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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 20:34:14 GMT
As im now pretty much a 100% devoted Headphone listener i decided to retire amplifier & Speakers. Two less pain in the butt to worry about.. Any digital listening i now do while im trawling the internet, Forums, E-Bay etc.. So there is yet another thing less to care about.. The stereo is now Vinyl based. Im happy with the Deck & Arm & headphone unit, All is missing be a Phono stage. Yesterday after big consideration i bought a Schiit 'Mani' So tiny it may as well not be there which is great because i don't want to see the piece of Schiit  . Ive not heard it yet but seems to get some good recommendations.. Has anyone heard it? hopefully this is the last thing i will ever buy.. Cool Schiit |
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Post by Mr Whippy on Dec 17, 2017 21:10:35 GMT
"Holy Schiit, Batman, Andr'e's happy." "Let's not count chickens before they have hatched. Still time for the ...Schiit...to hit the fan...., Old Chum."  |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 17, 2017 21:12:18 GMT
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Post by dsjr on Dec 18, 2017 12:52:04 GMT
They're fetching £200 or so on the used market right now...
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Post by julesd68 on Dec 18, 2017 13:40:20 GMT
I like that guy doing the YouTube review - have seen a few of his videos trawling round cool hi-fi shops in Japan ...
I have not seen a bad word about the Schiit stages - would seem to be a very sensible buy at that price point.
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 13:58:14 GMT
They're fetching £200 or so on the used market right now... Yeh odd to say they are £149 inc shipping from Schiit EU in the UK. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 14:03:45 GMT
I like that guy doing the YouTube review - have seen a few of his videos trawling round cool hi-fi shops in Japan ... I have not seen a bad word about the Schiit stages - would seem to be a very sensible buy at that price point. Yeh i like him hes very genuine.. One of the things i cannot abide about a lot of Hi-Fi enthusiasts, they look down on products for the cost of it.. well more fool them i say, if paying for a name & over built Enclosure makes it seem worthwhile handing out unnecessary cutter then carry on.. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 14:20:47 GMT
I can only speak from experience of my Schiit headphone amp. I can't believe you get so much for the money, it looks and feels like an expensive product and it sounds brilliant. I've never once thought about looking for another headphone amp. If it broke, I'd buy another Schiit headphone amp.
To me they are real champions of value. Great products you can be proud of for sensible money.
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Post by dsjr on Dec 18, 2017 16:45:58 GMT
They're fetching £200 or so on the used market right now... Yeh odd to say they are £149 inc shipping from Schiit EU in the UK. I have two pals who both sold theirs on eBay for massive profits in just the last fortnight!
One competitor (sorry Andr'e) which I believe is better on the MC side (the Mani only offers 70 ohms which is too low for many cartridges) is apparently, the newer Cambridge CP2 stage is reported to me to be excellent for MC's at least, but I haven't heard one to confirm..
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 18:48:41 GMT
I can't comment on the Schiit's impedance and it's effects, but the CP2 looks near identical internally to the 640P and 651P. To each his own, but these are the most dismal MC performers I've encountered. I cannot for the life of me, understand how they got any positive reviews. So bad, I'd rather not listen to records than use one.
Edit: Now that I think about it, there was one MC stage that was even worse: The original Pioneer A400 takes that prize!
