Manley NEO-CLASSIC SE / PP 300 B Very Desirable, Great Looking Highest Quality AMERICAN MADE Tube Mono Blocks Amplifiers:

Please no low offers considered and know: These are a stellar pair of Tube Mono Blocks priced right.

Serial number NSEPP 459 & Serial number NSEPP 460.
These Manley this beuitiful pair were built 8/27/13 and actually are still under factory warranty a few more days till 8/27/18.
From the web :

"They were quiet, robust, and eminently user friendly, the Manley
Neo-Classic SE/PP 300B definitely gets the nod as the go-to SE amp for the
audiophile who wants it all."

- Francis Vale, 21st, January
2005 -

 

Decidedly
retro, the 300B harkens to a bygone era that focused on the simplicity
of design. Expect luscious mid range, delicate detail, and seductive
emotion. User control of negative feedback and the ability to switch
topology ‘on the fly’ from 12 Watts in parallel SINGLE-ENDED mode to 25
Watts in PUSH-PULL mode is totally unique. This is an amplifier that
will always delight and entice you as it adapts to a variety of
efficient speakers (and ears!).

       

Like new comes with factory boxes and is ready for years of enjoyment.

Highly regarded by almost everyone and a Audiophile Status Symbol.
24 Watts Class A Tube Power with true perfection using the favorite sounding output Tube favored by most Audiophiles.
Serial Number NSEPP459 & NSEPP460.

DETAILS:

The
wonderfully simple 300B directly heated triode is virtually Lee De
Forest's very first evolutionary 3-element piece, comprising only
filament, input grid and anode output. Brought to reliable perfection by
Western Electric USA and later by Standard Telephones UK as the 4300B,
the 300B was very much intended and widely used for telephony
amplification. But audio enthusiasts of older times knew a good thing
when they saw (heard!) it and the great love affair between the 300B and
music began... and dwindled many years later as the American Western
Electric 300B was taken out of production in the late 1980's making the
genuine ones extremely valuable and, accordingly, very highly prized as
collectors' pieces. With the Asian-driven passion and resultant revival
of SINGLE ENDED topology the call for the 300B to be put back into
production was too overwhelming for the Chinese factories to resist. The
Russian and the re-start of USA manufacture of the genuine Western
Electric original have further expanded the selection. Basic thermionic
simplicity... directly-heated triodes... it is a drug for some, a
religion for others...

With its decidedly (and studiedly) 'retro'
physical proportions- very deep front-to-back dimensions with a narrow
side-to-side width, this layout closely follows concepts of a bygone
era, where the well-conceived intention was to keep the power supply as
far as possible from the hum and noise susceptible octal input tubes.
The output tubes themselves require careful distancing from the mains
transformer and, of course, require pure DC on their filaments. Again,
reverence to past times begs the use of vacuum tube rectification with
its very gentle voltage rise-time. But to bring the performance up to
modern demands, we use two rectifiers to enable the use of very
substantial filter / reservoir capacitors... over 1300 microfarads in
the B+ rail- much improved from the 4 or 8 microfarads utilized in the
1930's.

When several other manufacturers started selling
single-ended amps with 5 to 9 watts of power, we understood subjectively
and objectively the good part of the story: the superb mid range, the
delicate detail, the inherent simplicity. The bad news was that there
were almost no speakers efficient enough to help form a dynamically
viable system. The worst news was that either these single-ended amps
cost more than the condo and or they had specs that could only be read
as a joke. As the triode fans increased, more efficient speakers became
available and several fanatics began to dismiss push-pull as a bad thing
to be avoided at all costs. We objected to such blanket generalities
and stressed that the push-pull done right with truly phase-balanced
transformers, quality parts throughout and well designed circuitry has
proven to be a superb technique. We also enjoy single-ended topology but
only when it is done right, mostly because we expect flat frequency
response and low distortion out of an amplifier. We knew that we could
achieve this in a properly conceived single-ended design. We chose to
rise to the challenge of designing special circuitry that could be
switched "on the fly" From 12 watts in parallel SINGLE-ENDED to 25 watts
in PUSH-PULL which, we believe is unique in the industry.

The
Output transformer (hand-wound in our own factory) is of complex design
employing inordinately high primary inductance to compensate for the
mandatory magnetic "gap" required for the uni-direction current and
voltage flow of the single-ended output stage. Another factor in the
single ended triode saga (currently enjoying a wide spread popularity)
is demand for little (or sometimes zero) negative feedback. We at Manley
Labs believe in the judicious or sensible amount of feedback to refine
and maximize performance. Our Neo-Classic SE/PP300B gives you the choice
in precision switched 1 dB steps to go from ZERO dB's to 10 dB's of
negative feedback. Even with zero negative feedback, this amp is cleaner
and flatter than any single-ended amp we know of. For more information
about variable feedback read Notes on Negative Feedback.

