MANLEY LABORATORIES ABSOLUTE HEADPHONE AMPLIFIER
May 6, 2020 § Leave a comment
“Sonically the Manley Absolute can be anything from a push-pull amplifier with 0.16% THD to a single-ended amp with 1.0% THD. Also, you can add up to 10 dB of feedback. The sonic difference between the single-ended with no feedback and the push-pull with 10 dB of feedback is about as wide as the gap in opinions among audiophiles about the effects of cables on a system. But unlike polarized opinions, the Absolute offers you all the options in between its sonic extremes. Which setting did I find to be ‘the one?’ None, actually. Instead there was a range of settings that worked, depending on the music, the recording, and my own mood.
Generally, I found I needed to employ some feedback regardless of whether I was using the push-pull or the single-ended amplifier circuits. Without at least 4 dB of feedback the sound was a bit too ‘wild and wooly’ for my tastes. Conversely, above 8 dB of feedback the sound lost its immediacy and dynamic drive.”
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