Apparently this changes won't affect too much the production.
I met EveAnna about 25 years ago in Chino she was very kind. My more recent email communication with her was okay, though I had an impression that she was like another person.
EveAnna has sold her biz
Ralph Karsten has been vocal as to the uncertain future of tube gear. This is a punch to the gut. My totally unsupported hunch is that EveAnna has the same concerns. I always wanted to have one of Manley's 300B amps. I don't know now. I am a very happy owner of a Steelhead phono stage for ten years. Eventually the outboard power supply will fail (they always do) and I may be without the ability to have it serviced if this new owner ends up closing shop.
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@herman I can’t imagine the current environment *not* contributing to her decision to sell, but I also have to wonder how the new owner expects to deal with it (other than position the company for a resale to PE...is that the buyer’s MO?). |
so many strange responses here… maybe she just got burned out after 36 ? years and wanted a payout and to do other things? Maybe the company is absolutely going to continue in good hands and maybe anyone who's thinking of purchasing Manley Gear should just do it
ton of projections onto this situation. I don't think that's very smart |
Manley Laboratories sells principally to the Pro audio business. Consumer gear was a sideline and high-end consumer audio is declining as well. I'm guessing that there has been a considerable decline in Pro tube audio gear over the last 10-15 years. You can make good products but you need to have paying customers in order to support a business. |
I fear many small businesses will suffer the same fate. Almost every day I see small business owners either having to lay people off and/or having to close their doors or are on the brink of doing so. Many of them poured their life savings into their business dream/passion and mortgaged their homes, cashed out 401ks, etc. Very, very sad. |
Wonder how much tariffs had to do with this? She posted a rant about them which basically stated they would ruin her. She, like almost all electronic manufacturers, source many parts from China and you can’t just replace that source overnight so her costs to manufacture increase dramatically. At the same time over 1/2 her sales are overseas so with other countries applying reciprocal tariffs on her products, she gets a double whammy. It costs her more to produce and her overseas customers have to pay import tariffs so her products become prohibitively expensive for many. An American manufacturer employing Americans gets run out of business by big, beautiful tariffs ???
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I sincerely hope EveAnna gets her full reward with this. I believe she's earned it. I bought a pair of VTL 300s when they and Manley were still one company. I took the amps to the factory for a minor repair and met the whole team. Later I bought Manley Snappers and a Jumbo Shrimp (don't you love that name?) line stage. I've always been impressed with their service and the dedication of the staff. Also I attended two tours of their factory arranged by the LAOCAC. Great fun and informative.
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No surprise it was just a matter of time. Earlier in the year, a friend in the Industry said Manley has been dealing with a challenging market, especially these past few years. They were operating with a smaller staff and less operating hours. Hopefully the new owner can maintain the Manley legacy in these difficult times. |
The nice thing about all tube stuff is that it can be fixed by somebody who knows what they are doing; the problem is the shortage of tubes (no small problem). I met David years ago; Eva I dealt with a little when the Steelhead was reviewed on 6Moons and the reviewer had a grounding issue that was easily fixed; I also talked to her about the sound of using the Steelhead without a separate line stage v adding a line stage (I preferred the latter). For some reason, I always liked going through the MM inputs at 47kohm rather than the autoformer using LOMCs. The power supply of the unit was solid state. That could probably be repaired with substitute parts if needed. |
Thanks for sharing, I did a quick search, found out ’the wife’ was far more active in the company than you might have assumed. I’m glad to have learned that much. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Manley_Laboratories I’m gonna read this when I get some time I'm into part two https://www.psaudio.com/blogs/copper/eveanna-dauray-manley-of-manley-labs-part-two
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