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Recap Schiit Mani with higher-end caps to reduce noise?

M

.mike

New Member
Hi,
I have a weird question here, I'm not super well-versed in electronics, but I'm pretty good with soldering and replacing PCB-mounted components.

I have a Schiit Mani phono preamp that sounds VERY good for the price. The one drawback of this preamp is that it seems to have a pink-noise sounding fuzz when you crank the amp up. It's in the background and isn't super bad when the music is playing, but in quiet passages, you can clearly hear the fuzziness in the background.

I'm wondering if going in and replacing some of the components inside the preamp would make any difference with this? I'm not sure exactly what the noise is.

http://www.schiit.com/public/upload/general/mani bottom 1000.jpg

http://www.schiit.com/public/upload/general/mani top 1000.jpg
 
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Different caps not likely gonna reduce noise unless one or more are defective. IC's, resistors, transistors could be another story.
 
Gibsonian said:
Different caps not likely gonna reduce noise unless one or more are defective. IC's, resistors, transistors could be another story.
Click to expand...

+1. I see op-amps on the pcb, but they are surface mount, so no rolling op-amps. If the noise bothers you that much, then get something else.

jeff
 
I had some buzzing with my Schiit Mani when it was plugged into the same household circuit and power strip as my Linn LP12 Valhalla. But putting them on different circuits solved that problem, and afterward the Schiit Mani performed well with the Linn. But I didn't buy it for the Linn. I bought it for my AR XA. With the AR XA I hear no noise whatsoever from the Schiit Mani. With a moving-magnet cartridge, it's at least as good as my Parasound Zphono USB in every respect. The Schiit Mani is $129 plus sales tax (Calif.) and shipping. It's a good value, IMHO. And it's garnered good reviews. But it's built to a price point, which they freely acknowledge in the FAQ on the Schiit Audio website. If you're unhappy with the Schiit Mani, then my suggestion is to move it to a more forgiving system or give it away and buy something else.
 
I have never had much luck changing around caps on a phono.

I would avoid it on the Mani, those guys they work there know their Schiit and it is likely optimized.

If you want to change its sound somewhat, maybe try different cables or power supply.

I feel its a decent phono preamp as I have auditioned one before.

Cheers
 
So I've tried connecting it to a different circuit than the rest of the gear in the signal chain and this did improve the background quite a bit. I'd say about 60%...

Thanks for the recommendation!
 
Do you guys think sheilding the interior of the amp with copper to make a Faraday cage would help at all?

Also, I just want to note that I absolutely love the sound of this thing. The only drawback is that pesky pink noise at high volumes. I think I will try sheilding it next and then maybe try the external PSU, though the PSU seems kind of weird because there is already a proper power supply built into the Mani.
 
Mr. .mike - is your Mani well grounded to the turntable (if possible), and whatever else may be in line? If not, you may want to try that. I have mine grounded to to my Schiit Saga and my power filter/sequencer. I can crank the volume quite loud and barely hear anything without the stylus moving.

Also, you may try using a filtered power source or strip. I’m using one of the old Adcom sequencers but I suspect that a new computer battery backup / power strip would filter well too.
I also have a medical power filter / outlet that weighs about 20 pounds. Haven’t tried it yet, but bet it would work well too.
 
MisterDK said:
Mr. .mike - is your Mani well grounded to the turntable (if possible), and whatever else may be in line? If not, you may want to try that. I have mine grounded to to my Schiit Saga and my power filter/sequencer. I can crank the volume quite loud and barely hear anything without the stylus moving.

Also, you may try using a filtered power source or strip. I’m using one of the old Adcom sequencers but I suspect that a new computer battery backup / power strip would filter well too.
I also have a medical power filter / outlet that weighs about 20 pounds. Haven’t tried it yet, but bet it would work well too.
Click to expand...

I would definitely like to try a power conditioner of some sort. Not really sure what type to get, do you have any recommendations?

I don't have the Mani grounded to my amp because the amp doesn't have a ground post, but I may still try to connect it with one of the screws on the chassis... do you think that would help?
 
If I plug into another phono preamp, the noise isn't there. It's not a hum. It's more like a static.

I'm currently using the Blue Jeans LC-1 Interconnects and they have been very good. I really don't think it's the cables.
 
.mike said:
I would definitely like to try a power conditioner of some sort. Not really sure what type to get, do you have any recommendations?

I don't have the Mani grounded to my amp because the amp doesn't have a ground post, but I may still try to connect it with one of the screws on the chassis... do you think that would help?
Click to expand...

You can certainly try that.

As for a power conditioner, I’ve been quite happy with my old Adcom (from around ‘90) ACE-515 “AC Enhancer”. It has a grounding post. They regularly show up on fleabay (several right now) but there are lots of similar devices around too.
I recently saw one at the Willie from Monster Cable that was quite similar looking. I imagine it sequenced as well.
 
i confirm my mani has the same pink noise at high volume. it is definitely noisier than my nad1130. you would not notice it through speakers unless putting your ear next to them.
i listen to my needledrops with headphones so the noise is more evident. i am sure it is not buzz or clicks from radio interference.
i am also interested in solutions.
 
Some phono preamp's have hiss at high gain, there's just no getting around it.
Hum is another matter- proximity to power lines, any sources of RFI. I had a preamp that would hum unless it was on it's side. Looked ridiculous but it worked that way.

I had a few preamp's that were hissy...I tried modifying them....power supplies, caps, opamps, all a waste of time and money.
I finally decided to pony up and buy a used AR PH3, which was cheaper than all the money I poured into my inexpensive hissy preamp's.
 
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heyraz said:
Some phono preamp's have hiss at high gain, there's just no getting around it.
Click to expand...
This is absolutely correct. In fact, all phono preamps hiss to some extent - and getting the hiss as low as possible has been a challenge for electronic engineers since electronics was invented. However, I wouldn't expect the hiss to be a problem with a modern mm phonostage. Maybe the noise is power supply related and due to the use of a switch mode power supply. The Mani takes 16VAC in and looking at a picture of the circuit board on Shiit's website I don't see the sort of components I would expect to see for a conventional power supply, so I suspect they're using a switching regulator. Maybe that's the problem :dunno: If so, just swapping a few caps won't do any good.
 
My opinion: don't bother modding. Sell it and move onto something else. That's what I did.

If you want a kit or DIY project, lots of options out there. If you want something better, lots of options out there also.
 
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