She was a fresh-faced, 20-something college student in the late 1980s when, on a brief pause from her university studies, EveAnna Dauray took a job on the production floor at Vacuum Tube Logic, a high-end audio company in California run by David Manley and his son Luke. There is no way she could have known it at the time, but she was about to embark on a crazy, exciting, at times painful, though always rewarding, epic journey. It was a journey that spanned some four decades and would see her rise from an entry-level production floor worker to owner and President of Manley Laboratories, Inc. (a company split off and independent from VTL), which she recently successfully sold to industry entrepreneur Dirk Ulrich…achieving the American Dream by providing her with the resources and the freedom to pursue with passion the next exciting phase of her life’s journey.
See more on the remarkable story of EveAnna Manley and the acquisition of Manley Labs…
One day last week, I received a personal email with an attached press release announcing that Manley Laboratories, Inc. (Manley Labs) had been acquired by “audio entrepreneur and industry veteran Dirk Ulrich.” I did not personally know the author of the email, who was EveAnna (ee VAHN ah) Manley, President of the company. Neither was I familiar with Dirk Ulrich.
I also did not know that EveAnna was a fan of Strata-gee, but she opened her email by telling me that she has enjoyed reading my newsletters over the years.
I Did Know of Manley Labs
But I did know Manley Labs, and that is what immediately piqued my curiosity in this story. Interestingly, despite my audio background, I wasn’t familiar with Manley Labs because of its high-end audio offerings. Rather, I knew the company from back in my pro music era and through studio connections. Based in Chino, California, Manley Labs is a highly respected manufacturer of microphones, microphone preamps, compressors, limiters, EQs, and a whole host of other pro-grade sound shaping products used to record high-quality music. They also offer a line of equally high-quality high-end consumer audio gear, all made in Chino, with parts mostly sourced in the U.S., but also include select parts from China and other places of the world.
I reached out to EveAnna to arrange an interview, which came a few days later via Google Meet.
What a different and refreshing experience it is to speak with EveAnna, who has a fun and quirky personality that at times sounds very laid-back, California beach-ish…but can instantly switch to an excited, fast-paced burst of enthusiastic word soup…turning on a dime to a thoughtful, deeply felt passionate diatribe that can often include outbursts…quite salty outbursts. She occasionally drops in a slogan – “Made in Chino…not China,” is one she likes to repeat. Sometimes I got the feeling that she made some of those slogans up on the spot, relevant to our discussion at that moment…which sometimes could be quite humorous.
Talks Like an Engineer, Thinks Like a Creative, Manages Like a Pro
Perhaps it’s her self-deprecating humor, or the obvious pride she exhibits in her company, employees, and the steps taken over the years to build the company to its present level of industry respect. Or maybe it’s the many flashes of brilliance that pop up as she answers questions. To her credit, she never dodged a question, even those that bordered on sensitive personal matters.
Whatever it was, I was struck by how EveAnna talks like an engineer, thinks like a creative, and intuitively manages her team and her business like the most professional, analytical, and effective executive you could imagine. The longer we spoke, the more I understood how she succeeded in this, her most difficult challenge, selling her business during this time of tariff turmoil and the resulting economic impact. So let’s dig into that a little more deeply.
It’s a Truly Done Deal
On Thursday, July 10, 2025, the company announced the acquisition of Manley Labs by Dirk Ulrich. That announcement was made on exactly the same day the deal was finalized. In fact, EveAnna told me, they signed the deal on Thursday, and by that Saturday, the funds were in her account…a truly done deal.
Manley has always stood for integrity, tube-driven sonic character, and dedication to reliability. After decades of building this brand with an amazing team, I’m grateful to see it seize its future with someone who truly respects the soul of Manley and has a proven track record of growing audio companies. Dirk’s technology expertise will carry this company into its Manley 3.0 destiny.
EveAnna Manley
But, as you might imagine, this turn of events actually started earlier than that…much earlier than that. In fact, it started years earlier.
Dirk Ulrich Acquires Manley Labs
The buyer and new owner of Manley Labs, Dirk Ulrich, is a serial entrepreneur with “decades of experience at the intersection of analog engineering and digital innovation,” according to the formal announcement. He is mostly known for Brainworx (Germany) and Plugin Alliance (USA). Ulrich is also said to be a significant shareholder in the Native Instruments Group – which now includes Brainworx, Plugin Alliance, and iZotope. Ulrich’s deep experience in pro audio bodes well for Manley Labs’ future – fully 85% of its business is in the pro audio space.
Manley gear is part of the foundation of so many top studios around the world, and the reputation EveAnna and her team have built over decades is truly remarkable. I was a fan and user long before this acquisition. We intend to protect the Manley heritage while evolving with the needs of the next generation of music creators and audio professionals.
Dirk Ulrich, Serial technology entrepreneur
How We Got to This Moment
One other thing about Dirk, also from the announcement: “Dirk is a Gold Record certified music producer, mastering engineer, and the original inventor of the TMT patent (most realistic digital emulation of analog devices with Tolerance Modeling Technology).
But let’s get back to how the parties arrived at this moment, and how their discussions survived a time of economic and international trade turmoil.
As I spoke with EveAnna, my impression was that she was relieved, almost giddy that this deal was done. So I asked her, how are you feeling now all the work of getting the company to this point, meeting with multiple potential buyers, negotiating deals that didn’t work, etc. – is now behind you.
Ending One Big Ass Chapter and Beginning Another
“Holy shit! It felt like graduating from high school,” Manley said. “You know, you’re ending one big ass chapter of your childhood, and then going on to college…all new friends, all new location. You know…it’s a big change!”
