagle at Intact Audio. He is also associated with EMIA. I could talk to him about the Steelhead phono and line output stages on your behalf. Dave may even have some better ideas, since his knowledge is much deeper and wider than mine. He certainly has the capability to do more than I would dare to do.

I think we get caught up with fancy chassis’ and high prices which sometimes tends to make us forget that all of these devices are made of pretty much the same components: Wires, resistors, capacitors, etc. I think of them as malleable to suit my own preferences. Good circuit design is not the exclusive province of the ultra high priced segment.

Dear @lewm  " Manley used second rate capacitors as output coupling capacitors in the Steelhead, .."

I can see in the circuit boards MIT and Wima caps. Which are the ones second rate you are talking about?

"" which sometimes tends to make us forget that all of these devices are made of pretty much the same components: Wires, resistors, capacitors, etc. ..... Good circuit design is not the exclusive province of the ultra high priced segment. "

Do you really think in that way?  because if you did then you are totally wrong.

@drbond  your manley is a " so so " hybrid " design ( Jfet ) and nothing more. Even lewm choosed " mainly " ( that's what he posted in the thread. )because accepts more than one cartridge.

This is what MF that had the Manley as his reference phono stage standard posted a little latter on:

" With the ASR Basis Exclusive on Cisco's upcoming reissue of Ian and Sylvia's stunning Northern Journey (Vanguard/Cisco VSD 79154), the guitars, mandolin, and autoharp crackled with sparkling, transient-snapping excitement yet with plenty of body, while Ian's and Sylvia's voices had a you-are-there clarity and presence. Image definition was precise, three-dimensional, and well focused, while Russ Savakus' bass was taut, with plenty of wood behind the string plucks.

Switching back to my reference Manley Steelhead phono preamp presented a completely different take on the same music: a more mellow overall balance, softer transients, and greater emphasis on midbass warmth. This made for a smoother balance that was easier to listen to yet still had plenty of detail—but it couldn't match the ASR's sheer excitement, or its ability to resolve the lowest-level detail in stark relief, all without sounding bright, etched, or hyper-detailed.  .

I compared the Steelhead and the ASR with the classic Mercury Living Presence LP of Aaron Copland's Rodeo, El Salón México, and Danzón Cubano, recorded in 1957 (!) by Antal Dorati and the London Symphony (SR90172). I found the ASR's overall presentation in fully balanced mode airier, more transparent, deeper, wider, and more dynamic overall. The brass had a lifelike, piercing, yet plush realism that the more softly sprung Steelhead couldn't equal, and there was no match in the reproduction of the thwack of the timpani, which had far greater impact through the ASR.

It was an impressive presentation of a recording that, like many Mercurys, can sound thin and ungrounded. ""

Anyway, That ASR is out of production an was a SS design.

R.

@rauliruegas

Thanks for sharing your research on the Manley Steelhead. It does seem that most people are preferring the SS phono stages these days. . .

@lewm

I heard back from David Slagle, and he said that he’s "not familiar with the Steelhead, so I’m not sure how much help I could be in improving it"