STEELHEAD: 2023 Stereophile Recommended Component, A+ Rating

We are extremely pleased to announce that the Manley Steelhead RC Special Edition Mk II has been included in the 2023 Stereophile Recommended Components guide, with an A+ rating.

“The Steelhead RC Special Edition Mk II is the result of a collaboration between Manley and Los Angeles–area audio retailer, tube dealer, and importer Upscale Audio. It differs from the original Steelhead, reviewed by PB and MF in 2001 and 2003, by offering different loading settings for the autoformer that also serves as the MC step-up, and two cryogenically treated 6922 tubes.”

“Listening at length to a John Prine LP, AH wrote: ‘The Manley rendered the band in holographic high relief; Mike Leech's electric bass sounded more thunderous and better defined than I'd heard it. Every wisp of reverb around Bobby Emmons's organ became obvious. The tone colors of the band bloomed like wildflowers in an Appalachian meadow. But what captivated me most was how relentlessly the Manley zeroed in on the flow and emotional meaning of Prine's songs.’ He decided that the Manley phono stage ‘sounded more detailed, refined, and coherent than most of the step-up transformers I've heard, and more colorful, textured, and vivid than most of the solid state preamps.’” (Vol.46 No.1 WWW)