Manley 300B Preamplifier

Bio: sorry i didnt get your question..what i meant when i said "After i bought one, i did try them out..." was that after i bought a new Manley 300B pre (not headphones), then i did try its headphones output (on the new Manley, not the demo..i didnt try the headphone outputs on the demo).

Hope the clarification help.

You know, actually your first post doesn't say anything about headphones.

Hi Biomimetic,
I did not try the headphone outputs when i audition the 300B pre by using a demo from Kevin Deal @ Upscale audio. After i bought one, i did try them out and together with EveAnna Manley from Manley Labs, we discovered some very interesting things, which i described in details in my so-called "review" on this 300B pre (Look under my name and review thread).

Jaytea - 300b's are noisy, midrangey tubes by their nature. I'm surprised you didn't mention the two headphone jacks or using them? Some people say the Manley stuff is dark, but I just find it to be that pro gear quality "no crap in the background" lack of contamination. So the 300b's get in the way of that a bit. I could live with the 300b nature, given the over gestalt. Dark isn't exactly the word I would use I guess. I'm a big Airtight fan actually, but "quiet" is not really one of the words I would use to descibe their stuff. Didn't you post something about your ATM-2 being "buzzy"? Airtight always seems a little hissy ...I mean "airy". So the noise issue seems secondary to me.

Pkc_b2:
Thanx for your reply. I emailed EveAnna @ Manley and she was nice enough to help me work with my dealer (Thanx guys, if you ever read this) to let me have a 300B pre demo to try in my system. Here's my impression of the Manley 300B (5k) vs. Air Tight ATC-3 (3.5K with Mulards tubes)
1. Noise: The Air Tight is quieter when idle...The Manley emits a light buzz audible with my ear about 4-5" from the tweeter..its transformer also buzz a little too...but all of these are all inaudible from a few feet away.
2. The Air Tight is crisper in the Hi (but not bright)..Manley 's softer (but not dull)
3. Air Tight is quicker and tighter in the bass..but the Manley can go a bit deeper.
4. I LOVE the Manley's midrange!!!!! It sounds so lush when rendering strings and detailed at the same time. I hear more friction of the bow/strings more through the Manley.
5. Manley throws such a DEEP soundstage !!! I listened to the Firebird suit on Mercury with Antal Dorati on my Avid Acutus and i was speechless. The Air Tight is very very good too but i feel it's more direct, more upfront , closer to the orchestra
6. Tonally, i felt the Manley is a bit darker...just love it reproducing Oboe sound.
7. Just a personal preference, i DO NOT like the Manley's step-volume..cuz it's kinda hard to dial in the right loudness..sure it sounds good..but the Air Tight's volume is much easier to fine tune to the loudness i want.
Man...The Air Tight is so good considering 2k different in price..but i am so tempted right now to sell it or trade it in for the Manley..To be honest, i am not very crazy about Manley gears' look (Some might love them though), but something's interesting with this 300B...it's just ..charming!!

What am i gonna do??????

Jaytea,
Since I have not heard your ATC-3 pre in any system, I don't know what difference you may hear. If you can manage to get a 300b to put into your system and compare, this would be the best way to find out. I took a look at your system, and running a manley steelhead into my 300b is something I wanted to do for some time. If you do manage to find a way to get a 300b to try out, you won't hear all it has to offer with the stock tubes. This is where Manley and I differ in opinion, as they feel 'tube rolling' is not going to upgrade their equipment. Not sure what 300b tube is stock these days in this pre-amp.

Hi guys..
I'm VERY VERY interested in this preamp! Any of its owners care to elaborate a bit more on this one? I'm using an Air Tight ATC-3 pre with BAT VK-150SE monos driving a pair of Avalon Acoustic Opus Ceramique. Any comments are greatly appreciated.

It's funny - most of the "typical" weaknesses are absent, but most of the "typical" strengths are present in the preamp. Not to mention the couple of different headphone settings.

I made a pass on this thread a year ago, but was curious if gryfon had made a decision yet.
By the way, I love mine, and with the right tubes its a keeper.

Manley seems to have solved a lot of the inherent probs of thhe 300b with that preamp... High power, sweetness, and none of the drawbacks of using it as the output power tube.

Friend

Read the enjoythemusic.com review on your amp - it's very positive! I have heard quite a bit of JM Labs' expensive line of speakers and I can tell you that they do a nice job. However, tubes and horns are very tough to beat for emotion and realism. As for preamps - check out the SAS Audio S10, I think you will pleased with the reviews.

Studio1