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Schiit MANI 2 Zero Zone Power Linear Supply Review
Рет қаралды 8,431
2 жыл бұрынDoes the Zero Zone Linear Power Supply Make the Schiit Mani 2 sound better? Let's find out!
Link to the power supply: tinyurl.com/57...
Gear used:
VPI Scout turntable
Denon DL-301MKII
Raven Nighthawk MKII
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@4vinylsound Жыл бұрын
Currently the mani 2 is $200 that power supply plus the cable you're looking at probably 250 to 300 total Max. wouldn't it be better just to spend 500 and get the project tube Box S2 Instead?
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
I think the Mani 2 sounds better for MC than the Tube Box.
@NickP333 2 ай бұрын
Hey Martin. I’m about 2 yrs late to this party, but I’ll add my 2 cents. The Mani takes an AC external PSU, and the linear supply is inside the box. I haven’t looked into it, but if the Zen takes a DC PSU, adding an external linear power supply could make more of a difference. Just a thought….🤷♂️
@6AM_YT Ай бұрын
I think the iFi Zen runs at 5 volts and .5 amps, which means you can run it off a USB C battery.
@juliancrun 2 жыл бұрын
I have the same configuration with the Mani and the Ifi Zen, and there is a difference. With the Nagaoka MP110, MM, better Mani with Linear Power Supply. And with the Hana EL, MC, better the Ifi Zen with Linear Power Supply. It is important not to place the Linear Power Supply near the phono due to electromagnetic interference. Greetings from A Coruña, Galicia, Spain.
@davidhalliday7776 Жыл бұрын
It is probably worth pointing out that the quality of your house power and other items running in your house may affect the benefits of switching to the Linear PSU (yes, it is a Linear PSU. That is a circuit type with nothing to do with the quality of the output) from a Switched Mode (the other wall wart). For example, try the comparison again while running the microwave and washing machine. If both are a good version of their type, it may still not make a hoot of a difference, but it may. It is also possible the Linear supply could handle it less well. The only way to know it to give it a try.
@frankgeeraerts6243 Жыл бұрын
AS far as I CAN see ...............this is a linear power supply ...........( sorry is wrote the wrong coment before )
@davidhalliday7776 Жыл бұрын
@@frankgeeraerts6243 Actually I stand corrected. I did not notice before (after a very long post on Linear PSU) this is an AC to AC power supply, its a basic AC step down. Linear supplies are AC -> DC. ZeroZone does make a very similar looking supply that is based on Sigma22 circuit that is a Linear supply but this is not it.
@frankgeeraerts6243 Жыл бұрын
@@davidhalliday7776 Yes , I wrote it wrongly ........I ment the opposite .
@diamondintheback1970 2 жыл бұрын
With an MM cart I too couldn’t really hear a difference using Zerozone (vs the standard power supply). With the old Mani, the improvement was definitely noticeable - I’d say 20% better with the Zerozone. Comparing Mani 2 to the old Mani + zerozone, it’s still worth the $150 to upgrade. Mani 2 sounds better with my current setup and opens up opportunities to try MC carts in the future.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
I need to revisit the Mani 2 with the power supply upgrade again, soon.
@VinylRescue 2 жыл бұрын
Maybe you heard a difference for the better after getting it more broke in?? They always say you should break in a new electronic component just like breaking in a new cartridge. I have two Schiit Manis so I find this interesting, but I don't think I could justify the extra expense for the little sound improvement. Thanks for the review!
@jeremyr722 2 жыл бұрын
I’ve heard nothin but good things about that iFi zen, I’ll be interested to see what ya think of it
@deanvandyke6445 2 жыл бұрын
I have the iFi Zen and just got the Mani 2. The Mani 2 blows it away. No question.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
@@deanvandyke6445 I should have my take on it in a few days. We'll see if I agree. It would be nice since the Mani 2 is $50 cheaper.
@AllboroLCD 2 жыл бұрын
A good PSU does make a difference, you dont have the full picture yet. Def burn it in a bit more, and try some solid state amplification! Give headphones a shot too.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
I was going to revisit it and see if I notice more of a difference now that I've given it a longer break in time.
