Manley Steelhead:  The Reviewers' Reference TAS 2004  Product of the Year Manley Steelhead 2004 Golden Ear Award Winner

Gorgeous! Manley STEELHEAD tour at 6moons.com 3/2006 Incredible! Manley STEELHEAD by Wayne Garcia of The Absolute Sound #151 1/2005 Best he's ever heard! Manley STEELHEAD from Ken Kessler of HIFI News 5/2004 Manley STEELHEAD from Postive Feeback magazine 1/2004 Rave! Manley STEELHEAD Scot Markwell TAS/AV Guide 1/2002 "This is the finest phono amplifier we have ever heard!" Read this review in German! Manley STEELHEAD Scot Markwell TAS/AV Guide 1/2002 Rave! Manley STEELHEAD Michael Fremer Stereophile 12/2001 "The Steelhead is the most flexible, user-friendly phono section I've ever encountered." "Overall, the Steelhead delivered the best vinyl playback I've heard from my system. It combined speed, frequency extension, resolution, harmonic structure, focus, air, stage depth, image specificity, and, most important, overall musical coherence in a way that made the music seem to fly from the speakers unrestrained by mechanical or electrical bounds." Vol. 12 No. 24 Read this review in German! Manley STEELHEAD Michael Fremer Stereophile 12/2001 Rave! Manley STEELHEAD Steven Rochlin EnjoytheMusic 4/2002 Manley STEELHEAD StereoTimes 12/2002 Manley STEELHEAD from The Inner Ear Report 12/2002 Manley STEELHEAD from Suono Magazine #352 2/2003 in Italian!   Lovely and extensive review from an end user on AA 7/2004

Note: The fancy power cord shown above was for photography only and is not the standard IEC power cord that comes with the unit. A nondescript power cord selected for the appropriate country the unit is shipped to comes with the Steelhead and every Manley product that plugs into the wall. We expect that most audiophiles throw away our "plain-jane" power cord and replace it with an overpriced audiophile mains cable. The gray captive umbilical cord that connects the power supply to the audio chassis is not shown in the picture above. You cannot replace that part anyway as it is married to the power supply. Only the mains IEC cable is upgradable and replaceable by the user.

Steelhead FAQ:  

FAQ #1: The Steelhead is unbalanced. Why can't I have balanced outputs?

Yes the Steelhead is entirely a single-ended design. The circuitry uses single-ended topology. In order to be able to provide balanced outputs we would have to convert the signal to balanced using something like some IC's or transformers. Both these options would add more "stuff" to the signal and be certainly audible detracting from the pure sound the Steelhead provides. If you are driving a balanced preamp or balanced amplifier with the Steelhead, check to see if you also have unbalanced inputs, change your cables and go with that. You might be pleasantly surprised that they too added extra audible "stuff" in order to provide balanced inputs and the RCAs that don't have that extra "stuff" in the signal path actually sound better. (Depends on a given unit's specific design.) Or use some RCA to XLR adaptors. Most balanced gear has no problem being driven single ended but check with the manufacturer if they are going to want the negative pin 3 of the XLR grounded or floating. Transformer-coupled XLR jacks always can be driven single-ended by running HOT into Pin 2 and grounding pin 3 to pin 1. Some IC coupled XLR inputs will want pin 3 floating, others will require it to be grounded when running single-ended into it. Check with the manufacturer of your gear to see how to hook it up single-ended.

FAQ #2: The MM circuitry by-passes the auto-transformers?

Yes it does. MM comes in AFTER the autoformers.

FAQ #3 Why are there three ground connectors? Does the user have to connect the
bridged one or not?

There are two ground points available (circuit ground and chassis ground) and there is a 3rd big gold chassis ground connector there for flexibility. In my system I do leave the chassis ground hooked up to the circuit ground (I do keep the link hooked up between the little green and black binding posts). And that link should normally be left connected. But sometimes, in some systems, for troubleshooting system humming it is handy to be able to isolate different ground points and play around with things. 

The BIG gold binding post is another CHASSIS ground. It certainly is convenient having another free chassis ground access for grounding my tonearm, motor housing, and spindle, for example.
 
Experiment and play around. There is no right or wrong to how lowest noise levels get achieved except whatever configuration gets the hum and buzzes level in your system down the most is what is right.

I have a TNT HR-X at home and had to run a ground from the TT spindle to a screw on the top of the motor housing to quiet a buzz. The other ground goes from the TT arm-ground to The Steelhead's big gold ground post. In addition I also had to run a ground link from my WAVE preamp to the Steelhead.

