Schiit Mani 2 Phono Preamp for MM, MC, and MI Cartridges (Silver)

The media could not be loaded. Noticeably quieter background blackness between notes.• Sharper stereo imaging with instruments more precisely placed.• More “sparkle” on top and solidity in the low end.• More “life” in recordings you already know well.Tighter, more controlled bass — kick drums and bass guitar have more definition instead of blending.• Clearer midrange — vocals step forward and separate better from instruments. Drums sit behind vocals center stage• Crisper highs without harshness — cymbals and guitar strings feel more “alive.”• Flexibility — multiple gain and loading options, so it works with a wider range of cartridges and lets you “dial in” the sound, but Once it’s set, you can forget it!(Note I found run 6db plus 6db (12 total) on the dip switches for filtering on my system using a subwoofer, best for tighter, more defined bass)• Overall presentation is more dynamic, lively, and spacious-the sound stage expands and is defined

The Mani 2 is a substantial upgrade from your turntable's or receiver's built-in phono preamp.Frequency response and dynamic response were greatly enhanced, as well as stereo imaging compared to my turntables built-in preamp. Volume was boosted too.Dark Side of the Moon now sounds like surround sound, only using two speakers in stereo. Tool's Fear Inoculum is mesmerizing, sparkling and rich compared to the built-in preamp.I suspect part of Mani 2's secret is it's 16v power supply. It's large. It wouldn't fit in the power strip underneath my media cabinet.A true wallwart.This preamp is high gain and is susceptible to interference. I experienced noise at first using some cheap RCA's. (modem, wifi6 router, 800w receiver nearby)I had to rob some higher-end cables from my DAW...Problem solved. Noise gone.If you buy this, have high-end cables or buy some.I like the extreme power light. I can easily tell that it's on.I do not like the rear mounted power switch. It's a toggle switch which is nice but it's just bizarre they put it in the back. Lame.You'll need to place this device accordingly.The underside has lots of dip switches for people with 4 figure turntables or moving cartridges. If you have a regular turntable, you don't need to mess with any of that.

If you're thinking about the Mani 2 as a starter or an upgrade, just buy it, follow the instructions, and enjoy the beautiful sound!The Mani 2 has an audible background hiss at very high volumes. However, it has a higher output signal than the Rega Fono Mini A2D (which is very quiet when grounded) so I don't need to turn the volume up as high. At my listening volumes there is no audible hiss.

Really nice phono preamp, especially for the price. Compact, musical, reasonably neutral, easy to setup and start using. Good detail in the sound.Has a welcome set of adjustments for input capacitance loading and for gain.Pairs well with a Nagaoka cartridge and a Yamaha A-S701 integrated amplifier.

Sound quality is a very subjective thing. What sounds great to one person might sound bad to another and vice versa. My review of this product is based on my personal audio tastes and does not reflect the quality of the Schiit preamp. The build quality overall seems good, it's extremely low noise and low distortion, has appropriate gain for a MM cartridge turntable, a good set of features overall with configurable options, and sensible out of the box defaults.For context my setup is: Technics SL1210GR turntable running to the Schiitt Preamp, preamp running to a line level input of a Marantz PM7001 integrated amp. The amp is driving a pair of Revel Concerta F12 floor standing speakers and a Revel B120 powered sub. High quality interconnects and speaker cables throughout. Music styles include; country and classic rock played from good quality original pressing LP's or 180gm new release vinyl.To my ears the sound from this preamp is excessively bright, lacking in bottom end, and with a dry, "brittle" timbre that was completely lacking any tonal warmth. I found that at higher volume levels the music became uncomfortable and even annoying to listen to after only a short time.I swapped the Schiitt preamp out of the circuit and ran the turntable direct to the Phono input of the Marantz. The warmth and listenability of the music improved dramatically. The Phono preamp stage in an integrated amp such as the Marantz is generally considered ok but not great. I was expecting the Schiit Mani to be a step up over the inbuilt pre-amp but it was a step backwards to my ears.My next step is to introduce a vacuum tube based pre-amp between the turntable and line-level input of the Marantz such as the Pro-Ject Tube Box S2, or Vincent Pho to add the warmer tonal characteristics suited to my music style. It is possible that if your musical taste runs to dance, hip hop or electronic where a brighter, crisp tone works better, the Schiit Mani may be the preamp for you!