I read that sense of wonderment…that wow, this is a big deal! But I still felt she displayed some sense of relief, which she owned up to. It has been a long road, she tells me, to get to this point.
First, a little take on the history backing this moment. EveAnna met David Manley when she went to work for him and his son at Vacuum Tube Logic in 1989. A romance developed and in August 1990, they got married. At a time when the industry was rapidly changing over to integrated circuits, Manley continued to evangelize the benefits of vacuum tubes. EveAnna credits him with convincing many in the industry to embrace vacuum tubes
Manley Labs: A New Upscale Line to VTL
In 19881, David Manley created a new brand, MANLEY, designed to be more upscale than VTL, and ultimately, in 1993, separated it from VTL and set it up in its own facility in Chino, where it has stayed to this day. VTL was now owned and operated by Luke Manley, while David created and set up Manley Laboratories.
David developed some serious personal issues and in 1996, he left the United States to reside in France. In 1999, EveAnna and David divorced. As part of the divorce negotiations, EveAnna bought Manley Labs, which she has owned and operated to this day…er, last Thursday.
“It was hard. I was still so young and had a lot of growing up to do,” EveAnna said. “It sure was a lot of very tough life lessons.”
Dedicated Herself to Building the Manley Labs Business
Once she got past a lot of really challenging emotions, she dedicated herself to building the Manley Labs business. It was an important inflection point in the company’s history. Since that inflection point, the company has seen an amazing amount of growth over the last 25-30 years or so.
Then, in 2018, another inflection point appeared. Manley received an unsolicited approach from another unrelated businessperson. It turns how that he was a fan of their high-end gear and wanted to explore a potential acquisition. While that deal did not come together, it was a wake-up call for EveAnna.
Structuring Books to More Closely Track EBITDA
“So I realized that I just didn’t have the company in a position to even be able to value it or know how to sell it,” she told me. “I realized that anyone who’s going to buy this company doesn’t care about my inventory, or my people, or my IP, or all of my assets. They just care about profitability…my EBITDA.”
EBITDA (earnings before interest, tax, depreciation, and amortization) is a widely used measure of profit. But Manley Labs was basically set up and run as an owner/operator…its books were not structured this way.
A Five-Year Goal to Retire by 55
So EveAnna set a five-year goal to try and retire before she reaches 55 (she had just turned 50 at that point)… She set about researching and learning how to structure the business to help make it attractive to potential buyers. She restructured her financials, emphasizing profit generation and kept them up to date.
Then, in 2020, COVID-19 hit and everything changed again. As most of you are surely aware, COVID whipsawed the industry – first, bringing everything to a halt…and then having the business take off to such a degree that demand outstripped supply.
The Company Doubled in Size During COVID
For Manley Labs, however, after that first hiccup, “…all of a sudden, the company doubled in size because everyone was home buying Hi-Fi gear and pro audio gear,” EveAnna said. “It was a scramble to try and catch up. It was insane.”
Now, with the newly polished books, clean inventory, and a new ERP system, combined with some really nice numbers, the company looked better than ever. So Manley put together a team including accountants and lawyers experienced with M&A, retained a business broker, who put together an offering presentation. The company created a secure data room to populate with financial data to be shared with certain potential buyers.
Fairly quickly, the broker located five potential qualified buyers for meetings.
5 Deals Emerged, 5 Deals Disappeared
“One of those offers was an ESOP [employee stock ownership plan],” EveAnna explained. “Another two of the offers were from private equity. Then, there was a group of industry veterans trying to build a consortium, but their financing didn’t come together.” And the last one, she told me, just didn’t gel.
Five deals came, all opportunities were fully vetted, and five deals disappeared. Manley found herself disheartened. The process took many months of effort, with nothing to show for it.
Last year, yet another deal came and went. Post-COVID sales trends were beginning to normalize, and business was not getting any easier.
In January, A Good Idea Turned the Tide
Then, this past January, Heather Rafter2, one of Manley Labs’ attorneys who specializes in the pro audio space, recommended that EveAnna speak with Dirk Ulrich who was apparently coming off of a non-compete and was looking to reengage in the pro audio space. EveAnna immediately saw the strategic sense of approaching Dirk. In fact, they had reached out to him in prior years, but the timing wasn’t good for him as he was in the process of selling his companies.
They arranged a meeting with Ulrich at NAMM and it was clear that this time, the timing was right for all parties. In another sign of better timing, the process seemed to progress much more smoothly and much more quickly. Keep in mind, in April, the Administration announced its tariff program that upended, at least temporarily, the business world. Even so, the discussions continued.
Just a Few Months to LOI and Purchase Agreement
Within a couple of months, a Letter of Intent (LOI) was drafted. Just a few more months of due diligence, and a detailed purchase agreement was drafted.
That is the agreement that the parties executed last Thursday. And now, get ready world…here comes Manley Labs 3.0.
The Goal; Finding the Right Buyer
When selling your business, the goal is not to just find any buyer. The goal is to find the right buyer. Says EveAnna, “Dirk is a really cool dude. And he’s the best choice that could have been made.”
What to see what boutique audio manufacturing looks like? Check out this video by following this link…
See more on Manley Labs at manley.com.
CORRECTIONS
- 07/18/2025 – 6:56 pm – Date correction – The MANLEY brand name was originally created in 1988 and then separated from VTL in 1993. The original text incorrectly presented the 1993 date for both events. Correction requested by Manley Labs. ↩︎
- 07/18/2025 – 7:05 pm – Name inserted – It was requested that the actual name of one of the transition team members who assisted Manley Labs in this process be included. That name is added here… Addition requested by Manley Labs ↩︎
Leave a Reply