Audiophilepure

Manley Labs Stingray II integrated amplifier

Its enthusiasm for vinyl doesn’t actually extend to sitting underneath a turntable, however; that caused mine to hum so I dropped the amp down a few shelves and all was well. Then it was possible to enjoy the fulsome bass of Conjure’s Untitled II [Music For The Texts Of Ishmael Reed, American Clavé] where the dynamics of the saxophone are spot on (at sensible levels) and the tune proves to be utterly charming. Ornette Coleman’s ‘Ramblin’’ [Change of the Century, Atlantic] also offers up a joyousness through blasting but not aggressive horns and fat double bass, the result being close to what they might have heard in the control room back in 1960 when this sort of tube technology was at its peak. The track reinforced the notion that the Stingray II is not an amplifier to sit in front of and stroke your beard but one for moving your body, or at least clicking your fingers (man).

It occurred to me that most of the music I had played through the Stingray II was not exactly power hungry so I dropped a few weighty tunes including contributions from Kraftwerk and Beck. These lacked a little in the low-end power department and anyone with a taste for visceral impact would be advised to get more sensitive speakers for the purpose, that would go a long way to delivering the required power

Comments are closed.