On July 10, the announcement was made that the maker of pro and consumer audio gear, Manley Labs, was being sold by founder EveAnna Manley to its new owner, Dirk Ulrich. It’s not just industry news to me: EveAnna has been a friend since the late 1980s, and as our generation of audiophiles and manufacturers ages out, news like this has more of a personal resonance.
Some details: Manley Labs is based in Chino, California and their gear has always been made in the US. EveAnna has stepped aside from her active duties but will remain on hand for a while to assist with the transition. Dirk Ulrich has a long history in pro audio, as the founder of Brainworx (studio hardware and plugins, guitar amps) and Plugin Alliance, and is a significant shareholder in the Native Instruments Group. He is also a producer and mastering engineer, among other activities.
A press release stated that Manley Labs will continue to design and manufacture products with its same teams and with no disruption to ongoing operations. For a more in-depth analysis I give a shout out to my friend and colleague Jason Victor Serinus, who wrote an excellent report about the Manley handover in Stereophile. Click here for the link to the article.
EveAnna was one of the first people I met in the audio industry, shortly after I started working at The Absolute Sound. We were both new to the business and hit it off after she made a visit to TAS in August 1989. I was in my early 30s and she was 20, about to turn 21. Newbies. We were both down to earth and willing to get on our hands and knees – literally – to schlep and set up audio gear, and do whatever it took to get the job done. EveAnna is one of the most can-do people I know, having met challenges from tube shortages to COVID to tariffs. We had another big thing in common – both of us worked for extremely dominant personalities, myself for TAS founder Harry Pearson and her with Vacuum Tube Logic (VTL) founder and soon-to-be husband David Manley. So, we had an immediate common bond.
EveAnna in August, 1989 when we first met after she drove her VW Bug from California to The Absolute Sound offices in Sea Cliff, New York.
We eventually got divorced from our respective bosses – me by leaving The Absolute Sound after I couldn’t deal with the maelstrom of HP’s world anymore, and her by literally getting a divorce in 1999, the experience of which motivated EveAnna to overcome personal obstacles and take over the operation of Manley Labs. The rest, as they say, is history – EveAnna built the company to become one of the most respected audio companies around, with products like the Steelhead phono stage and VOXBOX® voice processor/channel strip that have rightfully become legendary.
We’ve always kept in touch, at hi-fi and pro audio shows, hung out at many dinners and events, and shared many laughs. So, the thought of EveAnna not going to industry happenings anymore, and me not seeing her, makes me melancholy. Even though she’s worked her butt off for decades and deserves a well-deserved break, as she noted in the news release: “I look forward to some well-earned rest and relief from the responsibility of running a multimillion-dollar company. I plan to spend more time with my family and friends…I can't wait to get my head into a more creative space to be able to create my own art and continue to contribute to my local community and the world in a positive fashion. I have a belief that art and music might be able to save the planet. In any case, I want to be part of that effort."
Well, EveAnna, I hope you keep coming to audio shows and AES conventions just to hang out. Or let me know when you’ll be in New York and I’ll do the same if I set out runnin’ to Chino. Yeah, I took the news of her stepping away from the day-to-day world of high-end audio personally. It makes me philosophical. I started working in the high-end industry in my late 20s. I just turned 70. Many of my friends have retired, or stepped back somewhat. (I used to work crazy hours and can’t keep up that kind of pace anymore, though a Planet Fitness membership has given me renewed energy.)
EveAnna told me, “I’m not sure I’ve ever worked a 40 hour week before. After decades of 70, 80, 100-plus hour weeks I think that I have banked enough hours of my work career to be able to hit the eject button and to focus on spending my most valuable currency of time. Time I can spend with my family and friends. Time I can choose to go to a trade show to see my buddies and to give them a hug again. Or time I can spend riding my motorcycle!”
How many more of my colleagues are going to leave the industry over the next 10 years? These are some of my dearest friends. I love seeing new gear at audio shows, but I look forward to seeing my industry friends more. I want to keep seeing them and having dinner and laughs and good times. But time and tide wait for no one. On the other hand, many of us in the high-end world are of a certain age (you’d be surprised to find out how old some of us are) and are still going strong, with no signs of stopping.
Music keeps us young.
EveAnna, more power to you.
Heavy metal thunder: EveAnna rides on.
All images courtesy of EveAnna Manley.