I found the best grounding path for my whole system by experimenting first with the mains 3-prong grounds using cheater plugs to kill off system hum, then I used clip leads (or bare wire) to touch between different elements in my system to find out who wanted to be grounded to whom and kill out the buzzes.

Every system is different. Every room is different. Every piece of gear in your system can influence system noise levels, so always explore grounding options whenever you add anything into your system, yes, even changing cables...

Keep playing with those grounds, especially the 3rd pin mains grounds (earth). Usually your system will only want ONE piece of gear grounded into the wall or else you'll have ground loops.

Simplify the system to test. Unplug everything and try just one TT/arm, Steelhead, to amps. Check your hum level. Then add more gear in, listen to hum each time. Experiment with additional ground wires between chassis and CD player. Only
make one change at a time and you will find the quietest solution for your system.

FAQ #4: Why did you decide to have a DIN input for the second MC on the older Steelhead's? Are there any
other differences between the two MC inputs? I see they are both RCA jacks on the Version 2 Steelheads.

There are no differences between the DIN and the RCA MC's except I love to
see the negative side of a cartridge lead NOT carried along the shield of an
RCA! The DIN connector offered a tasty way to avoid that, but since NOBODY
took advantage of that feature, in the Version 2 units we scrapped
the DIN and just provides a second set of MC RCA's since that's what everybody wanted.

FAQ#5: What are those two little boards between the tubes board and the front panel?

They hold the RIAA EQ circuitry which is calibrated and adjusted for nearly
perfect matching.

FAQ#6: I heard from a dealer that the Steelhead's loading switching adds all kinds of crap to the circuit and I should buy this other preamp that doesn't have all the switching. Is that true?

That is total BULLSHIT and stupid rumour mongering put out there by the dealer trying to sell you the other thing he has in stock instead. The switching is all done on sealed gold contact Grayhill switches, located right where the switching is being done. We use those long shafts from the faceplate back to where the loading is done so the signal isn't traveling for long distances on the PCB. It is passive switching of taps on the autoformer for the MC loading, resistors for the MM impedance loading, and capacitors for the capacitive loading. The inherent total input capacitance in the Steelhead, including its internal wiring is less than a paltry 40 picofarads, much less than your interconnects probably are, not that most wire manufacturers could actually tell you what the capacitance per foot of their wire actually is.

We chose the internal hookup wire that we use inside the Steelhead after receiving many samples of quite a few high end cables and measuring them. We chose the one with the least capacitance per foot that we could find, 8pF per foot if memory serves me right. That is LOW. You wouldn't believe how high some audiophile cables go. No wonder they sound "euphoric"...

Read the Owner's Manual where this topic is discussed in greater detail. And just listen to these preamps yourself to make the right decision over believing everything or anything some salesman might tell you. Uhm, and especially when the salesman is not even a Manley dealer! Duh!

FAQ #7 Why did you decide to have the "sum" switch active only on the variable output? 
I feel it works MUCH better than a normal "mono" switch on a preamp...

There is a good answer for this: the signal between the RIAA and the first
white follower FIXED output is direct coupled and does NOT have a DC
blocking capacitor in the way. There is many volts of DC there and so you
cannot do the mono of the audio there. The DC gets blocked off by the
MutiCaps to go into the volume control and then into the second white
follower for the Variable output. It is at the DC-free point near the volume
control that we can and do perform the SUM function. 

FAQ #8 What's the deal with the new LINE input? Do I also need another preamp?  

On the Version 2 Steelheads, which is what ships now, there is a LINE input. 
So yes, you can run 2 channels of SACD, CD, TUNER, TAPE, audio output from your TV, 
or whatever line source into it. That's 2 channels meaning one source LEFT and RIGHT. 

You can even run another preamplifier's outputs into it. So when you hit that LINE 
button, you are selecting either the phono stage output in the Steelhead (same as FIXED OUT)
or whatever is plugged into the LINE input. From there it goes to volume
control and then a high current low impedance vacuum tube White Follower
output, the VARIABLE OUTS. That Steelhead driving amps direct is the total
killer setup.

The VARIABLE OUTPUT is the common thing here. The Variable Output
consists of the Noble volume control and great sounding tube White Follower
high current low impedance output stage. I think this output stage sounds
awesome. It's my fave. We use this same stage in a lot of our products. No
whimpy plain-jane high output impedance cathode follower. This is a White
Follower we're talking about!

