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Schiit Mani 2 Review (Phono Stage)

Rate this product:

  • 1. Poor (headless panther)

    Votes: 3 1.7%
  • 2. Not terrible (postman panther)

    Votes: 24 13.8%
  • 3. Fine (happy panther)

    Votes: 92 52.9%
  • 4. Great (golfing panther)

    Votes: 55 31.6%

  • Total voters
    174

knownothing

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Look at the photo of the back of the unit. Says AC in. You typically would think all barrel connectors are DC in but you have to be careful. Usually it is marked like it is with the Mani.
Yep, you’re right. In disbelief I contacted Schiit, and they confirmed AC in on the Mani. I find it puzzling because I thought one of the main purposes of a power supply in domestic gear was to convert AC to DC. I am not aware of having seen an “AC” wall wart before until this one, but perhaps they are more common than I thought. The Schiit Modi’s run off USB bus power or your phone charger.
 

Oristo

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I read both this review and that for ART DJ-PRE II and wonder whether SINAD measuring conditions evolved:
  • DJ-PRE 83.4dB SINAD rating is beneath an A-weighted plot with -10dBV 1kHz peak
  • Schiit Mani 2 82dB SINAD rating is beneath unweighted plot with 0dBrA 1kHz peak
Also, Schiit's 60Hz peak is about -82dB, while the DJ-PRE 60Hz peak on unweighted graph is about -79dB...
 

Oristo

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AC in on the Mani
Unless Schiit does something quite weird, that AC input very likely immediately feeds a bridge rectifier.
Consequently, a nicely filtered external DC supply could be substituted for the transformer, mitigating Mani's AC-related noise.
 

Angsty

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Unless Schiit does something quite weird, that AC input very likely immediately feeds a bridge rectifier.
Consequently, a nicely filtered external DC supply could be substituted for the transformer, mitigating Mani's AC-related noise.
Perhaps with a different design, but you cannot swap a DC supply for the current model’s AC supply. I would not want anyone reading to be confused on this point.
 

guenthi_r

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passive RIAA paired with OPA1612, well done, Schiit! :)
it's a shame it's so expensive in europe.
 
Last edited:

lightreel

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First post from a long time lurker!

I finally got one of these tiny preamps. It's interesting: it presents differently to my Moon 110LP (v1), even with the same settings, on the same turntable (Clearaudio Performance SE, Maestro MM cartridge). Subjectively, I like the sound better, it's more balanced tonally overall and the noise floor is lower. BUT, both have substantial low frequency hum at higher volumes – waaaaay more than my Tom Evans Micro Groove+ had (with an Ortofon Quintet Black). And the pops and crackles are *significantly* louder on the Mani than either the Moon or the Tom Evans... so I'm a bit torn. Honestly, I think I'll keep looking for something closer to the Micro Groove's performance (but for MM). Any suggestions welcome!
 

TheBlackCreature

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Just got my Mani 2 today and compared it to my original Mani 1 with a decibel meter to compare the background noise they produce.
Using my Teac TN-400S turntable with AT100E cartridge, both pre-amps are in their original configuration (gain input H/output L) which matches the cartridge.
Using a Monoprice 1.5ft RCA cable from the turntable to the pre-amp.

With the turntable off and AV receiver on full volume, the Mani 2 produced 3db less noise from my speaker's tweeter than the Mani 1.
Both were using the Mani 2's 16V 1000mA power supply. This was a direct swap so the cable runs did not move. The units were not stacked during testing.
That's a significant improvement in noise in my opinion.

View attachment 263853

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I also use a Denon (x3800h) along with an Emotiva Basx a3 amp, currently have a Darlington labs mp7 as my phono. I’m curious how you typically run your avr when listening to vinyl? Mode settings or pure/direct mode. Thanks!
 

hutt132

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I also use a Denon (x3800h) along with an Emotiva Basx a3 amp, currently have a Darlington labs mp7 as my phono. I’m curious how you typically run your avr when listening to vinyl? Mode settings or pure/direct mode. Thanks!
I just leave it in Music: Stereo mode. Pure mode turns off audessy, which I need to fix my uneven bass response. I don't think there's a way to get a full analog signal path through the receiver in the first place.
 

NormB

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Um, well… about that 16 VAC wall wart.

I was doing a search for used Schiit Mani (1 or 2) secondary sales on ePay and the various audiomarts (kind of a trendline analysis - very good equipment doesn’t show up as often as people tend to keep it, I think) and came across this:

“Upgrade Audiophile Power Supply For Schiit Audio MANI Phono Stage 16V AC L16-11”

A power filter/conditioner based upon a toroidal transformer and Japanese Nichicon capacitors (sure thing, from the heart of worldwide copyright violation land) AND…

YES, I READ AMIR’s post from 2 years ago on these.

Thing is, I don’t see that he ever tested one, I also don’t see that Schiit ever “fixed” the 50/60 Hz AC spike (is it even audible?) with a new/improved wall wart.

Was considering buying one to play with having dumped a Musical Surroundings Nova III because it HISSED after 2 years and I had given up on getting the mfr to accept a return for analysis/repair and sold it to someone who didn’t care/didn’t notice/hear the HISS in both channels. SUT works fine, but maybe not with all my cartridges, nice to have options.


So, simple question: did Schiit ever do anything to improve/fix/change the power supply filtering for the Mani 2?
 

thegeton

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Um, well… about that 16 VAC wall wart.

I was doing a search for used Schiit Mani (1 or 2) secondary sales on ePay and the various audiomarts (kind of a trendline analysis - very good equipment doesn’t show up as often as people tend to keep it, I think) and came across this:

“Upgrade Audiophile Power Supply For Schiit Audio MANI Phono Stage 16V AC L16-11”

A power filter/conditioner based upon a toroidal transformer and Japanese Nichicon capacitors (sure thing, from the heart of worldwide copyright violation land) AND…

YES, I READ AMIR’s post from 2 years ago on these.

Thing is, I don’t see that he ever tested one, I also don’t see that Schiit ever “fixed” the 50/60 Hz AC spike (is it even audible?) with a new/improved wall wart.

Was considering buying one to play with having dumped a Musical Surroundings Nova III because it HISSED after 2 years and I had given up on getting the mfr to accept a return for analysis/repair and sold it to someone who didn’t care/didn’t notice/hear the HISS in both channels. SUT works fine, but maybe not with all my cartridges, nice to have options.


So, simple question: did Schiit ever do anything to improve/fix/change the power supply filtering for the Mani 2?

I recently purchased a new Mani 2 directly from Schiit. The 50/60 Hz AC spike (if it is indeed present) is inaudible on my system.
 

Daviede

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Schiit Mani 2 :Are the testing conditions for these four curves all based on an input voltage of 5mV? Why is the starting point of 1KHz/5KHz/10KHz the same, but the starting point of 15KHz/20KHz is higher?
But it is true that almost all of the original Mani are from the same starting point, which one is better in this situation?
 

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