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Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier

Reference headphone amplifier

£5,799.00

Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier Black Angle
Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier £5,799.00

Absolute Headphone Amplifier

With over three years of development in its creation, Manley has drawn from its 30 years of experience in conceptualizing and developing each precise element of this multi-talented unit. This masterpiece embodies high-performance flexibility for every person to be able to custom compose sonic performance reliably, repeatedly, or even spontaneously. Artistic expression with sound!

There are fifteen independent controls available, each of which was exhaustively developed for convenient adjustability and aural variety. Two selectable stereo RCA jack pairs receive the input signals. Even these RCA jacks are of their own design. Teflon® insulated and gold plated, Manley has been producing these excellent RCA jacks since the mid-1990s. The volume is controlled on the facia by the front thumb-wheel and also by the included Radio Frequency remote control, both of which operate a precision stepped relay ladder matrix attenuator in half dB steps. The RF remote can be operated anywhere in the home, even through walls or cabinetry, especially useful when using the unit as a stand-alone preamplifier. Next to the front volume control wheel, you’ll find the Mute switch to instantly kill the signal. Spinning the volume wheel to its minimum also mutes the signal.

In case your source needs some correction or if your ears do not hear equally, Manley has included a Balance Control which can swing the signal up to 72dB either way. In its centre detent position, this special balance control is completely out of the circuit. Also to be able to execute some sonic authority over what is handed to you in a given recording; to personalise your headphone experience Manley has provided historically proven pleasing and gentle Tone Controls – and these Baxandall Bass and Treble equalizers can be completely bypassed at the push of a button. Try them! Manley thinks you really will enjoy having the choice to enliven and enrich your sonic experience.

Along those lines, the Variable Feedback control allows you to control the amount of overall negative feedback applied to the amplifier from 0dB, or no Global Negative Feedback, to 10dB of NFB. Negative Feedback in electronics is when a small portion of the output signal is re-introduced back to the input signal to provide a more stable and beneficial corrective result. This control is very useful when determining how “tight” you want your amplifier to sound. For example, a simple female vocal with minimal percussion can sound more intimate with very little feedback, but a complicated symphony orchestra passage may sound better positioned with more feedback.

The Absolute Headphone amplifier incorporates their own innovative purpose-designed-for-audio High Voltage switched-mode power supply. All super-low impedance DC rails are fully regulated and worlds quieter than any linear supply they have ever encountered. The resulting sound is fast and dynamic with a deep punchy bass, deadly-quiet inky blacks, and superior headroom.

The 6AQ5 or EL90 is the vacuum tube used in the output stage of the Absolute Headphone amplifier. It is well suited for the purposes in a headphone amplifier. The tube is configured as a triode due to the low power requirements needed for headphone use. This tube is widely available from well-known manufacturers such as RCA and GE. The tubes can be ordered as a matched quad and for ease of use, the tubes do not require biasing. Simply plug them in and forget ‘em!

With its universal power supply allowing it to operate anywhere in the world, robust build quality and breathtaking audio playback, the Absolute Headphone amplifier is at home absolutely anywhere; from a cosy listening room, to your bedside, on your office desk, or as a reliable workhorse in a professional recording studio. Conductive plastic pots and film caps are just some of the fine components utilized, proven over decades of loyal use. Manufactured completely to stringent standards in California, USA, crafted by hand, by American workers, the Manley Absolute Headphone Amplifier certainly makes for a formidable player in today’s headphone listening arena.

This very unusual and visually striking audio sculpture was brought to life by Manley’s team of engineers including Mitch Margolis – of Manley STEELHEAD fame – and our lead engineer Humberto Rodriguez, finalizing the amplifier and bringing it to life and into production – in America, of course!

