AXPONA 2025

Welcome to Part 2 of my AXPONA show report series. In addition to turntable debuts at AXPONA, some companies also introduced their new phono preamplifiers. Well, “new” is a relative term — “latest and greatest” might be more apt. And “latest and greatest” likely better applies to Manley’s most recent creation, the Manley Precision line and phono preamp.

MANLEY
I had the chance to speak with EveAnna Manley, president of Manley Laboratories, Inc., at AXPONA about the Precision line and phono preamp shown in AXPONA’s Ear Gear Experience area. Right off, Manley said she was excited to get it out of the lab at last, and into the real world. It’s been in development for more than five years, and Manley explained that the unit shown at AXPONA was a pre-production/late-stage prototype. It will be housed in the same chassis as the Manley Oasis phono preamp — which, as you can see in the photo at the very top of this story, was residing directly underneath the Precision unit — to match other components in the lineup.

The Precision model combines classic, old-school tube virtues with advanced technology and handy control options. Ten tubes are deployed in the all-tube design, including some 6922s and other common tube types. Each of the unit’s six inputs can be used either as a line-level or a phono input, depending upon the amount of gain the user selects for it. Those settings are always saved as presets.

Cartridge loading for MC carts can be set across a wide range to allow compatibility with almost any cartridge’s output. “You can set the loading for your cartridge anywhere from 30ohms to 960ohms in 30-ohm steps,” Manley told me. For MM carts, you can select 47kohm loading. You also adjust capacitance from 30pF to 480pF for those MM carts. Users can make these adjustments using the large knob on the front of the Precision that rotates multiple times, and responds to one, two, or three presses to move across and select settings.

Numerical values surround the dial. For cartridges with loading needs outside typical ranges, custom loading is possible via a pair of 8-pin dip sockets just inside the unit, into which users can install their favorite resistor or capacitor, or a combo of the two.

“It’s going to have an A/B comparative setting,” Manley said of the Precision. “So, you can sit in your listening chair and say, ‘Well, what is the difference of that loading from 400 ohms to 100 ohms?’ You can pre-set that up, and just A/B it via the web-based remote.”

The large knobs to control gain, loading, and capacitance settings, input selection, and volume control are digital encoders that feed a microprocessor rotation and position instructions to control the analog parameters, such as the ladder-stepped attenuator using interleaving relays, switching resistors, etc.

Everything you can adjust manually on the Precision faceplate — including inputs, loading, and balance — can also be controlled via a radio-frequency remote control. In a more modern approach, full control is available via a server-hosted solution rather than an app. The customized web-server-based control panel is accessible via any web browser, including via mobile devices. (Manley showed me her iPad control setup, as seen above.)

Manley also said the company is working on gathering and inputting loading presets for many popular cartridges into the web browser controls. She added that the feature would help with one of the most common questions that comes up: What are the loading recommendations for a given cartridge’s output? Of course, users can just check online for the maker’s info, but wouldn’t it be more convenient to have some choices pop up within a dropdown menu within the control panel?

“We could populate a big list of phono cartridges with the manufacturer’s recommended settings, and then they could just drop down, like, ‘Oh, there’s my Hana SL,’ and it just would automatically just go set it for them,” Manley explained. This feature is still in the works, and firmware updates will be available over the air.

When I asked Manley why she wanted all of these Precision elements designed this way, she replied, “Because I’m a nerd. I know all this stuff is possible.”

One of the analog sources in the Manley booth was a MoFi Electronics PrecisionDeck Fender turntable, seen above. The Manley Precision unit itself was shown (mostly) on passive display, so I can’t comment on its sound. That said, based on the sound quality of other Manley gear I’ve heard — and the raves from Ear Gear Experience attendees who stopped by to hear the Manley Absolute headphone amplifier, which speaks volumes! — it’s certain to impress.

Pricing for the Precision is TBD in light of prevailing current market conditions. Based on our conversations, Manley’s motto seemed to be: “Because we can do it, we’re going to do it.”

Part 3 of my AXPONA 2025 show report will be coming soon!

Author bio: Julie Mullins, a lifelong music lover and record collector since age 10 who takes after her audiophile father, is also a contributing editor and reviewer on our sister site, Stereophile, for whom she also writes the monthly Re-Tales column. A former fulltime staffer at Cincinnati’s long-running alt-weekly CityBeat, she programs and hosts a weekly radio show on WAIF called On the Pulse.

For our YouTube Short featuring cool gear from TEAC and Revox at AXPONA 2025, go here.

For Part 1 of Julie Mullins’ AXPONA 2025 show report, go here.

For Part 1 of AP editor Mike Mettler’s AXPONA: First Impressions series, go here.

For Part 2 of Mettler’s AXPONA: First Impressions series, go here.

For Part 3 of Mettler’s AXPONA: First Impressions series, go here.

For even more AXPONA 2025 coverage, go here on our sister site Stereophile.