The spawn of the famous STEELHEAD, our CHINOOK uses the same clean and quiet audio circuit design. 45 or 60dB of GAIN can be set internally and rear-panel dip switches select input resistive and capacitance choices. There are tons of options to match any Moving Coil or Moving Magnet cartridge. Set it and forget it! Designed for the real music lover – not the switch tweaker – the CHINOOK’s elegant design and efficient construction keep the price affordable AND devotedly handcrafted in the USA at Manley Labs. Angling for an affordable yet world-class vacuum tube phono stage? The hunt is over! The spawn of the Manley Steelhead – one of the world’s greatest phono preamplifiers – Stereophile Class A Recommended Component and The Absolute Sound’s Preamp of the Year, has arrived. The Chinook epitomizes the sound of the Steelhead. Designed for the music lover, not the switch tweaker. Like the Steelhead, each channel employs the two triode sections of a 6922 for amplifying duties with highly accurate passive RIAA equalisation networks. In the Chinook, the signal is then directly coupled to another 6922 dual triode serving as the output driver in a White Follower configuration. This output stage circuit is our favourite because of its super-low output impedance and beefy current-driving capabilities. It can drive long cable lengths and difficult loads, tube or solid-state. Bring it on. No wimpy cathode followers here! To think that the Manley Chinook is designed and built in the U.S. at the level of quality and sophistication that it possesses and retails for what it does is something of a minor miracle in this day and age. I can’t recommend the Chinook highly enough Mark Pearson, Positive Feedback Specification Gain Internal DIP switches select 45dB or 60dB RIAA Deviation < ± 0.5 dB from 20Hz to 20kHz @ any gain Distortion 0.010% THD N @ 100k Ohm, 0.030% THD N @ 600 Ohm Dynamic Range 1dB @ 1kHz (MM input @ 45db gain) Noise Floor -84 dBu, A-weighted @ 45dB Max Input 250mV RMS = 34.5 dBu @ 45dB Max Output 37dBu @ 1kHz, 1.5% THD N into 100 kOhm Output Impedance 91 Ohms Min Load 2500 Ohms (recommended) Dimensions 483 x 280 x 89mm, 6.8kg
