THE NEW STINGRAY INTEGRATED AMPLIFIER WITH iPod DOCK

We are proud to present the Stingray iTube integrated tube amplifier with iPod dock and remote control.

The STINGRAY iTube is the latest incarnation of Manley Labs' acclaimed Stingray Integrated Amplifier. The original Stingray was designed in 1997 and, with particular attention paid to optimal component placement to allow for purity of sound and symmetry of the signal path layout, the Stingray became one of Manley's best-selling products. The Stingray iTube retains the same tube circuitry and marvellous output transformers as the original but now features several important improvements:

An iPod dock has been integrated into the Stingray iTube as the 4th input source. The Manley iTube has been certified by Apple and officially sanctioned as a "Made for iPod" product. The Stingray's Remote Control commands the iPod PLAY/PAUSE and TRACK FORWARD/BACK controls.

Your iPod video output is available at the S-Video output jack located on the left side facia.

High voltage tube energy storage has been increased, producing much improved low frequency control and creating a clearly audible sonic impact.

A headphone jack has been added to the right side of the facia. This jack re-routes the output from the speaker binding posts and mutes the Subwoofer output feed.

The Remote Control works with both Radio Frequency and Infrared technologies. Using the remote in RF mode gives freedom from having to "point and shoot." The RF mode permits omnidirectional use and works through walls and cabinets. IR capability is included for those with Universal Learning Remote Controls for integration into existing systems. The volume, balance adjust, input switching, and iPod interface commands are all on the RF/IR Remote Control. Additionally, you can perform the MUTE, DIM, INSERT and SLEEP commands with the Remote Control.

Each INPUT can be individually level trimmed to match and to optimize system gain staging of various input devices.

The stylish blue LED displays surrounding the INPUT and VOLUME encoder knobs can be dimmed down or turned off entirely, after a user-settable time period, or a "screen-saver" random light sequence can be selected. Speed and intensity of the "Starlight" mode can be altered to taste.

All user settings are written to the iTube's memory when the unit is put into STANDBY mode and thus retained if the power supply is interrupted.

Individual sealed gold contact relays deliver the selected input into the volume control system before hitting the first 12AT7 input tubes. Following the 6414 driver/phase splitter, the EL84 output stage can be switched between either (around) 20 watts of TRIODE power or 40 watts of Ultra Linear mode push-pull operation. Individual bias for each tube is easily adjusted using the trimpots and test points, conveniently located on the top surface of the amplifier. The Stingray's power supply is extra-rugged and stiff, a MANLEY hallmark.

Post-volume SUBWOOFER OUTPUT allows easy hookup of outboard line-level driven active powered subwoofers. This output is after the volume control so that the subwoofer will track the volume level changes of the main speakers. The SUB OUTPUT is a line level and full frequency output that is AFTER the volume control so your powered subwoofer follows the same volume as your main speakers. These are unbalanced phono sockets, line level. They feed the line inputs of your subwoofer, NOT the speaker jacks.

A switchable TAPE LOOP is standard. The TAPE SEND is the output of the selected input before the volume control. The TAPE RETURN can also be used as a 5th line input if needed. 

RECORD OUT (aka Tape OUT) is BEFORE the volume control so you can record whatever input you have selected without your listening level affecting the level going to your recorder. These are unbalanced phonos. As it's UNbalanced and UNbuffered we advise you check out the input impedance to your recorder to make sure it won't load down the Stingray main input while it is plugged in. Usually with unbuffered record outs we recommend you only plug in your recorder only when you are actually recording.

Tape LOOP: Also known as an INSERT point, the SEND or Tape Out comes off the selector switch as the Record Out option does going to your outboard EQ or Merlin BAM unit or tape recorder and then the signal returns (RETURN) to the Stingray in front of the volume control so you can play tunes. A toggle switch selects whether the Tape LOOP (and whatever is plugged into the Tape Loop) is active or the signal goes straight through the Stingray as normal. If you have the Merlin BAM system, order a Stingray with the Tape LOOP option.

Need more than four inputs? Get a Manley SKIPJACK line switcher and run it into this LOOP RETURN:  The SKIPJACK is perfect for adding more inputs to anything. So if you use a Skipjack's 4 stereo inputs plus the Stingray iTube's 4 stereo inputs (3 phonos + iPod output) you'll get 8 stereo inputs total. The way to do that is to consider the TAPE LOOP: you can bring the SKIPJACK output into the LOOP RETURN, enact the LOOP ACTIVE switch and use the 4 x SKIPJACK inputs feeding the LOOP RETURN with the SKIPJACK controlling source switching for those 4 inputs. Then if you put the Stingray's LOOP switch to BYPASS you will be working with the 4 x Stingray inputs selectable on the Stingray. That gives you 8 total stereo inputs as shown below.