Schiit Goes Analog with Mani Phono Preamp

October 20, 2014, Valencia, CA. Schiit Audio goes vinyl with the release of the all-new Mani phono preamplifier, the most flexible inexpensive phono preamp on the market. Offering an unprecedented 4 different gain levels to accommodate virtually any cartridge from moving coil to Decca, plus selectable loading, the Mani delivers highly accurate, low-noise performance for only $129. 

 

“With the recent resurgence of interest in vinyl, it makes sense to offer an affordable phono preamp that can handle pretty much any source,” said Mike Moffat, Co-Founder of Schiit Audio, and Mani's designer.

 

Mani features a fully passive RIAA network with two separately switchable gain blocks, for 30, 42, 48, and 59dB settings, which is more flexible than any other inexpensive phono preamp on the market. Separate, precision low-noise and low-distortion amplifier stages mean very high performance and a vanishingly low noise floor. High-output cartridges, even the renowned Deccas, are easily accommodated, as are other moving magnet, moving coil, and low-output moving coil cartridges. This allows someone to experiment with a wide range of cartridges to fit their needs.

 

"A lot of people ask me 'why is the father of audiophile digital moving into analog now?'" Mike continued. "The truth is, I never really left. People forget there was a Theta Electronics before Theta Digital, and I did a lot of work on tubes, and on phono preamps. Now, it makes sense to come back to it with a really affordable, flexible, and great-sounding product."

 

Like all Schiit products, Mani is made in the USA, with the vast majority of its total production cost going to companies manufacturing in the USA, and local assembly, testing, and support through Schiit’s Valencia, CA offices. 

 

Mani is Norse for the personification of the moon, and is available now on the schiit.com website for $129. 

 

Founded in June 2010 by audio industry “old dogs” Jason Stoddard and Mike Moffat, Schiit Audio has a simple, if somewhat insane, mission: to bring superior performance, design, and quality to audio products at near-Chinese prices, while manufacturing in the USA. Schiit has grown into a leader in the "personal audio" market, with a wide range of products spanning DACs, headphone amplifiers, and preamplifiers, from $99 to $1699. Schiit is also a leader in the direct sale of audio products, passing additional value along to the customer by foregoing the cost of traditional distribution networks.

 

Jason Stoddard was the former engineering lead at Sumo, designing power amps that included Polaris II, Polaris III, Andromeda III, Ulysses, Ulysses II, The Ten, The Five, as well as preamplifiers including Athena II, Diana, and Artemis, and Sumo’s first digital line: Axiom and Theorem.

 

Mike Moffat was the founder of Theta, Theta Digital, and Angstrom, and his audio history covers an impressive list of firsts, including the first standalone DAC, the Theta DSPre, the first use of digital signal processing and bit-perfect digital filter algorithms, the first DTS surround processor, and more.