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My first tube preamp Manley jumbo shrimp

(my English basicaly sucks as it is my second language, so my apologies for any bad grammer or misspelling.)
Yes it is my first tube preamp and I love it! Or do I? Mostly I do because I upgraded the sound of my stereo at least by one level. My old preamp was bellas sound xlm ss and my current amp is parasound hca 1000a, speakers psb image t6. What I like about the Manley j. s. are great mids, pure with really great 3d imaging and velvet vocals (uncopareable to the bellas xlm). The trebles are more realistic warm and rich also uncompareable to the bellas. The low frequencies are as well more realistic I got rid of the rubbery sound bass which bellas produced. So even now I am satisfied. Generally the manley produce superb sound. There is only one "little" problem i have. The bass is not as strong as it was with the bellas especially the upper low frequancies are not as puchy as they use to be. There is one simple solution for this to switch back to bellas xlm but I dont want to sacrifice all the greatness which the manley offers to me. So the question is can i somehow improve the bass.
I definatly want to upgrade the amp. So this could be the way to get sronger and more dynamic bass perhaps. What do you guys think what power amp would suit well the manley and my speakers. Should I go with ss or tube? SS should have more bass extension and is more punchy as i read around the internet, correct me if i am wrong. Therefor i think i should stick with solid state amp. I was thinking about krell ksa 150 or mccormack dna1. Are there any othere amps I should add to my list which could improve low frequancies in my system? Also what else should i do to get more punchy bass?
rob26
10 responses Add your response
tom6897's avatar
tom6897
1,484 posts
 
I think your English was great. Your post made more sense than many I have read in the last week. Keep up the good work. Welcome to the USA.

Sorry cannot help with the Manley J.S.
detredwings
162 posts
 
If you still have the EH 12at7's you may want to try something different. I personally like German ECC81's but others will have different opinions. Tubes do make a difference. Try the input tubes first.
rhljazz
1,253 posts
 
When I have the Shrimp set up with either of my two amplifier speaker comibinations (see my sys page), I find the bass to be punchy. This is opposite of your experience. The bass does not have the weight or go anywhere near as deep as does the VAC preamp (no surprise there). The Shrimp is plain old fun to listen to IME and I don't find anything really lacking in bass drive or slam.

The input impedence of your Parasound is a bit on the low side at 33k ohm but that may not make a big difference. I use stock tubes but do use an expensive power cord. In fact, I've never played it with a stock type cord. So you could try a different cord.

Good luck, the Shrimp is an excellent product.
rob26 OP
1 posts
 
Thanks Tom. I tried my best. Sometime I find my self in awkward situation when I am not sure how to explain myself in English.

Yes I still have the stock tubes and I was not thinking that they could make a big difference. I thought that maybe the shrimp parasound combination is not appropriate thus far it won't produce the sound I am looking for.
RhIjazz i will try different power cord to see if I hear something better. What power cord do you suggest?
Could the rca cables make any difference also?
I just recently bought used monoblocks rogue m120 magnum. It is funny I stated above that I should stick with the ss amp and here I am making upgrade from ss to tubes. Honestly I am looking forward to hear them and hope they will go well together with the shrimp.
Thank you gentlemen for your time, input and help. If you have any other suggestions please let me know
wrm57
1,040 posts
 
The current Bryston SST2 lineup has excellent bass--and everything else, too. FWIW, I drove my 28Bs with a Manley Steelhead as a linestage for a while until my VAC preamp arrived and thought they went really well together.
rhljazz
1,253 posts
 
I have only used the Nordost Brahma cord which I use through-out my system and a Nordost Thor power distribution box. I realize it is an expensive cord vs the price of the preamp but alas it is what I have and what I wanted as a cohesive mains unit.

Experimentaion on your part will be required. Brahma cords rarely appear on the preowned market.
mcondon
235 posts
 
The Shrimp is a very nice preamp, although I found that it paired much better with a "muscular" solid state power amp than with a tube amp. When I switched from a solid state power amp (a B&K 4420) to a tube amp (a McIntosh MC275 and then a VAC Phi 200), I found that it was lacking in bass. The Aesthetix Calypso was a much better sounding preamp once I switched to a tube amp.

I seldom see Manley gear come up for sale on Audiogon these days. Maybe everyone has a new found love for Manley. But I suspect the reason is that Manley substantially raised retail prices a year or two ago. Rather than making small incremental increases in price, Manley almost doubled the price of the Shrimp, which used to be thought of as a "budget" preamp. But, $3,700 isn't "budget" anymore. Who wants to pay $3,700 for a new "jumbo" Shrimp, which is the same as the original Shrimp with the addition of a remote control, when a pristine Shrimp could easily be found used on Audiogon for $1,000 or so a few years ago. And the Aesthetix Calypso -- a better all-around preamp in my opinion -- can be found on Audiogon for about $2,200 or so, a lot less than a new Shrimp.
bgross's avatar
bgross
385 posts
 

It’s incredible that I find myself chiming in on a 10yo thread but this is exactly where I’m at today. I have been fortunate enough to be gifted an Aesthetix, Calypso in like new condition. It’s now spending time in my kit replacing a Manley, Shrimp that I have loved for many years. Calypso running Sovtek 6299 & Mullard 12ax7s & Manley running a compliment of Mullard, GE and Sovtek. Have used the Manley with a Cary, Rocket 88R and it never sounded as deep and rich as the Calypso does. The Shrimp does however ring the last drop of music out a particular track better than the Calypso. I find information missing at times and on particular LPs & streaming. Use a Line Magnetic tube DAC as well as a Luxman TT w/Rega, Exact II cart. The Shrimp seems to capture more but the Calypso has real weight and depth. Speakers are Sonus Faber, Cremona Auditors & Equation 7 in rotation. Just want to know what you did, if anything special to get the best performance possible from the Calypso... if you can remember that far back, lol. Appreciate any input from anyone owning the same pieces. TY

celtic66
1,651 posts
 
bgross You're right, 10 y/o post. Anyway, the Jumbo Shrimp I lived with for 5 years and it is still viable. Upgrading the tubes, power cord and running Mahi Mahi mono blocks with Merlin Black Magic monitors was a blast. I get the pairing with SS, but the EL84 is a quick and punchy tube so it works well.
bgross's avatar
bgross
385 posts
 

Update: Swapped out the Sovtek & Mullards from the Calypso for new production Gold Lions all around. Needs more time to level out but all the info is now very present. The Calypso is without question a wonderful preamp. Not sure yet which one I prefer. Each very different but The Shrimp in it’s simplicity is just wonderful & the Aesthetix Calypso, in its complexity is just as intriguing. Maybe I’ll keep them both and reunite the Shrimp with a quality SS amp. Thinking a Quad 909, Linn Klout, Naim NAP 250,... in a second setup 🤷🏻‍♂️

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