The best change on the new Schiit Mani 3 is a button. On the Mani 2, gain and MM/MC loading lived on the underside, so changing them meant flipping the box over once it was cabled into your system. The Mani 3 puts a milled aluminium button on the front. Short presses step through 30, 40, 50 and 60dB of gain. A long press switches between MM and MC.
That's a small fix for a real annoyance, and Schiit didn't raise the price to make it. The Mani 3 costs $149, the same as the Mani 2 it replaces.
What else changed
Inside, Schiit swapped the previous OPA1612 gain-stage chips for Analog Devices AD4898 op-amps. It also uses a passive RIAA network, a DC-coupled design, a revised DC servo and a linear power supply. New to this version are microprocessor supervision and sealed-relay switching. The processor mutes the output briefly when you change gain, so you shouldn't get a thump through your speakers.
Schiit claims RIAA accuracy within ±0.15dB. It also claims a signal-to-noise ratio above 100dB at the 40dB setting most MM cartridges use, dropping to 87dB at 60dB for MC. Those are the company's numbers, not independent measurements. Schiit's own pitch about the performance gain is modest: better "by a bit, not a mile."
Less-used settings, like specialized cartridge loading and the low-frequency filter, stay on switches at the back. That seems a sensible split, since most people set those once and forget them.
Who should care
If you're buying your first dedicated phono stage, or your receiver's built-in one is mediocre, this is a cheap, sensible step. It handles MM, MC and MI cartridges, so you have room to upgrade the cartridge later without replacing the preamp. It's also made in Texas, and the warranty now runs three years.
If you already own a Mani 2 and never touch the gain, skip it. Schiit's own framing says the sound improvement is small, and the main upgrade is convenience. That's a good reason to buy new, but a weak one to upgrade.
Before you order
Black is in stock now. Silver is listed but not yet available. Returns are accepted within 15 days, minus a 15% restocking fee, so confirm your cartridge's needs before you buy rather than counting on a free return. The US version is 115VAC only, and Schiit lists other adaptors for 230V regions. If you're outside the US, pick the right plug at checkout, because the standard model won't work in 220 to 240V countries.
Check your cartridge's output type first. Then match it to a gain step: 40dB is the usual starting point for MM, and MC cartridges generally need more.
Sources: Darko.Audio, Schiit Audio, Gear Patrol, eCoustics, AudioHead, Amazon
As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. Tech Trek is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program. Some links in this post may be affiliate links; if you buy something through them, we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.