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Post by dsjr on Dec 18, 2017 19:09:18 GMT
An online pal had a Mani with an AT-F7 in his new-spec Planar 3 with wall bracket. He used the Mani, which was fine with his mm types and found the F7 dull, which isn't something we thought it would be (I know it's not an F5 which could be coarse if set up wrongly, but still). he had the Rega Fono MC at home and loved it, but a huge domestic bill put paid to that and he went with the Cambridge even after I cautioned him on the typical audiophile view on it (it may be good technically but is thought to sound pants!) but he went and bought it regardless and was pleasantly surprised with the F7 feeding it, finding it better than the Mani and to him, almost the same as the Fono MC - and having heard the Fono MC just a few weeks ago I can confirm it's not dismal in any shape or form. I'm starting to feel really out of it now as I'm not 'in the dem room' comparing this stuff any more. Despite being a dealership for the 'terrible twosome' for many years, we had a heck of a lot of alternative gear in for dems. I'd love to suggest Andr'e tries a Phono 1 which is really good on MM at least, but I suspect that's out of the question and it's double the price of a Mani anyway and of course there's the personality clashes of old  Anyway, a better linear supply apparently makes a good difference to the Mani, but not the usually recommended £200 jobbie surely... I've made my own 12V-DC and lately a 5V-DC supply with regulators from Chinese eBay suppliers, a 12V or 15V (secondary) transformer and mains and basic DC cables with the relevant captive DC plug (these are screened usually). An equivalent supply can be got ready made on eBay for forty quid (in 15V mode as well as the 5V one which works well with the surprising 'DAC-for-a-tenner' you can get). I'm drifting again... |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 19:26:01 GMT
If guess if Andr'e doesn't like the Mani, he's not going to be out of pocket  I can't believe the EBay prices that are being quoted! I've had lots of NVA but never got round to the phono stages. I did have old-school NVA preamps with both MM and MC stages (not in the same amp) over the years. They didn't have enough gain for me and they seemed to lack a little in dynamics, as well as the MC being very fussy about siting. That always kinda held me back from trying the separate phono stages. That said, the plastic cased NVA amps have been markedly better than the (still excellent) metal cased kit of old, so I'd expect the later separate phono stages to be significantly better too. I've never heard any of these Rega phono stages, so I don't know how they would compare. I look forward to hearing how Andr'e gets on. There's nothing like trying for yourself, especially when arm/cart/phono stage matching is involved. Stuff that really shouldn't work can sometimes confound expectations and vice versa. When's it due Andr'e? |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 18, 2017 19:53:46 GMT
Yeh odd to say they are £149 inc shipping from Schiit EU in the UK. I have two pals who both sold theirs on eBay for massive profits in just the last fortnight!
One competitor (sorry Andr'e) which I believe is better on the MC side (the Mani only offers 70 ohms which is too low for many cartridges) is apparently, the newer Cambridge CP2 stage is reported to me to be excellent for MC's at least, but I haven't heard one to confirm..
S'ok Dave i would never entertain another MC again. btw: Im slipping this in the back of a wooden sleeve im making so i dont have to look at it.. |
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Post by dsjr on Dec 19, 2017 0:38:36 GMT
What did you do with the Michell based deck you were constructing?
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2017 4:30:15 GMT
Still have it. I have an Mint 'Focus One' i bought in the early 80's. I was farting about with the other out of a Broken one with no motor i got off E-Bay but as always i dont have time for a shit in our house so never got done. I got this STD cos it just a better sounding deck to me..
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2017 11:06:26 GMT
I really enjoy listening to my Headphones, but I am not sure that I could move completely away from listening to speakers. They are quite different experiences and I think I'd miss the 'in your face' aspect of speakers.
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Post by dsjr on Dec 19, 2017 11:43:28 GMT
I like to 'physically feel' good bass when it's there but I do accept that good bass can become stodgy boom in a domestic environment all too easily. Speakers that boom here don't sound like this at all in friends' rooms (I've done it recently). I listen on headphones an awful lot now but I must admit that hearing some classic BIG JBL speakers recently almost drew me to tears they were so good - but not necessarily in a 'HiFi' way... I can't live permanently with little squitters, that I do know and even the BC2's, despite looking huge in this room, are about as small as I feel I can go right now...
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Post by Deleted on Dec 19, 2017 16:45:17 GMT
If guess if Andr'e doesn't like the Mani, he's not going to be out of pocket I can't believe the EBay prices that are being quoted! When's it due Andr'e? It's been delivered to my local DPD pick up point this morning but I didn't have my I'D with me when I received notification so it will be tomorrow I get it. |
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 18:46:13 GMT
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Post by Deleted on Dec 20, 2017 19:07:35 GMT
Just pressed the button on a Schiit 'SYS' just in case i need to put a Digital file player in at some point.
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. Ive not heard it yet but seems to get some good recommendations.. 
I can't believe the EBay prices that are being quoted!