The LINE button is selecting whether you are listening to the phono section
of the Steelhead or your LINE input to drive the volume control and White
Follower Variable output. I don't let anything get in between this Variable
Output and my amplifiers. (Except the cables...)

You would only need another line preamp if you *need* more gain. With most
digital DAC/CD/SACD players' outputs being 2V and up, and with all the gain
available in the Steelhead, unless you have very insensitive amplifiers driving very
insensitive speakers, you have more than enough gain already to drive most 
amplifiers to full power, so the last thing you need is more gain. 
What you really need is attenuation, which is what a volume control is. See? 
It's a novel concept that I am surprised no one else has copped onto yet.

Soooooooooooooo....... if you don't need more gain, and you just need more LINE
inputs, get a Manley SKIPJACK to add more LINE inputs into your Steelhead!

FAQ#8a Can you please expand upon this LINE input subject and the GAIN issue?
My [other] preamp is "louder" that this cool Steelhead setup you described above.  

OK. You asked for it:
Discussion of the LINE input and LEVELS in general:

Note: If your XLR's out of your CD/DVD/SACD player are balanced, they could be
 6dB more level than the unbalanced RCA outputs. This is the nature of
balanced vs. unbalanced. This would "sound just a little less than twice as loud". 
Right there.

Then of course your line preamplifier you are feeding from your CD/DVD/SACD
XLR's has "X" amount of gain. "Unity Gain" on that piece could be anywhere
on the volume control, depending on the design of that piece.

The Steelhead's UNbalanced LINE input goes into the Volume Control and then
it goes through the White Follower Output Buffer and then it goes out by the
RCA UNbalanced Variable Outputs. The White Follower has about -0.9 dB (-5%) of gain. 
Thus with volume full up/open there will be a -0.9 dB reduction in gain of the
signal. 0dB of Gain would be "Unity Gain". -0.9 dB reduction is very very
close to Unity Gain, in fact most people would not be able to hear a -0.9 dB
of gain difference, so for all intents and purposes, just call "Unity Gain"
for the LINE input on the Steelhead to be with the volume control fully open
all the way. The Steelhead will not ever amplify the voltage of the LINE signal feeding it.
The Volume control will only attenuate the signal as you turn it down from
full up.

Please read FAQ#6414 on our FAQ page concerning volume controls and
how you should not be concerned about where the pointer is sitting.
Go read that FAQ#6414 on our FAQ page and then come back and continue here....

So of course the 6dB louder balanced XLR send feeding your "gain-y" other
line preamp will "be louder" in comparison to the Steelhead.

There are several factors about whether you have enough gain in your whole
system to be able to use the outputs from the Steelhead directly into your
amps:

Output level of cartridge? (affects phono only)
Gain setting on Steelhead 50, 55, 60, or 65dB? (affects phono only)
MC or MM and what loading with what cartridge?
Output level of CD/DVD/SACD player?
Balanced or UNbalanced?
Where do you have the Steelhead volume control?
Input sensitivity of amplifiers?
Efficiency of loudspeakers?
Room size?
Expected listening volume?
Various levels recorded to the record/CD/DVD/SACD you are listening to?
Various amounts of limiting and/or compression applied during mastering to
the record/CD/DVD/SACD  you are listening to?

There are also some other factors, but we'll just stick with these ones for now.

If the following is going on:
LOW Output level of cartridge for example 0.2mV (affects phono only)
50dB Gain setting on Steelhead (affects phono only)
Resistive Overloading cartridge going into MM input (throwing away volts right there by mis-match). (affects phono only)
LOW Output level of CD/DVD/SACD  player for example 2V DFS
UNBALANCED (by nature of the Steelhead)
10 o' clock on the Steelhead volume control (because you have a fear of going past 11).
LOW Input sensitivity of amplifiers for example 3V
LOW Efficiency of loudspeakers for example 84dB
BIG Room size for example 25 x 30 x 14
POUNDING Expected listening volume for example 120dB
LOW levels recorded to the record/CD/DVD/SACD you are listening to
NOT A LOT of limiting and/or compression applied during mastering to the record/CD/DVD/SACD you are listening to.

Then it might be possible you need more gain in the system, like a line
preamp following the Steelhead with 15 to 20 dB of gain. Or you might just
get by with the Steelhead running his volume control at 3 to 5 o'clock and
not worry about blowing anything up because you read that FAQ#6414. That is,
if the final listening level is loud enough for you. All this can be
calculated, but I'm not going to do bunches of math for you right now.

