Specifications

22 | Australian Hi-Fi
(voltmeter). Now I can understand why
Manley wouldn’t supply a multimeter,
even though you’ll be able to pick a
suitable one up at a Dick Smith or Jaycar
store for less than $10, but why it couldn’t
supply the screwdriver is completely
beyond me. Buy a screwdriver from Dick
Smith or Jaycar while you’re there buying
your multimeter, and make sure you get a
screwdriver that’s insulated right the way
down the shaft to the tip, and has at least
a 1000-volt insulation rating. Buy just the
one screwdriver and you’ll be up for the
princely sum of $3.95 according to the
2006 Jaycar catalogue. I’d recommend you
instead lash out, hock the farm and buy a
nice 7-piece insulated screwdriver set in a
plastic hard case. RRP? $19.95!
Not surprisingly there is no remote
control, but I was a little surprised to find
there isn’t a headphone output either.
There wasn’t a record loop on my
Stingray, but Manley has recently
addressed this oversight. In fact the
models now available not only have record
loops, but also subwoofer outputs! The
subwoofer outputs come after the volume
control so that the subwoofer volume
tracks the volume of your main speakers.
The record loop can be made active or
bypassed by means of a toggle switch.
Manley has also introduced an optional
‘Skipjack’ input extender which, if inserted
in the record loop, effectively adds a
further four inputs to the Stingray, for a
total of eight inputs. As with the triode
upgrade, older Stingrays can be retrofitted
with record loops and subwoofer outputs.
It’s a fairly simple upgrade, because the
additions are entirely passive, involving no
active electronics: not even buffers. This
means, for example, that the ‘Record Out’
is simply paralleled off the input selector
switch, so whatever source is selected is
passed through to the ‘Record Out.’ The
most important point to note about this
method of providing the feature is that
unlike most ‘Record Out’ selectors, the one
on the Manley does not allow you to listen
to one source at the same time you’re
recording another. The other point to note
is that due to this method of connection,
the input impedance of your recorder
will load down the input source you’ve
selected. This is unlikely to be a problem,
but you should bear it in mind. Manley
recommends you connect a recorder only
when you are actually recording.
Circuit Highlights
You don’t get a schematic with the
Stingray, but one is available once you
have registered your purchase on Manley’s
website, which is a good reason for so
registering. I’d recommend you obtain
one and save it as a hardcopy along with
your Owners’ Manual (one of these is
supplied with every amp, but it’s also
available on-line as a ‘freebie’). Examine
the schematic and you’ll find the input
goes from the dual-triode 12AT7 on to the
6414 dual-triode phase splitter. The plates
of these then drive EL84 pairs in ultralin-
ear push-pull mode. Examine the circuit
itself and you’ll find the workmanship is
exemplary—particularly the point-to-point
wiring—and you will also find that Manley
hasn’t spared any expense on the internal
components. Those who take the time to
read the Owners’ Manual will find a long
and interesting article on ‘Optimising Your
Sound System’ along with the expected
explanations of ‘Replacing the Tubes’ and
‘Setting the Bias.’
Listening Sessions
Unlike its namesake, Manley’s Stingray is a
little slow off the mark. Switch it on from
cold and you can begin playback almost
instantly, but you’ll find the highs a little
strident and the bass a tad soggy for the
first five minutes or so, after which they’ll
start to improve quite noticeably for 25
to 30 minutes after which the Stingray
will start delivering its peak performance.
This, of course, assumes that you—or your
dealer—has already burnt-in the amplifier.
You’ll be able to smell if your amplifier
hasn’t been burnt-in: if it doesn’t smell
when you first switch it on it has been
burnt-in, and if it does smell, it hasn’t.
In the event your Stingray needs burning-
in, do so by leaving the amplifier on for
a complete weekend, preferably playing
music all the time (just put a CD on repeat
to take the amplifier through the nights,
leaving the volume control so your speak-
ers are only whispering away quietly).
This burning-in procedure only needs to
be done the once. I noted that the heaters
on my two 12AT7s ‘flared’ on turn-on
(from cold). This didn’t happen when the
valves were warm, so I assume is charac-
teristic of the design—or perhaps unique
to my sample. I would have preferred that
they didn’t.
Peak performance is very good
indeed. The Stingray is able to deliver
the typically warm and generous
performance of a valve amplifier whilst
maintaining a quite accurate bottom
end to deliver bass with excellent initial
impact and only the faintest overhang.
It’s also able to deliver ‘sizzle’ in the
top-end. Indeed with the first pair of
speakers I tried the sound seemed to
me to be rather too bright, so I swapped
for another pair to find the brightness
disappeared entirely, but the quality of
the bass was almost identical—along
with the overall ‘loudness’ of the
system. From this I surmised that the
output impedance of the amplifier was
likely quite high, which means that its
performance will vary quite considerably
depending on the electrical impedance
of the speakers you connect to it. A later
discussion with editor Greg Borrowman
er er
Manley Laboratories Stingray Valve Integrated Amplifier
ManleylabHFSep06.indd 22 22/01/2009 1:55:55 PM