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In Reply to: No one's mentioned the Steelhead? posted by Muzikmike on May 16, 2007 at 08:37:31:
to get best sonics bypass the MC transformer in the Manley steelhead and use the MM input. I use a Dynavector PHA-200 headamp in lieu of the MC transformer and much perfer this combo even though is raises the cost and requires another set of phono interconnect. I have done A/B listening evaluations and using the internal transformer in the steelhead degrades the signal somewhat. Going thru the Dynavector the sound was more transparent, dymanic, had better toneality and clearer detail.Also while I love my steelhead v2 and have for two years now I can't understand why they use cheap brass rca connectors for in inputs and outputs. Wtih so many fine pure copper female rca's now avialable (vampire and WBT nextgen) I do not understand how a $7300 unit can use such cheap parts at a critical connections. That being said I still very much like the steelhead and would rank it as a top performer But there are a number of areas I can see need improvement including the connectors, the male IEC and better solder (lead free).
Follow Ups:
Cheap? no no no. Please don't use that word about our beloved RCA jacks. That so hurts my feelings. :> (
Those RCA jacks are of our own design and have been made here in ChinO (not ChinA) for about 15 years now. They are not "cheap", I promise. We originally went through the trouble of designing and making our own RCA jacks because at the time in the early 1990's the "audiophile" RCA jacks that were available at the time were all problematic. They were, trust me. Melting plastic, wrongly sized pin, too loose, too tight, prone to breakage, etc. We tried many brands before just doing it ourselves.
Our RCA jack is a rear mounted part with a concentric "shield" on the back. The way they are implemented in all our designs being firmly anchored to PCB's and additionally screwed to the chassis assures they do not spin. The Teflon dialetric does not melt. The gold plate over, yes, brass, assures it does not corrode. That particular gold plate formula is not the prettiest to look at but it is the best for making contacts. The unibody construction does not break. I am sorry if you do not "think" you like our RCA jacks, but me, I ***LOVE*** them since they DO NOT FAIL in the field and to date we have around 100,000 of the buggers out and about in use all over the world. And nothing sounds worse than silence, except maybe a missing ground "BUZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!!!!!!"
Also, again, they have been made locally all this time pumping money back into our local California economy, and yeah, that's an aspect I dig too.
I hope this helps you appreciate our cherished RCA jacks more than before.
--
Cheers, EveAnna Manley
Are the "Manley" RCA jacks being sold on eBay the real deal?
I'm going to be overhauling a couple of tube preamps that have crummy jacks, and I like the rugged construction of these units. Price is quite reasonable, too.
--Damon
Yes, seller manleylabs2007 is our official Manley eBay store. You can buy our fabulous MANLEY RCA jacks from our ebay store.
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Cheers, EveAnna Manley
Cheap connectors? Sheesh! Of they'd come as soon as the warranty expired! I put a silver IEC onto the motor housing of my VPI HW19 IV and believe, with the TG silver power cord that it was a very good upgrade for the table.Bob Crump (God rest his soul!) believed that evaluating any type of wire was quite easy when used on a turntable. He'd found that any improvement or change was easily heard that way rather than on a piece of electronics equipment.
I wonder if he ever ran into the dreaded, "sounds good on a 'table, sounds horrible on a piece of electronics"? All I know is that a friend who is the naysayer of all naysayers was convinced...engineers can be so hard-headed! Too many believe we have learned all there is about physics and the properties of physical objects.
Actually, I believe we know just a bit past nothing.
There's a book about Einstein that was just published (Walter Isaacson). In it Isaacson reveals that Einstein thought much the same way, that we know little...I wonder if he would think that there's been much "larnin'" since his theory was published. I nominate any person on the street here in south central PA as Einstein's equal (oh well, equal to his dog).
****
If I had more money I'd soon be broke...but I'd have more LPs!
The MC transformer inputs on my Steelhead are wonderful, I prefer them over the MM inputs for MC cartridges. Matter of taste, cartridge and system synergy? You may have to chase more ground loops to use the transformer input but it is worth it to me, the MM inputs have much less immediacy, delicacy and detail with the cartridges I have used, although I could imagine that with a solid state system the MM might be preferable to take off some edge. Tubes 'n coils, seem to go together.
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