@mostirreverent Жыл бұрын
I was thinking about getting one for my moon phono preamp. Hell, I like it just for the on off switch. I already have a good cartridge and cables
@EsotericArctos Жыл бұрын
Having a quick look over the inside of this it looks like it could be linear, though it seems more likely it is some kind of hybrid power supply. That said, it will be better than the wall wart the Many comes with. The output looks very well filtered which means it should be a nice clean power supply for the Mani 2. A clean power supply can make a decent difference to background noise, depending on your setup. Anything outside of background noise and hum reduction is plecebo though. It wont clarify mids are brighten highs.
@frankgeeraerts6243 Жыл бұрын
Indeed , kit si a AC transformer power supply with build in a netfilter to clean up the AC mains...........nothing to sdo with a hybrid for what that's worth in terms of power supply ??? either DC or AC ............a real hybrid is solid state diodes mixed with tube rectification ........and that's a rectification technique that exists !
@curtmurray6085 Жыл бұрын
I have the original Mani loved it except for the pink noise it would produce when a record wasn't playing. I ordered the Mani 2 and was disappointed that it also produce a pink noise (a little lower than the original), however I'm blown away with the sound quality of the Mani 2 vs original, it is a night and day difference. My question to you is would buying a zero zone power supply help alleviate my pink noise issue? or would it be a waste of money? Any help would be greatly appreciated.
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
I actually found both to be rather quiet. It's hard for me to say if this would help. My gut feeling is that it wouldn't. I would guess that there's something else in your environment causing the issue.
@curtmurray6085 Жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT Thank you
@DavidParker-jr5bd 7 ай бұрын
Perhaps a set of better (properly shielded) cables between TT and Mani2 might be the ticket.
@chrisvaughan159 Жыл бұрын
You know, I tried a Mani 2 as it came. It returned horrendous noise when connected in MC mode to my valve front end. Perhaps I needed this so it would actually work with my front end......
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
What is the tube preamp that was causing you grief?
@chrisvaughan159 Жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT It;s a kit from HiFi world magazine. I tried replacing the valve phono stage with the mani2 - the idea was to get rid of the step up transformers. (the World Audio Design phono stage is designed for MM with step-ups for MC input) I assume that the mani2 didn't like working into the I/P impedance of the line stage. Incidentally, I had the same issue with the iFi unit. The common feature was the "wall wart" PSU. I'm thinking that AC noise artefacts were allowed through. Hence my wondering if an enhanced PSU would have been beneficial. The Mani2 (& ifi although different) did seem to lift a veil which I put down to the transformers - or maybe just wishful thinking? But I couldn't put up with the noise I'm afraid.
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
@@chrisvaughan159 that sounds really odd. You were plugging into a line level input and not the phono input, right?
@chrisvaughan159 Жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT Of course. As I said it seemed to be psu noise. Very HF harmonics.
@lwdp74 10 ай бұрын
Listening for instant gratification may not work. Listen with each for an evening of your favourite music and see if one is less fatiguing, easier to enjoy.
@jasonmehlhoff8877 2 жыл бұрын
Thanks! Do you have a link to this power supply?
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Added a link in the description!
@gster109 2 жыл бұрын
Do you know if itll work with a magni heresy? They only advertise it for the magni 3
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
It it uses the standard Schiit 16v power supply, it will work.
@gster109 2 жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT thanks for the reply. Are you positive? I saw that the heresy and regular magni have “u” differences? The heresy has 2200 while the regular magni is lower?
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
If I were you I would email Schitt and ask if they both use the same power supply. That will definitively answer your question. Anything else is speculation.
@frankgeeraerts6243 Жыл бұрын
NO DC power supply ........................looks like an AC power supply with HF filtering .........
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
What does that mean to stupid people like me?
@frankgeeraerts6243 Жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT Well , it is simply a transformer step down with a high frequency filter ( RFI - EMI ) ..you can buy and use them separatly from a company like Shaffner ....