If the following is going on:
DECENT Output level of cartridge for example 0.7mV (affects phono only)
65dB Gain setting on Steelhead (affects phono only)
Resistive Overloading cartridge going into MM input (throwing away volts
right there by mis-match). (affects phono only)
UNBALANCED (by nature of the Steelhead)
3 o' clock on the Steelhead volume control (because you have no more fear
about where the volume control sits because now you have read FAQ#6414).
HIGH Output level of CD/DVD/SACD  player for example 6V DFS
HIGH Input sensitivity of amplifiers for example 0.775V
HIGH Efficiency of loudspeakers for example 100dB
TINY Room size for example 10 x 12
LOW Expected listening volume for example 85dB
HOT levels recorded to the record/CD/DVD/SACD
A TON of limiting and/or compression applied during mastering to the record/CD/DVD/SACD

Then, without running all the calculations, I would bet your volume control
would be barely cracked open, like at 9 o'clock, under that scenario, and
your ears would be bleeding.

So now that I have explained all this to you, it will be up to you to
understand your system gain properties and see if you will have enough gain
to not have to use your LINE preamp between the Steelhead and the amps.

Another option of course, if you only need more gain for your CD/DVD/SACD player
but you are OK with the phono levels when you are running the Steelhead
straight into your amps, is you can run your SACD player into your "other"
line preamplifier, and then run the output of that into the Steelhead's LINE
input. Try it.

Again, you will not blow anything up. Please feel free to try different
things and see what works for you. And remember, if you change any one of
those 12 factors I outlined for you, then everything changes....

FAQ #9 How do I know which version Steelhead I have?  

Version 1 was the first version. It has FOUR pushbuttons on the front: MUTE, DIM, SUM, STANDBY. 

Version 1.5 has the LINE input mod. This was done by stealing the DIM relays and reallocating them to select LINE or RIAA. It has FOUR pushbuttons on the front: MUTE, LINE, SUM, STANDBY.

Version 2 has the LINE input built in as standard with DIM function retained. 
It has FIVE pushbuttons on the front: MUTE, LINE, DIM, SUM, SLEEP. 

FAQ #9a Can I update my Version 1 or 1.5 to Version 2?

We can modify your Version 1 Steelhead to Version 1.5 for $500 USD. We cannot mod your Version 1 or 1.5 Steelhead to Version 2. Different boards, different chassis to accommodate the new switches and stuff. 

Above: Version 1.5 Steelhead (4 buttons with line input instead of DIM)

 

Above: Version 1 Steelhead (4 buttons with DIM button but no line input)

 
24K Gold Plated Version no longer available by special order.
So don't ask. Ain't gonna happen! We are done with the gold thing.

FAQ#10 How do I hook up the Steelhead?

Start with this simple drawing. I drew it out especially for a rock star. Click to enlarge.

FAQ#10a I need more LINE inputs. How do I do that?

Get a Manley SKIPJACK!

FAQ#10b Can I use a Manley SKIPJACK to work as a TAPE LOOP so I can record my vinyls and CDs?

Yes you can. Check out the drawing on the Manley SKIPJACK page!

 FAQ #11: What about the two sets of Variable Output RCAs? Are they the same thing?

There are no differences between the two Variable Output RCA jacks. They are both hooked up to the same point. Having two sets of jacks lets you bi-amp or drive two systems without having to use those cheapo "Y" adaptors. 

FAQ#11a You ship the Version 2 Steelheads wired with 2 x Variable Outputs and 1 x Fixed outs. 
I need to have 2 x Fixed outs. How do I do this?

There are 3 sets of stereo outputs on the Steelheads. 1 x FIXED outs which
come after the first white follower output buffer but before the volume
control. Then there are 2 sets of variable outs which are the same thing;
coming off the volume control and second white follower buffer.

So the signal flow goes:
phono stage-->Fixed output-->volume control-->Vari Out x2
                       |                        |
                     mute     Line In-DIM-SUM

I recommend to use the 2 sets of Variable outputs to drive your two systems.
If you are driving additional preamps, just set the Steelhead's V/C up
pretty high or even all the way up. Yes, you are going through the V/C and
an additional White Follower, so you would have to see if you can "hear"
this or not really...

You *can* rewire one of the Variable Outs to be another Fixed out if you
wish. If you open up your Steelhead, you can easily see the jumper
arrangement on the back boards, right behind those output jacks. You would
need to remove the clear signal jumper and the buss wire ground wire going
from the Variable out on top to the middle jack and instead bring up those
two connections from the lower Fixed jack to the middle jack instead to
reallocate what the middle jack is getting fed with, the Fixed or the
Variable Out. If you can solder, or have a friend who does, you can do this.
It is a very simple 5 minute job.

