Phono Preamplifiers

It’s easy to forget how myriad hi-fi companies address both home audio and professional needs. JBL, Tannoy, PMC, Crown/Amcron, Revox/Studer – Manley carries on that tradition with such vigour that, when asked what percentage of Manley is pro and how much is high-end audio, CEO Eveanna Manley told HFN, ‘We typically run about 85% professional audio versus 15% hi-fi products’.

She explained that the single most popular model in Manley’s professional catalogue is, ‘By numbers, the Manley Reference Cardioid Microphone, which has been in production since 1990!’. Eveanna can defer for an endorsement to her personal friendship with soul and blues goddess, the late Etta James [pictured above]. ‘Miss Etta loved hers, but only after she finally met me! She was intimidated by the microphone, but after we met she was no longer afraid and used it on her final two or three records.’

This writer recalls visiting mastering legend Bob Ludwig’s Gateway studios in his hometown with Eveanna, where Manley preamplifiers were fitted to one of his Ampex open-reel tape decks. Other Manley studio offerings include microphone preamplifiers, equalisers, headphone mixers and more.