Schiit Audio has refreshed one of the most popular entry points into serious vinyl playback. The Schiit Mani 3 is the latest version of the company’s compact phono preamp, now built around a redesigned, DC-coupled analog topology that promises cleaner, more detailed sound without pushing the price beyond reach. At $149, the Schiit Mani 3 remains squarely aimed at listeners who want a dedicated phono stage without the cost or complexity of a full-featured preamplifier.
The headline change inside the Mani 3 is its all-new analog signal path. Schiit built the preamp around the Analog Devices AD4898 op-amp, paired with a passive RIAA equalization network using 2% tolerance film capacitors and 0.1% thin-film resistors. The result, according to Schiit, is RIAA accuracy within ±0.15dB across the audible band, a tight tolerance for a preamp at this price point. The DC-coupled design also eliminates coupling capacitors from the signal path entirely, a detail audiophiles on tight budgets rarely get. Full specifications are listed on Schiit’s official Mani 3 product page.
Schiit Mani 3 Gain Settings for Any Cartridge
Where earlier Mani models offered a more limited gain range, the Mani 3 adds flexibility with four selectable gain settings: 30dB, 40dB, 50dB, and 60dB. That spread covers everything from high-output moving magnet cartridges to low-output moving coil designs, each with its own published specifications for total harmonic distortion, signal-to-noise ratio, crosstalk, and input sensitivity. Input loading is equally configurable, with 47k ohms and 50pF standard for MM cartridges, 100 ohms and 50pF for MC, and additional customizable MC resistance and capacitance options for listeners chasing a specific cartridge match.
Schiit also carried over the Mani line’s selectable low-frequency filter, available in 6dB or 12dB per octave slopes, useful for taming rumble on warped records or poorly isolated turntable setups. Output impedance sits at 75 ohms, and the unit draws just 4 watts from its fully linear power supply, which uses dual-filtered ±17.5V rails rather than a switching design. That linear supply topology mirrors the approach Schiit used in its recent Bifrost DAC redesign, part of a broader push across the brand’s lineup toward simpler, more transparent analog and digital signal paths.
Compact, American-Built, and Backed by a Long Warranty
Physically, the Mani 3 keeps Schiit’s signature small footprint: 5 x 3.5 x 1.25 inches and just one pound, easy to tuck beside a turntable or inside a rack. Like the rest of Schiit’s lineup, the Mani 3 is designed, built, and supported in the United States, and it ships with a three-year warranty and a 15-day return window, giving buyers a low-risk way to try a dedicated phono stage for the first time.
For vinyl listeners upgrading from a built-in phono stage on an integrated amplifier or receiver, the Schiit Mani 3 offers a straightforward, affordable step up in resolution and flexibility. With four gain settings, adjustable loading, and a redesigned analog path, it addresses many of the compromises found in budget phono preamps while staying at the same $149 price point that made the original Mani a favorite among newcomers to the format. It’s a small, unassuming box, but for many first-time vinyl buyers the Schiit Mani 3 will be the single biggest upgrade they can make to their turntable setup without spending hundreds more on a full preamplifier.
