Manley Labs OASIS Phonostage

The 2024 replacement for the beloved Chinook, with an updated PSU and chassis. Uses a 2 x 6922 gain stage and 2 x 6922 output stage

One of ours and Manley’s and our customers’ favorite phonostages the Manley Chinook has been updated for 2024. The new Oasis uses Manley Power, a high-end switching supply that provides an even quieter blacker black background, yielding quicker sonic extremes over our older linear PSU designs.

The gain settings are on the rear panel next to the resistive and capacitive loading DIP switches. There are tons of loading options to mate with any moving coil or moving magnet cartridge.

The Oasis sports an upgraded more luxurious chassis design while its efficient internal build keeps the price affordable. And like all Manley products, each Oasis phonostage is loyally handcrafted in the USA at Manley’s Southern Californian factory not far from us at Upscale Audio.

Like the Steelhead, each channel employs the two triode sections of a 6922 for amplifying duties assisted by low-noise FETs receiving the signal below each cathode. Highly accurate passive RIAA equalization networks perform the decoding task to restore the originally intended frequency response to the audio signal. In the Oasis, the signal passes through no integrated circuits. There are ICs deployed in a servo configuration to apply a precise biasing voltage to the gate of each FET, and you might notice some other chips for logic functions. Importantly, the signal is directly coupled from the gain stages to another 6922 dual triode serving as the output driver in a White follower configuration. This output stage circuit is Manley’s favorite 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!

The chassis is a new powder-coated over zinc passivated steel design with a large-radiused substantial top cover sporting smooth rounded side edges. Rounding out the casework, the frontal face is adorned by a 3/8” thick CNC-milled facia with an intricately inlaid contrasting “racetrack” insert for visual interest. 

Features

• 6922 x 2 (gain stage) plus 6922 x2 (output stage). Any 6DJ8, 7308, ECC88 types may be used
• Unbalanced input and output connections via Manley Teflon and gold-plated RCA jacks
• Input Termination Capacitance: 3-position user-selectable capacitor values of 50 pF, 100 pF, and 200 pF yield resultant combinations of: 50, 100, 150, 200, 250, 300, and 350 pF
• Selectable Input Impedance: 5-position user-selectable resistor values of 50, 100, 200, 400, and 800 ohm. There are 32 possible loading possibilities

Specifications

Gain Settings: 45 dB, 50 dB, 60 dB, 65 dB 

RIAA Deviation: <±0.5 dB 

Noise Floor at Set Gain (45 dB, 60 dB, 65 dB): -84 dBu, -74 dBu, -69 dBu

Output Impedance: 104 ohm

Minimum Recommended Load: 2,500 ohm

Dimensions (WDH): 17” x 14” x 3.5″

Shipping Weight: 20 lb.