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Manly Steelhead - any downside??

I am thinking of going for a Manley steelhead and have read many great reviews.
One thing that is mentioned consistenly is that it is a little lean.
Does that translate to the music being a little too revealing on the not so good recordings?.
Or does it make these recordings sound better and easier to listen to compared to warmer sounding phono stages?

me I want to to be able to listen and enjoy all my records, so ultra revealing is not something I am looking for in any phono stage.

appreciate any thoughts
downunder
downunder OP
1,329 posts
 
thanks guys.
I got the slightly lean charactisation from reading a lot of the reviews and reading somewhat in between the lines.
I just sold my Pass Xono for a pretty good price, so looking at what will be my last phono stage.
Thye steelhead seems to be the real deal. The main thing is that I want to be able to enjoy all my records, not just my finely engineered audiophile quality one's.
Is rolling the 6922's mandatory for the best musical sound?
cjfrbw
148 posts
 
Hi, Downunder,

Yes, I think you need to roll the tubes to get the best possible sound. The character of the sound changes a lot with tube rolling. Not that it is shabby in stock form at all, it is just capable of a more lucious sound. I thought it was lean at first, but after tube rolling and listening, I realized I just hadn't heard that level of fidelity before and now use it for preamp as well as amp. Vettrone's recommended tubes are spot on.
honest1
586 posts
 
Money is an issue if you don't have it, even if it is the best. Otherwise, we'd all be driving Bentleys. $10K is a lot of money for a preamp, no matter how you slice it. It may very well be worth it if you have the money, but few have the money, especially when you consider that it is only one part of a system.
rhocken
18 posts
 
The best phono stage I've ever heard was a manley design. I don't really know how to describe it, except for the fact that it was so amazing that it made one believe you had an entirely new LP collection.
jtinn
1,124 posts
 
The retail price is $7300.

Jonathan
Chambers Audio
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