Manley Labs Chinook Special Edition MkII Black Reviews

4.9 Rating 54 Reviews

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2058 Wright Avenue
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“I am using the Chinook SE MkII with a VPI Prime turntable with a Hana SL cartridge. Upscale Audit preloaded the Chinook for the Hana which was a big help. The sound is smooth and detailed and I would highly recommend picking these components up from Upscale. I would like to eventually run this analog front end with a Primaluna Dialogue HP and maybe B&W or Harbeth speakers..”

2 Helpful Report

Posted 4 years ago

“I have been in search of a phono preamp that will be future proof if I decide to move to other components or cartridges without being worried if it will work. Not to worry because Manley Chinook SE does it in spades. And I so happy I pulled the trigger and paid a little more than I wanted to but received so much more in return. Yamaha A-S3000 Technics SL-1200G Audio Technica ART 9 Cart Rega RP8 Dynavector 17D3 Cart Manley Chinook SE (A) Dynaudio Special Forty's (B) Revel PerformaBe M126Be Focal Utopia's Sony Z1R All of this equals HIFI HEAVEN.... Thank you Manley for producing a American Made kick ass piece of audio gear.”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I had reservations purchasing the Chinook Special Edition MKII . Already a proud owner of a Parasound JC3+ I was very concerned I might be making a mistake and going backwards, rather than forward. Boy was I wrong! By any measure the Manley Chinook simply beats the pants off of the Parasound JC3+. The Chinook has a noticeably quieter background. In fact, it absolutely silent. It is also more detailed,dynamic, airy and the mids are stunning. I couldn't be more pleased with the Chinook and the service provided by Upscale Audio. As a point of reference I will list the equipment being used during my listening. PrimaLuna DiaLogue HP Integrated Manley Chinook Special Edition MKII Pro-Ject Xtension 12 Evolution Sumiko Palo Santos Presentation Kimber TAK-CU Tonearm Cable Kimber KS 1016 Interconnect Kimber Monocle X Speaker Cable”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“Dialogue Premium HP's intimate friend and the best synergy I found for my Lyra Delos. Loading at 265 Ohm through a low capacitance interconnect reveals layers upon layers of detail and great dynamism, no harshness and spectacular bass. Had some concerns that were promptly addressed and after more than 250 hours of break in I am really happy that I followed Kevin's advice.”

Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

“I recently swapped out my Rouge Audio Ares phono stage with the Manley Chinook Special Edition MKII. I had changed the input tubes on the Ares with some Telefunken Smooth plates which helped the harsh high ends, but the Manley is truly a smooth tube sound across the spectrum. It has a much tighter bass response and is much more tame and tube sounding on the high end. The imagining is amazing on my Tannoy Kensignton GR speakers. I am sure it will continue to get better as it breaks in! Thanks Kevin and Kat!”

1 Helpful Report

Posted 5 years ago

Jason Wollerton

Unverified Reviewer

“Uncle Kevy has now become my #1 go to guy for gear. Every time I have taken his recommendations, he is spot on. My current analog setup is a Pro-ject 9.2 with Ortofon 2M bronze. The Chinook is replacing a Parks Audio Budgie. The first drop of the needle was Miles Someday My Prince, and within the first minute I noticed a complete transformation of my system. It brought more of everything to my ears. I’m not going to bore you with a typical review of how warm and detailed it is (but it is). There are plenty of those online. Bottom line, Uncle Kevy didn’t ship me a phono stage. He shipped me Miles Davis, Stevie Ray Vaugh, and Julie London because I would swear they were all standing in my living room last night.”

5 Helpful Report

Posted 6 years ago