Schiit Mani 2 - will it benefit from an external power supply?

[RunOutGroove]

I've ordered the Schiit Mani 2 to replace my trusty old Cambridge Audio 651p preamp on account of the fact that the Mani 2 has all of those adjustments so I feel that it might be better tailored to my current TT setup which uses a weird high Denon output MC cartridge. Because I'm weirdly obsessive about this stuff, I've been perusing ebay and see that there's a Schiit Mani Swagman Labs Power Supply bidding for cheap, The seller says that it may have ground hum issues (that's waht he's getting on his system) but for as cheap as it is I'm willing to take the gamble, particularly since I have a friend who's a good tech and even if I have to pay for a repair (if anything, I figre that an issue like that is probably a simple fix), it probably still won't be a terrible vale... that is, if this thing is going to mean any improvement. The II version of the Mani is supposed to have some kind of linear power supply and I wonder if that means that even though it uses a wall wart transformer that the power supply part of it is about as good as it needs to be... or is a separate power supply likely to improve the sound quality of the preamp in some sort of remarkable way (and is it even designed for the mkII version of the Mani?)?

What do you think?

 

[Jim Creek]

Here’s a link that describes linear vs switching power supplies. https://www.actpower.com/educational/linear-vs-switching-power-supplies/

The short version is that linear power supplies are quieter but less efficient than switching power supplies. ‘Quiet’ is good for a phono preamp.

I am a recent owner of a Mani 2. Don’t bother upgrading the linear power supply that comes bundled with the Mani 2. It is already perfectly matched at twice the size and weight of the older Mani transformer. The Mani 2 is incredibly quiet.

(If it’s not broken don’t fix it)

 

[RunOutGroove]

Here’s a link that describes linear vs switching power supplies. https://www.actpower.com/educational/linear-vs-switching-power-supplies/

The short version is that linear power supplies are quieter but less efficient than switching power supplies. ‘Quiet’ is good for a phono preamp.

I am a recent owner of a Mani 2. Don’t bother upgrading the linear power supply that comes bundled with the Mani 2. It is already perfectly matched at twice the size and weight of the older Mani transformer. The Mani 2 is incredibly quiet.

(If it’s not broken don’t fix it)

Good to know... I'm going to take your word for that and that's good news as I don't really want to be spending extra on this thing if it's already good to go. It'll just mean more money to put towards a set of phones to replace my broken Sennheiser HD600s, which just need a couple of parts to make them work though Sennheiser unfortunately never seems to have them in stock and I'm sick of waiting on them. I'll probably buy a set of the HD6xx phones which are around half the price of the HD600s yet are considered to be very close in sound quality...

I'm interested in just how this "quiet" will be perceived as my Yamaha PF800 table with the Denon DL110 cart that I have on it going through my old Cambridge Audio preamp is already really quiet - noticeably more so than my old Technics SL1300 table with a cheaper Audio Technica cart (that I had upgraded the stylus to a nude elliptical - which made a big improvement). The old setup didn't sound at all noisy to me, but actually was in comparison with the new, so it might be that kind of thing all over again... Hopefully so!

 

[carylee2002]

I've ordered the Schiit Mani 2 to replace my trusty old Cambridge Audio 651p preamp on account of the fact that the Mani 2 has all of those adjustments so I feel that it might be better tailored to my current TT setup which uses a weird high Denon output MC cartridge. Because I'm weirdly obsessive about this stuff, I've been perusing ebay and see that there's a Schiit Mani Swagman Labs Power Supply bidding for cheap, The seller says that it may have ground hum issues (that's waht he's getting on his system) but for as cheap as it is I'm willing to take the gamble, particularly since I have a friend who's a good tech and even if I have to pay for a repair (if anything, I figre that an issue like that is probably a simple fix), it probably still won't be a terrible vale... that is, if this thing is going to mean any improvement. The II version of the Mani is supposed to have some kind of linear power supply and I wonder if that means that even though it uses a wall wart transformer that the power supply part of it is about as good as it needs to be... or is a separate power supply likely to improve the sound quality of the preamp in some sort of remarkable way (and is it even designed for the mkII version of the Mani?)?

What do you think?

I had the Schitt Mani 1 and later 2 hooked up to my Denon DL-110 and found that there is no need to look for a alternative power supply. I had my equipment hooked up to power conditioner, as it's source that output's clean energy and that hum issues are minimalized. Also routing your cables away from other power sources is good thing to do. The 60 cycle hum feedback is caused by not a efficient ground. So you can go my route. there are plenty of companies like Furman Line Conditioners or TripLite power supression that can help grounding. Also there are those who use double wires to ground to different hardware posts as a solution, from one for the pre-phono amp and another wire to another grounding post.

 

[tabarddn51]

Hi, It is very difficult to improve on the power supply when when it is AC sourced.
Linear P/S do not necessarily make an improvement as there is a lot of high frequency crap that gets through, plus they a DC output, so most likely (but not always) will not be able to be used.
To go down this road you should have bought a DC powered phono amp, then it's easy.

Cheers

 

[Mr Boochie]

Hi, It is very difficult to improve on the power supply when when it is AC sourced.
Linear P/S do not necessarily make an improvement as there is a lot of high frequency crap that gets through, plus they a DC output, so most likely (but not always) will not be able to be used.
To go down this road you should have bought a DC powered phono amp, then it's easy.

Cheers

DC powered pre-amp is what I have. I bought a couple of PSU to test. The Meanwell Hospital Grade 3.3 amp unit is the quietest.

I measured 4.2mVAC riding on top of the DC voltage. Stock 2-amp PSU had 8.7mVAC. Headphones can pick up the difference.

 

[mcgjohn]

I've ordered the Schiit Mani 2 to replace my trusty old Cambridge Audio 651p preamp on account of the fact that the Mani 2 has all of those adjustments so I feel that it might be better tailored to my current TT setup which uses a weird high Denon output MC cartridge. Because I'm weirdly obsessive about this stuff, I've been perusing ebay and see that there's a Schiit Mani Swagman Labs Power Supply bidding for cheap, The seller says that it may have ground hum issues (that's waht he's getting on his system) but for as cheap as it is I'm willing to take the gamble, particularly since I have a friend who's a good tech and even if I have to pay for a repair (if anything, I figre that an issue like that is probably a simple fix), it probably still won't be a terrible vale... that is, if this thing is going to mean any improvement. The II version of the Mani is supposed to have some kind of linear power supply and I wonder if that means that even though it uses a wall wart transformer that the power supply part of it is about as good as it needs to be... or is a separate power supply likely to improve the sound quality of the preamp in some sort of remarkable way (and is it even designed for the mkII version of the Mani?)?

What do you think?

Have not tried the linear supply on the Mani, but have done so on quite a few others. Always makes an improvement; lower noise, better resolution. If you can determine what the voltages are on the Mani, check out Pyramid power supplies. They are mostly linear and have a range of current options available. And won't break the bank to try them out.

 

[RunOutGroove]

Have not tried the linear supply on the Mani, but have done so on quite a few others. Always makes an improvement; lower noise, better resolution. If you can determine what the voltages are on the Mani, check out Pyramid power supplies. They are mostly linear and have a range of current options available. And won't break the bank to try them out.

Good to know... I could see something like that in my future. Even if I don't end up hearing the difference, I don't imagine that it's a large investment to try it.