Manly Steelhead - any downside??

Dear Downunder: any downside??, well at the asked Steelhead price every one hopes there is no downside, unfortunatelly for the quality music sound reproduction the Steelhead has some " downside ":

first, it had a high RIAA eq. deviation from flat: " +0.5 / -0.3 dB from 20 Hz to 20 kHz, " , this means a swing of: 0.8 db when it has to be at least 0.2 db. This deviation is severe and colored the sound. It will be interesting to see where in the frecuency range response are those deviations.

second, it use step-up autoformers for gain in the MC stage that do a degradation to the signal.

third, it use tubes: as a phono stage is noisy.

fouth, you have to roll-off the tubes to achieve better performance: this is incredible. More money !!!!!

+++++ " so ultra revealing is not something I am looking for in any phono stage. " +++++

I can't understand that statement. Do you mean that you don't care if the phono stage can't has high resolution ( revealing ) ? do you mean that you don't care if the phono stage can't reproduce what is in the LP ? Please let me know what you care about LP reproduction. I can see on your system ( very nice system ) that you use cables that are very revealing and you phono cartridge is truly revealing too along with your speakers. So I can't understand that statement.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Raul, true to form is simply wrong again! The Steelhead is one of the quietest phono sections that money can buy. Some of that is going to be tube choice issues.

Vetterone told me that it is quieter than the X-Ono which I bought from him. Many people have claimed that there are not more than a handful of phono stages quieter than the Pass Labs (see Michael Fremers review), but the Manley is one of them.

The sound of the Steelhead is amazing, both as a pre-amp, and a phono section. You will not be disappointed with this unit. I plan to buy one in spring!

Raul, What I mean but not wanting something "ultra revealing" is that buying hi fi is a means to an end. the end is to enjoy most of the LP's that you own.
I have heard/owned ultra revealing and detailed gear in the past which has all the detail but you cannot listen to it for long periods and makes your "non audiophile" records sound like shit. That is not what I call being able to listen to music and enjoy.
Great recordings will always sound great, but it is the way a phono stage treats the not so good recordings and makes them enjoyable and removes the equipment from the equation (as much as possible) is what turms me on, not something that makes every fault magnified.
After all that is why I have 4000 odd LP's, to be able to listen to all of them at some stage and enjoy them for their musical qualities.

Does that answer your basic question?

BTW what is wrong with autoformers?. I am aware of tube noise, that is why I am asking, but it would seem that the steelhead is quiet.
Have you heard the steelhead in your sytstem Raul? , as that is the advise I am looking for, people who have lived with the steelhead and can idendify it's positives and negatives.

cheers Shane

Nrchy, If the steelhead is quieter than the Xonon that would be great!. I have just sold the Xono( great phono stage!), hence looking for an other phono stage.
I am listening to the Ayre-P5x at the moment at it sounds very very good, especially at the price and has a more pure sound than the Xono, better bass control but is a little softer on top.

IMO the only response to Raul's posts is no response. He is entitled to his opinions, as misguided as most of them are, like everybody else here. The record is replete with his omniscient and combative ideas so why not let him go? I for one take no stock in anything he says and read them for the entertainment content. Roll with them and grab a few laughs.