Technical Specifications

  • Amplifier Topology: Triode Vacuum Tube Output Stage, Switchable Topology Single-Ended or Push-Pull
  • Vacuum Tubes: 2 x 12AX7 (ECC83), 4 x 6AQ5A (EL90)
  • Inputs: 2 x RCA (Input 1 & Preamp Output = Pass-Thru when amplifier is in Standby or Off)
  • Input Impedance: 50 kOhms (Pass-Thru= 300 kOhms)
  • Maximum Input Level: 7.7 VAC RMS (+20 dBu) (Conditions: XLR output, PP mode, 16 Ohm load, VOLUME max, EQ out, 1kHz sine wave)
  • Gain: Load 16 Ohm: 12 dB (Min FB), 3 dB (Max FB) | Load 62 Ohm: 17 dB (Min FB), 8 dB (Max FB) | Load 200 Ohm: 22 dB (Min FB), 13 dB (Max FB) (Conditions: XLR output, PP mode, VOLUME Max, EQ out, 1kHz sine wave)
  • Input Sensitivity: 600 mV AC RMS for an output of 100 mW | 1.9 VAC RMS for an output of 1W (Conditions: XLR output, PP mode, FB 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, 1kHz sine wave, VOLUME max, EQ out)
  • Volume Control: – Precision Stepped Relay Attenuator 0.5dB per step | – 63dB total attenuation – Volume setting to minimum = MUTE
  • Outputs (transformer coupled): 1 pair RCA- Unbalanced (Preamp Output) | 1 x TRS ¼” JACK – Unbalanced 1 x 4 PIN XLR- Balanced (XLR-pin outs – (Left Channel Pin 1= Signal (+), Pin 2= Signal (-), Right Channel Pin 3= Signal (+), Pin 4= Signal (-)))
  • Output Impedance: (Switchable:) Low 12-50 Ohm, Mid 50-200 Ohm, High 200-600 Ohms
  • Maximum Output Power = 1W into 12 Ohms BW 22Hz-22kHz
  • Variable Feedback Control (FB): MIN 0dB | MAX 10dB (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, 16 Ohm load, VOLUME max, EQ out)
  • Signal to Noise Ratio: 83 dB (1kHz sine wave, 100mW output, BW 22Hz-22kHz) (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, FB 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, VOLUME max, EQ out)
  • Noise Floor: -80 dBu BW 22Hz-22kHz | -85 dBu  A-Weighted (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, FB 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, VOLUME MAX, EQ out)
  • Channel Crosstalk: -71 dB (1kHz sine wave, 100mW output, BW 22Hz-22kHz) Left Channel | -72 dB (1kHz sine wave, 100mW output, BW 22Hz-22kHz) Right Channel (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, FB 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, EQ out)
  • Balance Control Channel attenuation: |Left Channel= 72dB (1kHz sine wave, 100mW output, BW 22Hz-22kHz) | Right Channel= 72dB (1kHz tone, 100mW output, BW 22Hz-22kHz) (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, FB Min, 16 Ohm load, EQ out)
  • Frequency Response: Push-Pull= Flat 10Hz – 20 kHz (-1dB @ 40 kHz) | Single-Ended= 20Hz – 20 kHz (-0.5dB @ 10Hz, -1dB @ 50 kHz) (Conditions: BAL output, 100mW output, FB @ 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, EQ out)
  • Distortion: Push-Pull= 0.16% THD+N (BW 20Hz-22kHz) | Single-Ended= 1.0% THD+N (BW 20Hz-22kHz)
  • (Conditions: BAL output, PP mode, 1 kHz sine, 100mW output, FB @ 12:00 o’clock, 16 Ohm load, EQ out)
  • Supplied with Remora RF remote control
  • Soft Start, 30 second mute-controlled power-up sequence
  • Operating Mains Voltage: 90-250 VAC, 50-60Hz, universal works worldwide
  • Unit Dimensions: 11.5 x 5.5 x 8.2” (LxWxH)
  • Unit Weight: 12 lbs
  • Shipping Weight = 13.5 lbs
  • Packing Carton Dimensions: 17 x 11 x 15”
  • Power consumption STANDBY mode = 0.5W, Max Power = 80W
  • Heat Rise above ambient temperature at rear panel: 25ºC or 44ºF
  • Heat Rise above ambient temperature at side panels: 15ºC or 26ºF
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