Manley TNT - 2 Channel Mic Preamplifer

The MANLEY TNT is a remarkable and desirable tube preamp on one side and its equivalent in solid-state on the other side. These are not simulations, not samples, nor are they a clone or a toy. It is really good ol' analog done right.

The first request for this preamp and what started the project, was two-part: 1) Provide the SLAM! Mic Pre, by itself at a great price and 2) don't abandon the concept of a basic preamp where "one just plugs in a mic and it sounds great" (without needing to adjust 6 controls). The solid-state side helps keep the price reasonable while providing a much bigger range of colors and options and while there a few more knobs and switches, their action tends to be subtle and intuitive while difficult to dial in a bad setting. You don't have to tweak, but if you want to, it's there without much possibility of going wrong. Now there is a challenge: Give me a really useful range of colors because I don't want to buy 6 preamps, yet it's gotta be fast and safe to operate, and not too expensive, please, but you had better give me Manley quality.

Of course, all the usual front panel features: phantom power, phase switch, HP filters, LED overload and level indicators, and instrument inputs are there. Phantom is soft-switched and shunt regulated for lowest noise. (There are 6 low noise shunt regulators, and 5 standard regulators in the solid-state side). The High Pass Filter is a new approach, but suffice it to say that with it bypassed, the preamp is designed to have almost DC response (.01Hz) at all gain settings. The LED meter is set up to indicate first and second stage clipping, even though the output is capable of greater than +30 dBu (70 volts peak to peak into 50 Ohms from the solid-state side actually!). While we are tossing out numbers, both the current mode and voltage mode preamps sport EIN numbers of 130dB, very close to the theoretical minimum noise possible. So this thing is gravely quiet!

And for the true connoisseurs, the preamps don't suffer at the highest (80 dB) or lowest (10 dB) gain settings, however you connoisseurs might be disappointed that this level of performance won't be exclusive and only available for the elite or very wealthy. We will announce the final price soon, but we're for now just going to hint that it will not break the bank or drain yer wallet...

Specifications:

TUBE CHANNEL (Left Channel)

• Tube Channel Vacuum Tubes: 1 x 12AT7EH + 1 x NOS 6414 or 6414W
• Gain Range: +10 dB to +80 dB (20 to 70dB in 5 dB steps)
• Mic Input Impedance: 600, 2400, 10,000 Ohms
• Instrument Input Impedance: 300K,1Meg, 3 Meg Ohms
• Frequency Response: (-1 dB) 10 Hz to 30 kHz; (-3dB) 5 Hz to 45 kHz
• THD & NOISE (1 kHz @ 20 dB gain): 0.035% typical (-68 dB)
• Noise Floor: -60 dB typical referenced to +4dBm
• EIN: -120 dB
• Signal to Noise @ 70 dB Gain: 95dB (TRIM has major effect)
• Maximum Output for 1% THD via BALANCED +4 XLR: 31 dBu

  COOL CHANNEL (Right or Solid State Channel)

• Gain Range: +10 dB to +80 dB (20 to 70dB in 5 dB steps)
• Mic Input Impedance: 300, 600, 2000, 2 Meg Ohms
• Instrument Input Impedance: 100K, 300K,1Meg, 3 Meg, 10 Meg Ohms
• Frequency Response: (-1 dB) 15 Hz to 30 kHz; (-3dB) 5 Hz to 50 kHz
• THD & NOISE (1 kHz @ 20 dB gain): 0.01% typical (-80 dB) (no distortion products measurable, noise dominates measurement)
• Noise Floor: -66 dB typical referenced to +4dBm
• EIN: -126 dB
• Signal to Noise @ 70 dB Gain: 85dB (TRIM has little effect)
• Maximum Output for 1% THD:
  • via BALANCED +4 XLR: 30 dBu
  • via UNBALANCED +4 output: 24 dBu
  • via UNBALANCED -10 output: 16 dBu
• Distortion @ 1K using 60' / 70's switch:
  • 1.5% typical with LED onset (+4 dBu out)
  • 3% typical with LED fully lit (+7 dBu out)

  GENERAL

• Power consumption: 30 watts
• Operating mains voltage: Units' power transformers are wired for original destination country's mains voltage: 100V, 120V, or 220-240VAC as indicated on the serial number badge. Power transformer must be rewired on the pcb in order to change mains operating voltage. Fuse must be changed to appropriate value.
• Mains Voltage Frequency: 50~ 60Hz
• Fuse Values S/N up to MTNT142: @ 100 - 120V operation: 1A; @ 220 - 240V operation: 500mA
• Fuse Values S/N after MTNT142: @ 100 - 120V operation: 500mA; @ 220 - 240V operation: 250mA
• Fuse Size: 1/4" x 1 1/4" MDL or MDA SLO-BLO (time delay) type
• Dimensions: 19" x 1 3/4" x 10" (occupies 1u)
• Unit Weight: 11 lbs. Shipping Weight: 16 lbs. in a 22.5" x 14.5" x 8" BOX