FAQ#12 The FIXED OUTPUTS are not working. I can't hear my CD player that I have plugged into the LINE input through them. Are the FIXED OUTPUTS broken?

The FIXED OUTPUTS only play the Steelhead's phono stage. The LINE INPUTS only work with the VARIABLE OUTPUTS. 

FAQ#13 Can I use those 6N1P russian "super" tubes?

No. There is not enough amperage available in the heater regulator for those tubes and we can't use the 2A regulator cuz the protection circuitry in it latches up. Also, it may change the operating point and require a re-cal. Stick with 6922 or 6DJ8 types please. That's what we designed the unit around.

FAQ#13a Can I replace the 6922's in the Steelhead for NOS Mullard ECC189/6ES8?

No.You can use 6DJ8, E88CC, or 6922 types. Or just trust us that we selected super quiet 6922's for you when we shipped the unit.

FAQ #13b: What's the difference between a 5687 and 7044?  

The 7044 is used in the White Follower output stage, and honestly there's really no difference between the NOS GE 7044 and NOS 5687 in this specific circuit. The gain is less than 1, (0.9 actually) and rolling tubes here has minimal effect on the sound, if any.

FAQ #33 1/3: Would you trust a guy who looked like this to align your turntable?   You bet I would!  Go order Michael Fremer's Practical Guide to Turntable Set-up DVD!  You get over three hours of Mikey teaching you how to set up your vinyl rig and so much more (hair). Nobody who owns a turntable should be without this DVD. Mikey makes it all easy and fun!

Happy vinyl fanatics Michael Fremer, EveAnna Manley, and Stan "half-speed" Ricker at CES 2002

In the news: RIAA BREAKTHROUGH

 Music Industry Unveils New Piracy-Proof Format:

 A Black, Plastic Disc With Grooves On It

 Music bosses have unveiled a revolutionary new recording format that
 they hope will help win the war on illegal file sharing which is
 thought to be costing the industry millions of dollars in lost
 revenue.  Nicknamed the 'Record', the new format takes the form of a
 black, vinyl disc measuring 12 inches in diameter, which must be
 played on a specially designed turntable'.

 "We can state with absolute certainty that no computer in the world
 can access the data on this disc," said spokesman Brett Campbell. "We
 are also confident that no-one is going to be able to produce pirate
 copies in this format without going to a heck of a lot of trouble.
 This is without doubt the best anti-piracy invention the music
 industry has ever seen."

 As part of the invention's rigorous testing process,the designers gave
 some discs to a group of teenage computer experts who regularly use
 file swapping software such as Limewire and gnutella and who admit to
 pirating music CDs. Despite several days of trying, none of them were
 able to hack into the disc's code or access any of the music files
 contained within it.

 "It's like, really big and stuff," said Doug Flamboise, one of the
 testers.

 "I couldn't get it into any of my drives. I mean, what format is it?
 Is it, like, from France or something?"

 Invention: Teenage computer hackers struggled to access the new disc.

 In the new format, raw audio data in the form of music is encoded by
 physically etching grooves onto the vinyl disc. The sound is thus
 translated into variations on the disc's surface in a process that
 industry insiders are describing as 'completely revolutionary' and
 'stunningly clever.'             

 To decode the data stored on the disc, the listener must use a special
 player which contains a 'needle' that runs along the grooves on the
 record surface, reading the indentations and transforming the
 movements back into audio that can be fed through loudspeakers.

 Even Shawn Fanning, the man who invented Napster, admits the new
 format will make file swapping much more difficult. "I've never seen
 anything like this," he told reporters. "How does it work?"

 Pirates: Their days are numbered.

 As rumours that a Taiwanese company has been secretly developing a 12
 inch wide, turntable-driven, needle-based, firewire drive remain
 unconfirmed, it would appear that the music industry may, at last,
 have found the pirate-proof format it has long been searching for.

Whose cat is this?

Hint: My dog hates cats. I don't have any cats. 
Last time I saw a cat that looked like this one in my yard, it was trying to escape the clenched jaws of my dog.
(It did. Don't worry.) So, no, this is not my cat. This cat does not live in California.

So whose cat is it? The winner of the "Guess Whose This Cat Is Contest" is

Jeffrey Kane !!!!!!!!!

Congratulations for correctly guessing that it is Michael Fremer's cat!

Get a detailed circuitry tour of The Steelhead!

STEELHEAD^® is a registered trademark of Manley Laboratories, Inc.