One
interesting aspect of negative feedback is it gives a higher damping
factor. Conventional wisdom would have us think that the higher the
damping factor, the better. Our experience is that the optimum damping
factor is not infinity and that it depends on the speaker, the room. and
the taste of the listener. In other words, the optimum is variability,
and this we provide. This amp satisfies us as long time amplifier
builders, amazes the critics in several well known magazines and is
bound to satisfy you with the ability to fit into your system and your
expectations. BUT REMEMBER PLEASE the overall facts of power ratings
versus loudspeaker sensitivity and room size when electing to venture
into lower power amplifiers (less than 50 watts) and especially when
contemplating single-ended topology. Please read Considerations of
Amplifier Power for more info.

As highly regarded as the Retros
were by dealers ,audiophiles and reviewers, the Neos take the design and
the sonics to a new level. In 2000, Mitch Margolis completely
overhauled the previous "Retro" model to create the Neo-Classic Version
you see above.. So what's new with this Neo-Classic version you ask?

Now... onto the techno mumble jumble... here's all the guts improvements we made in 2001. Mitch spent six months doing all this:

• The
  driver stage was completely re-engineered. Peak output volts of driver
  increased by 60V p-p in PP mode. Clever new driver circuit delivers way
  better drive, with less punishing plate volts, and less THD. This offers
  enough drive even for more exotic tubes such as VV30B, etc...
• The
  NEO's have WAY improved power bandwidth. NEO's deliver much more power
  at higher and lower freq's than the ol' Retro's did. We did rescale the
  B+ and reduced idle plate dissipation on the NEO's 300Bs for better tube
  reliability.
• New power max ratings are 12 watts in SE mode and
  25 watts in PP mode. BUT because of better bandwidth delivery and better
  driver "drive" into 300B's these NEO's sound louder and "seem" to be
  more powerful. They distort much less early when pushing the power
  envelope. The power supply sags-on-demand at a much high point than
  before for more headroom. It is all beefier 'n' heftier.
• The
  heater (300B "cathode" which is directly heated triode design) now has
  40dB less ripple. NEO design has MORE capacity in heater supply and LOTS
  of PI filtering! So the result is a quieter amplifier. Big time.
• Now
  in the NEO version, the B+ rectification is all-real-Full Wave Bridge
  vacuum tube rectification. Even more better. Especially sonically for
  you vacuum tube rectifier fans...
• The NEO'S chassis was
  redesigned to accommodate a much bigger power tranny. Huger VA. Next
  frame size up. Cooler running. Much more able to deliver-on-demand. Less
  PSU sag. Kick-ass. And now, finally QUIET! REALLY! There wasn't enough
  room on the old Retros for next frame size up to achieve a nice'n'quiet
  power transformer design. Now the NEO's chassis is big enough to have a
  big enough power transformer that is really silent and running on
  holiday.
• Bias supply is now cleverly cross-coupled so that changing one tube's bias doesn't whack the other one out. This is very cool.
• We
  even isolated the input B+ for more stable input B+ supply. Again, so
  when pushed, the whole amp doesn't drag everybody down with it.
• We added a MUTE switch on the front panel. SE-PP switch on the other side of front panel.
• Power switch at the IEC so all those nasty AC volts don't come up and infect the input stages.
• Discarded
  the transformer-balanced XLR input. Because WHAT'S THE POINT??? At
  gunpoint, we will make a balanced XLR transformer coupled input
  available "upon special request"... but you need to have a bigger gun
  than EveAnna does...
• Still has those nice sounding MultiCap® coupling caps and even more of 'em....
• Now NEO has nice beautiful WBT binding posts that everybody loves. Still has impedance load switch as before.
• Service
  is now a piece of cake in the NEO design. The main PCB can now be
  lifted out for service without a soldering iron... if switches get
  banged or broken they can be user replaced with a phillips screwdriver
  to remove the bottom stainless-steel (now) cover and then remove
  faceplate with little allen key, then unscrew the switch with pliers or
  (better) correct nut driver, then unplugged out old switch then new one
  plugged in with switch assembly from us. Easy as pie!
• But, just in case, we did invent newer stronger foams and packaging so hopefully no more breakies....
• And
  bottom line, in all our listening tests, this NEO is very much
  improved. Now with this six months of re-engineering of the Neo-Classic
  SE/PP 300Bs, "THD BE-GONE!!!!"
• The Electro-Harmonix Russian 300B tubes are being shipped as standard. That's 300B-EH.
• And
  finally, sorry to say, we had to raise the price to PAY for all this
  R&D and nice improvements and so we can start making some money on
  this product for a change... (insert trite capitalist expression here).
  Sorry folks, that's the way it goes....

