I have had both and can say they are both excellent. I do prefer the Manley for a number of reasons. It is a much more flexible phono stage from the stand point of adjustability. It also has the ability to run direct and bypass an additional preamp and additional interconnects and power cords.
Sonically, the Manley was a home run in my system. It had greater dynamics with as low a noise floor as the Lamm, but appeared more neutral out of the two. The Manley has 2 6922 tubes which should be rolled and will make a HUGE difference. They also use 4 - 7044's which can be replaced by 6900's or 5687's. All will take this phono stage to an entirely different level.
The Lamm is wonderful sounding, but in an inefficient system with low output carts, you may not be entirely pleased. It is rich in harmonics and timbre, but not as resolute as the Steelhead.
As far as cartridges go, without any doubt, you should pick up a van den Hul Colibri 0.85 mv from the user "Colibri". They are remarkable when it comes to speed, dynamics and musicality. If you want to go with a really low output cart, another contender is the Audio Tekne at 0.01 mv.
I am a proud dealer for Manley and Audio Tekne. I am also a fan of Lamm and van den Hul.
Sonically, the Manley was a home run in my system. It had greater dynamics with as low a noise floor as the Lamm, but appeared more neutral out of the two. The Manley has 2 6922 tubes which should be rolled and will make a HUGE difference. They also use 4 - 7044's which can be replaced by 6900's or 5687's. All will take this phono stage to an entirely different level.
The Lamm is wonderful sounding, but in an inefficient system with low output carts, you may not be entirely pleased. It is rich in harmonics and timbre, but not as resolute as the Steelhead.
As far as cartridges go, without any doubt, you should pick up a van den Hul Colibri 0.85 mv from the user "Colibri". They are remarkable when it comes to speed, dynamics and musicality. If you want to go with a really low output cart, another contender is the Audio Tekne at 0.01 mv.
I am a proud dealer for Manley and Audio Tekne. I am also a fan of Lamm and van den Hul.