Well, I thought about it for a moment, but I would never set a friend on fire. 
Uhhmmm... thanks?
I did notice however that you preferred the sound of only one PBN to your bigger Bryston. There's a little food for thought....
I also prefer the sound of
two PBN's to the Brystons.
Vastly prefer them - they are very different creatures. I am still stunned at the improvement. I have run both single-ended in a horizontal bi-amp configuration with the Manley pre, tried one in stereo single-ended with the pre, both as mono's using XLR's direct from the Esoteric K-03 using it's on-board attenuator ( thanks again werd
) and a single amp in stereo direct from the K-03. All sound excellent in the high bias or low bias settings but I really like what that Manley does - the sound just becomes enveloping. The K-03 is no slouch either but it's still breaking in as I haven't used the on-board attenuator much - it gets better sounding by the hour. In any of these configurations the PBN's continue to impress - the delicacy of the top end in combination with the amazing punch of the bottom end and all the detail in between are addictive The clarity is
really something, especially in combination with the fact.12's. I'm just thrilled with the sound I'm hearing... But can I be happier?
But seriously now, it seems like your Manley preamp should do just fine driving a pair of single ended left and right amplifier inputs. I wouldn't put a TVC or a "buffer" after it just to go into the single ended or balanced jacks of two solid state amps. That Manley has transformer coupled tube output stages - with a 100 ohm output impedance. It should be up to the task of driving two normal amplifier inputs. It also has an identical pair of L&R RCA output jacks per channel to bi-wire the interconnects to the power amps. In other words, don't use a Y adapter. (The Sub and the Main outs are identical outputs tied to the same place on the output transformer according to the Manley website. Correct me if I am wrong.)
The BNC inputs on the other hand,,, well that seems like a whole different story altogether. I realize that is where you want to end up if you buy the PBN amps. If they really are 75 ohms then you should probably be looking at getting the PBN Preamp to go with it. It kind of seems like a package deal to me. Perhaps the PBN special "buffer" they make is the appropriate tool to get you down into that low impedance zone, and to get you into the special differential mode. I hope so, because I think that you still like your preamp.
Anyway, I'm looking forward to seeing how this all turns out. I'm so glad that you are finally enjoying your new speakers. The journey continues!
The Manley would certainly drive a couple of big amps without effort - they,ve been doing just that with the Brystons. The issue here is that it can't get down to the impedance level that would match it to the amps without a buffe . And yes, I very much still love this preamp - just the sight of it makes me smile.
I spoke with Peter Noerbeck last night about the 75 ohm connection idea and asked him to explain it to me as though I was a five year-old. Apparently I should have asked him to explain it to me as though I were a
two year-old...
He discussed the circuitry design of the amps in terms of negative feedback and T-Loops ( ? ) etc. and I was really out of my depth but when I asked him if there was a significant improvement in sound quality going the matched-impedance route via XLR, he said the difference in clarity was night and day -
no comparison. Based on what I'm hearing so far, that statement beggars the imagination...
And to the folks who have spoken to Mr. Noerbeck's being a credit to the industry, I will absolutely concur. Great guy !
To be continued...
D.D.
