Schist phono pre amp paired with Rotel rn 981 amp

[DoctorJames]

I’m hosting an 80’s vinyl night in a rather large venue and I’m in a bit of a bind. I currently own a Rotel RB 981 power amp which is rated at 130 wpc. My current Rotel pre amp is dead (RC 995). I was wondering if I could buy a Schiit Mani 2 phono preamp and connect it to my power amp and still use my turntable to play albums? My TT is a pioneer plx1000 and I’ll be using Monitor Audio silver 500’s. Thanks James

 

[swechsler]

Does the Mani 2 have a built in level control (I couldn't find a confirmed pic in a very brief DDG search) ? AFAICT the Mani doesn't, nor does your Rotel amp. You need something that will allow you to control the volume. But since the Mani does have selectable level, I believe it will be able to drive your power amp directly, assuming you can figure out some other way to control it.

Do you own any other equipment that you might be able to leverage?

 

[theflattire]

I know of no phono stage with an active line level feature.
You are better off getting a pre amp with a phono stage.

 

[lini]

I’m hosting an 80’s vinyl night in a rather large venue and I’m in a bit of a bind.

How large would that venue be, if I may ask? And would that "80's vinyl night" imply quite a large number of dancing people and the music being played at rather high volume?

I ask that, because depending on the actual size of the room and the intended listening volume, your Rotel plus a single pair of Silver 500 speakers might be suboptimal for the task - in which case it might be smarter to rent and mixer and a suitable number of prosumer power-amps and PA speakers for the purpose.

Greetings from Munich!

Manfred / lini