@munlive5130 2 жыл бұрын
Can I use this power to Shiit Loki mini + & Magni Heresy? They need 16 VAC
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Should work fine!
@munlive5130 2 жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT Just one more question. ifi iPower X (15v) can be used to Mani?
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
@@munlive5130 I wouldn't use that.
@marktracy4586 2 жыл бұрын
I have the Mani also but I bought a Swagman Labs LPS. Gave it a few days of power to burn in and the difference in the Mani was major. A LPS does make a difference it needs to burn in. I also have a Zero Zone LPS but its on a Cavalli headphone amp, it also got a little more punchy and smooth.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Maybe that's why it sounded better when I tested it again. Maybe I'll continue to use it and see if it sounds better.
@marktracy4586 2 жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT good luck my man. I also changed the lead cable with a better one made with Canare4s6 cable and Oyaide connectors from GhentAudio.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Did that help at all?
@marktracy4586 2 жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT It seemed to help out some. Not a big difference. But all this was with a Mani MK1 so maybe the Mani 2 is better made.
@pedalsquad4090 Жыл бұрын
If you really want a substantial step up try a 18V DC sBooster. It costs more than the Mani, but what a difference. Bought a Mani with a lineair AC PSU but had some experience with Booster PSU's. Tried it with and old SBooster I already owned and was overwhelmed. Mani + Booster outperformed my customize phono preamp (costing €1200,- custom build and upgraded PSU capacitors, transformer and replaced opamps with Burson opamps).
@thinkIndependent2024 11 ай бұрын
Yep that is not a Linear maybe Low Noise But you build a Linear for about $30.00 Yes a proper linear based power will sound better,,, can add $5-10 part to that ZeroZone and make it a high-end true low noises
@6AM_YT 11 ай бұрын
What part is that?
@thinkIndependent2024 11 ай бұрын
@@6AM_YTDIANN 2pcs AC/DC From Amazon you will need to adjust it but it kills the noise by 80db and can fit inside that box , I use it on my DACs _ Steamers+Tube PreAmp verified with my Oscilloscope no noise
@bradmartin9532 2 жыл бұрын
How is the power supply with an original Mani?
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
The original Mani and the Mani 2 uses the same wall wart power supply.
@bradmartin9532 2 жыл бұрын
Just wondering if the power supply improves the sound more with the Mani than. It does with the Mani 2
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
@@bradmartin9532 I thought the same thing.
@bobjohnson6217 2 жыл бұрын
Electronical?
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Hey, man... talking is hard.
@petercraig389 2 жыл бұрын
Takes a few hundred hours to burn in a linear power supply.
@6AM_YT 2 жыл бұрын
Is that real or just a thing people say?
@gezaambrus806 2 ай бұрын
Is not linear !
@user-ry8lo1dy5c Жыл бұрын
你这个线性电源不好 电容器的容量太低了 线性电源的特点是波纹噪音低 但是要有好声音还得有能储存大电流的电容器 你应该买BEZHIFI的产品 我觉得那个更好。高质量的线性电源对声音的影响是正面的。温暖 丰满细腻的声音
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
感谢您的信息。 听起来很有趣。
@user-ry8lo1dy5c Жыл бұрын
@@6AM_YT 另外我跟你分享一件更有趣的事情。我在amazon买了一个audio-technica AT-XP5唱头 它的声音非常浑厚丰满并且声音大。之后我又买了一个配合它的手写笔 AT-XPN5 然而声音却不一样 没有那么浑厚丰满，我就又买了一个结果一样。我看了下AT-XP5的生产日期2020年，AT-XPN5的生产日期是2022年 它们之间的差异非常大 你可以试试。另外AT-XP7的效果非常好 浑厚 自然 温暖 高分析力
@6AM_YT Жыл бұрын
@@user-ry8lo1dy5c 所以，很明显，他们改变了制作手写笔的方式。似乎大多数事情都会随着时间变得更糟！