Thread: Mnaley Steelhead phono stage?!

thought maybe open a new thread....

I know its been a while when the Manley "steelhead" was the "HOT STUFF..."
but i cant stop wondering.... why no one was referring to it this days.. (its lost his charm?, audiophile keep looking for the new Hot stuff and moved on?)
i remember 8-15 years ago, EVERYONE talked about it and want one.. (maybe Mike-f "fault"?)
do you think it still can hold it own compering to a 10-30K phono stages of today? sound wise.... (now days his versatile nature seen with a lot of equipment not like it was 15 years ago)

its no secret that 10-15 years ago HIGH END audio was a lot less expensive... (relativity)
now days everyone are just get a high $$ price tag and trying to get the most attention
from the heavy buyers. no matter how good (or less) they are. and sending their equipment for a RAVE REVIEWS... across the web.

the steelhead still have the looks (for whom in to that industrial looks), versatility, design, etc like the best of today...

your thoughts?

I have not heard a system with one in it for quite some time. So I can't judge how it holds up to what's out there now.
It hasn't gotten worse, just a lot of the competition has gotten better. With so many more options (many for less money) that work really well, their share of the market can't be what it was before.
It is still one of the most versatile though, if using multiple arms/cartridges.

The Steelhead was Michael Fremer reference for years. It is now an Ypsilon I believe. One of our members recently had the Steelhead. He liked it, but complained it was a little noisy.

Buying a phonostage today is a tough one. There are so many great choices. I like the Steelhead, but I don't think it's one I would buy today. Decide first on tube vs solid state and then break it down by features - MC inputs, adjustable gain, maybe even adjustable RIAA curves (a rare one), etc. Having so many low output MC carts, I personally wouldn't get one without a max gain of 67-72db.

you are so right Mike, its a tough one now days..
i just sold my XP25 to a friend of mine... (may be i did me wrong) because i thought on buying a tube phono stage instead... due to my flip to a SS rig from a tube one... so adding some bloom was my thinking but not loosing in definition, texture or resolution.
one of my first "fling" was to get what i was always wanted! a Full Kondo phono stage with the silver core SUT... so i manage to get the SFz
and borrowed the Luxman eq500 (a Superb performance in its price tag!) to get from it a VERY quiet MM stage... (it is!)
all that to power up my Ortofon Anna...
but im a bit stuck... although this set i was manage to config in "no time" is a first class! (i think it plays better then my "old" pass xp25 now...) i can not wonder , where can i get with a $$$ tube phono behind the SFz.... (or maybe i don't need to... )
the Kondo M7, The real Kondo phono stage to get along with the SFz is E-X-P-E-N-S-I-V-E! (and of course with no versatility what so ever! = one mm input and that it!)

Kondo makes excellent gear, but its uber expensive. I had the Air Tight Phonostage and SUT and it was a wonderful combination. I recently heard a shootout with the new ARC REF3, Tenor and new McIntosh phonostage. The consensus was the ARC REF3 was just absolutely killer for the money. One can only imagine how the REF10 Phono sounds.

If I look at your system, I would agree that a tube phonostage is the way to go. It will add that tonality and sweetness.

What do your dealer(s) carry in Israel?

Regardless, pay special attention to the specs. So many tube phonostages have wimpy output levels (to keep the noise levels down).

ya, they are Uber expn'... and its will be blind purchase.
because no Dealer around. its a special import.

local dealers got lot of stuff (on paper) but almost nothing on site to demo.
the LAMM dealer got the cheep one with AT sut on hand (no AT phonos... ) and a Zesto 1.2
luxman\manley\brinkman dealer got the Luxman qe500 (that i borrowed.. ) and a few less $$ around to demo, but we way past them...

the AR\MAC\SONUS local dealer is a thief! every AR box are twice the US retail. he can go to hell with his retails.
they are not approaching audiophiles locally only big $$$$ projects dealing with interior designers and such.

SO... Virtually i can get almost what ever i want, but almost everything in here with that $$ level are blind.. no demo. you pay a bit less then retail and the dealer get you a box from fed ex.
CH\YPSILON\KONDO\VITUS = NO ISRAEL DEALER.