Manley 300B or Manley Steelhead


I just received my Manly Neo-Classic SE/PP 300B amps. Love them. Clearly a step up from my previous Rega Elicit integrated.

I am planning to purchase my preamp later this month. I am thinking of either a Manley 300B pre or a Manley Steelhead. I do listen to some vinyl but the majority of my listening is digital.

I guess I am asking: How good is the linestage of the Steelhead versus the 300b?

PMB
pmburnett
I ended up buying a Steelhead. It should ship out in the next day or so. I had ordered a 300B but decided I was going to have to buy a phono stage anyway, and so put the extra cash down for the Steelhead.

I will post an update once I get the unit. Should be fun to have $17K MSRP of preamp/amps with an $800 source (Debut III with Speedbox II, Acryl-It platter, and Ortofon Salsa cart).

I think we all know that a TT upgrade will be forthcoming.

PMB
The first thing I ran through mine was a cheap Pioneer DVDA player that has always sounded harsh. It sounded pretty sweet through the Steelhead, your Debut III probably will too. Enjoy.
Skipjack (cassette, reel to reel, DAC for both CD transport and MacBook), Steelhead (TT with MM carts) and Neo 250 mono blocks.

The finest system I have ever had by far and my final stop on the slippery slope. I feel zero inclination to make a change and experience the "ahhhhh" everytime I sit down to listen.  Going on 6 years now with no problems or issues.
Awesome setup @stevecham , you should start a Virtual System here to show it off! I’d love to hear a Steelhead someday.

But also, this be a 6-year old thread resurrection, and I can’t help but grin & grimace at the thought of the op’s poor Steelhead hooked up to a bloody Project Debut III! That table’s not even close to worthy of an $800 cartridge, much less an $8K phono stage. I hope the op fixed that mismatch quickly!