Schiit Mani 2 Phono Preamp for MM, MC, and MI Cartridges (Black)

Noticeably quieter background blackness between notes. • Sharper stereo imaging with instruments more precisely placed. • More “sparkle” on top and solidity in the low end. • More “life” in recordings you already know well. Tighter, more controlled bass — kick drums and bass guitar have more definition instead of blending. • Clearer midrange — vocals step forward and separate better from instruments. Drums sit behind vocals center stage • Crisper highs without harshness — cymbals and guitar strings feel more “alive.” • Flexibility — multiple gain and loading options, so it works with a wider range of cartridges and lets you “dial in” the sound, but Once it’s set, you can forget it! (Note I found run 6db plus 6db (12 total) on the dip switches for filtering on my system using a subwoofer, best for tighter, more defined bass) • Overall presentation is more dynamic, lively, and spacious-the sound stage expands and is defined

The quality of this is unbelievable for the price and works wonderfully. Very easy to set up and connect to existing system. Sound quality definitely better than the built-in preamp of my integrated amplifier

Good quality, replaced a competing preamp and the sound was vastly improved! Great value. I’m an old guy just getting back into vinyl. Purchased a basic audio technica turntable and was impressed with the sound but wanted more. Upgrading the preamp and stylus and the sound improvement at each upgrade was like night and day. This preamp made a difference - I’m hooked-again!!

I purchased this phono preamp for use with a new turntable with a Nagaoka MP-110 cartridge. The previous preamp I used worked but lacked the sound I desired. The supplied manual was clear and concise and setup was very easy. The ultra quiet and clean, uncluttered appearance of the Schiit Mani 2 makes it an ideal match to my system restoring the missing clarity of sound of my record collection at a very reasonable price!

The Mani 2 is a substantial upgrade from your turntable's or receiver's built-in phono preamp. Frequency response and dynamic response were greatly enhanced, as well as stereo imaging compared to my turntables built-in preamp. Volume was boosted too. Dark Side of the Moon now sounds like surround sound, only using two speakers in stereo. Tool's Fear Inoculum is mesmerizing, sparkling and rich compared to the built-in preamp. I suspect part of Mani 2's secret is it's 16v power supply. It's large. It wouldn't fit in the power strip underneath my media cabinet. A true wallwart. This preamp is high gain and is susceptible to interference. I experienced noise at first using some cheap RCA's. (modem, wifi6 router, 800w receiver nearby) I had to rob some higher-end cables from my DAW... Problem solved. Noise gone. If you buy this, have high-end cables or buy some. I like the extreme power light. I can easily tell that it's on. I do not like the rear mounted power switch. It's a toggle switch which is nice but it's just bizarre they put it in the back. Lame. You'll need to place this device accordingly. The underside has lots of dip switches for people with 4 figure turntables or moving cartridges. If you have a regular turntable, you don't need to mess with any of that.

It’s a very good preamp. Surprisingly good. The noise floor was extremely low. No buzzing. Minimal hiss. Truly impressive. I’ve tried 4 other external preamps, one that cost 2k and the Mani is by far the quietest. Sound wise it’s really good. Low end is the highlight being very strong. Mids are where they should be and high end is on the tamer side. Build quality seems good. I like that there’s an on off switch and the size is good. So why didn’t I keep it? Well I can say I liked it better than a preamp that cost 2k and a couple other more expensive ones. However I don’t like it better than the preamp in my table which ironically is the cheapest out of them all. Compared to my table preamp it’s lacking some clarity and openness. Feels a bit blander and not as lively. I’d say it’s darker sounding. Some might call it warmer sounding. There’s definitely folks who would prefer this sound. I listen to mainly metal so I actually prefer a bit brighter and more open sound. Even though I didn’t keep it I’d recommend this preamp for sure. The almost zero noise at this price is insane. I think if you have brighter sounding speakers this might be a really good way to balance. My setup is pretty balanced so I found the preamp a touch too mellow for my tastes.

I had previously been running my Technics SL-1200MK2 (VMN40ML stylus) directly into a Yamaha R-N303, and this Schiit preamp beautifully transformed my system. The sound is clean, punchy, and detailed — bass tightened up, vocals came forward, and the overall balance feels lively yet natural. Simple setup, flexible gain options, and rock-solid build. It easily outperforms built-in phono stages — this little box has made my vinyl collection feel brand new again.

Sound quality is a very subjective thing. What sounds great to one person might sound bad to another and vice versa. My review of this product is based on my personal audio tastes and does not reflect the quality of the Schiit preamp. The build quality overall seems good, it's extremely low noise and low distortion, has appropriate gain for a MM cartridge turntable, a good set of features overall with configurable options, and sensible out of the box defaults. For context my setup is: Technics SL1210GR turntable running to the Schiitt Preamp, preamp running to a line level input of a Marantz PM7001 integrated amp. The amp is driving a pair of Revel Concerta F12 floor standing speakers and a Revel B120 powered sub. High quality interconnects and speaker cables throughout. Music styles include; country and classic rock played from good quality original pressing LP's or 180gm new release vinyl. To my ears the sound from this preamp is excessively bright, lacking in bottom end, and with a dry, "brittle" timbre that was completely lacking any tonal warmth. I found that at higher volume levels the music became uncomfortable and even annoying to listen to after only a short time. I swapped the Schiitt preamp out of the circuit and ran the turntable direct to the Phono input of the Marantz. The warmth and listenability of the music improved dramatically. The Phono preamp stage in an integrated amp such as the Marantz is generally considered ok but not great. I was expecting the Schiit Mani to be a step up over the inbuilt pre-amp but it was a step backwards to my ears. My next step is to introduce a vacuum tube based pre-amp between the turntable and line-level input of the Marantz such as the Pro-Ject Tube Box S2, or Vincent Pho to add the warmer tonal characteristics suited to my music style. It is possible that if your musical taste runs to dance, hip hop or electronic where a brighter, crisp tone works better, the Schiit Mani may be the preamp for you!