Stereophile Says:

So how do these amps sound?

Depends on how you use them. Even in single-ended mode with no feedback—the purist mode, if you will—the amps lack some of the Jadis SE300Bs' incredible detail and refinement. The Wavelength Cardinals, too, have a purity of sound and a beauty of timbre that the Manleys, even at their best, can't quite match.

But—here's the kicker—the Manleys come very, very close. They almost
have as much delicatessen and detail as the Jadises, and they have balls
in the bass, too—even in single-ended mode, with no feedback.

And, of course, there's the price. The Manley amps are much more keenly
priced than the Cardinals or the Jadis amps. Why, they're only $97.22
per watt per channel in single-ended mode, and just $48.61 per watt per
channel in push-pull. A bargain.

Bass? Not quite so rich and full as the Wavelength Cardinals, but
perhaps better controlled. Certainly not wimpy. There's even enough
bass, subjectively, with the lean-sounding (but overall quite excellent)
Infinity Compositions Prelude P-FRs.

Midrange? The Manleys are capable of much of the harmonic beauty I hear
with the Wavelength Cardinals. Treble? Not so extended as the Jadises,
but not rolled-off, either. That goes for either mode—single-ended or
push-pull.

With the Manleys, you get the special magic of a 300B-based amp in an
amp that can drive "real-world" speakers. For instance, the Manley SE/PP
300B monoblocks had no trouble at all driving the Thiel CS.5s to
realistic levels, even in single-ended mode. Indeed, this was an
excellent combination.

True, the Jadis SE300Bs elicited a more refined, more exquisitely
detailed sound, with much more sense of air; but the Manleys delivered
more punch—even without resorting to push-pull (footnote 2).

Sound too compressed? Soundstage too narrow? Want a more balls-out
sound? Wish you had a few more watts to open up that castle in Capri? No
problem, mates. Just pull the switch and go into push-pull mode.

With push-pull you'll get not just a more powerful sound, but a bigger
sound. But you also get a dimensionally flatter sound. I consistently
found myself switching the amp back into single-ended mode (footnote 3).

As for paralleling two (or more) 300Bs per side: it's true, you seem to lose some delicacy, some detail, some purity—some je ne sais quoi.
But you do gain power. That's true, too, of the Jadis SE300Bs, which
sound much more powerful than amps using a single 300B per side, and far
more powerful than their "official" 10W rating. With the Manleys, you
not only get real-world power, you also get it at a real-world price.

Unless your present speakers require gobs and gobs of power, or your
room is very large, these amps will likely work. So you won't be looking
to trade in your present speakers and go looking for others with 92dB,
94dB, 98dB sensitivity.

There you have it. Trying to offer a single-ended and a push-pull amp
all rolled into one, with variable feedback too, should have resulted in
failure. When you try to please everyone, you usually end up pleasing
no one. But that didn't happen with the Manleys. I'm going to have
trouble sending these back.

Footnote 1: I actually played the first and last movements of Mahler's
Sixth, with Pierre Boulez conducting the Vienna Philharmonic (DG (445
835-2), in push-pull, and the middle two movements single-ended:
single-ended for the Scherzo and the Andante, push-pull for the Allegros.

Footnote 2: The Manleys are optimized for a 5 ohm load, which may be one reason they sounded so terrific with the 4 ohm Thiels.

Footnote 3: Some tube-amp designers seem to regard push-pull as the
greatest advance ever. It certainly has allowed designers to provide
more power more cheaply. But single-ended design—and I've heard enough
single-ended stuff by now, both tube and transistor, to tell—has a
character and a rightness of its own. Don't be surprised if more and
more solid-state amplifier designers turn to single-ended. (Nelson Pass is already leading the way; I expect to have more to say about that soon.)

Read more at https: //www.stereophile.com/content/manley-labs-sepp-300b-monoblock-power-amplifier#WQZFJAMQ6LmTBWYj.99

David can be reached in our Los Angeles Showroom 310-472-8880 or on my cell after hours and
weekends 310-927-2260 any time from 10AM - 10P Weinhart
Design has lots of other items new and used and if you're in Los

Angeles or visiting please accept my invitation to experience our World

Class Audio Showroom and please visit our web site @

www.weinhartdesign.com

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Please
call me directly in my world class showroom in Los Angeles weekdays @
310-472-8880 or any reasonable time on my cell including weekends @
310-927-2260 and I can answer your questions and help you with all of
your new and pre owned needs.

Changing the Way You Listen, 

  David   Weinhart

       Weinhart Design, Inc.

           President & CEO

[email protected]

www.weinhartdesign.com

 The Audio and Video Expert

2337 Roscomare Road, Studio #1

Los Angeles, California 90077

Showroom) 310-472-8880

Cell) 310-927-2260