A challenge / scientific research involving Bub

Weren't you recently to be heard advising people to get off the upgarde treadmill?

Cheers

Jason

 

Lots of Pros and cons

Chaps

I must have heard every rack and there is no absolute answer as to which one is best.

The Mana leads the field to support a LP12 and is also a no brainer under speakers. I have Bricks and SBLs and both sound a lot better on to of a phase 1 Mana. I should really go up to phase 4 under the Briks at least.

I settled for a Hutter system as in its day it seemed the best rack for presenting the music in a natural way. Hutter looks good in the flesh but bloody awful in photographs.

It is also modular so it can be added to when circumstances warrant it.

The Fraim was released 3 weeks after I bought the Hutter and for Naim kit the Fraim is simply unbeatable. It oozes quality from every pore and it definitely enhances the music. I cannot see any downside other than the price. But it is money well spent.

Mana is very in your face but lacks the modular facility which can be a pain. Also the set up is an aquired art.

The only rack I think makes music sound worse is the Quadraspire reference.....I just do not like its effect one little bit.

Isoblue is also good, I think this proves that wood is a good material for Hifi.

The main problem with racks is how do you dem them, it is a pain having to assemble your kit every time you try a new one. I visited a few houses and then of course each system was different. I heard Hutter on an active sytem, so what was I really hearing.

A total pain all round.

I still like my Hutter by the way.

Regards

Mick

 

Hi Paul D

Yes Paul R's is good - it's not precisely what I want, but it's good. I think the active-ness of his Briks probably helps a lot.

The major problem with all this chit-chat is that we are comparing apples with oranges all the time. Different systems in different rooms. As Mick very sensibly points out, what are we hearing? The only answer is to try the stand in your own system, without changing anything else.

Hi Jason,

Yes that was me. I've 'done' two upgrade treadmills now - what's next, I wonder.

In any case, it is a matter of indifference to me what other people have under their hi-fi. Or what their hi-fi is actually composed of. I offer advice based on my own and some of my friends' experience. Whether anything 'works' for you is up to you to decide.

Hi Mick,

'in your face', indeed!

Regards,

James

 

Bub Barcelona is work not pleasure!

I think that the best way to do this is to just try out a CDP on mana and a competitor table or two. This is what I did and it was very easy to just lift up the CDP and move it. My rational is that the difference in the effect is what you need to listen out for and this should be consistent whether for just CDP and CDP + amp.

What we now need is a venue and some participants. Any chance that you will be in London in which case we can use my place or is there anyone who is near to James in Glasgow?

I rang Phil March who is the UK distributor for Hutter and he said that he has not tried upgrading the Hutter by using additional Hutter HiFi Bases but would give it a go. A fair comparison would seem to be Hutter and/or isoblue and/or quadraspire (or others but do not know which ones) versus a standard Mana table (phase one is it?). It would also be interesting to try the above against a three or four tier mana versus a one tier mana blind.

Cheers

Dominic

 

I don't visit London very often - I trained there, which was great for five years, then worked there, which wasn't so great for four years. I was very glad to leave, in the end.

Having said that, I have a few friends still living there, so I really ought to make the effort. I'll let you know next time I'm down.

The problem with moving gear at my place is that it is quite high up in the air at phase nine, which is nice. The CDP is at mid-chest height. I just don't think ics will reach a low rack! Have a look:

 

Just saw this in another thread...

Have you discovered Mana??

 

Cool pics Bub.

Admit it. You didn't buy this for its sound quality alone. Clearly aesthetic considerations played an important part.

 

that pic is the most hilariously ugly set-up i have ever seen,no offence intended,but I suspect you are single

you may have avoided isolation from the floor by using all those empty shelves,but unfortunately its so near the ceiling you are now in range of passing aeroplanes

I bet it sounds great though

 

Hi,

Thanks

It looks even better in real life.

My girlfriend, who is fond of form-follows-function-style industrial architecture, thinks it looks great, and so do I.

The ceiling is 13 feet high, about 8 feet above the top of the speakers.

 

well,it is indeed impressive (the 13ft ceiling and period features in particular)

so being serious for a minute,i take it those "empty shelves" are actually sound stages,as Mana call them? and exactly what does having them all do,as opposed to none,or one,and how did you arrive at that particular number?

 

Yes, each one helps to dissipate vibrational energy.

Number dictated by my height, and my bank balance. See 'numerology' thread on the new Mana forum.

 

Is there an optimum number?

there is one on Ebay with 2 soundstages,i bid,and was gonna go in again,but it looks a tad inadequate now

 

For goodness sake stop bidding Saab. Decide on the maximum price you are prepared to pay (hopefully you'll get it cheaper). Then set up your bid and press the Enter key with about 10 seconds to go before the end of the auction.

Bidding early only encourages others to bid and puts the price up.

Good luck.

 

lol,i have,tbh,it was out of curiosity anyway,I am ordering an Aspect due to my wife not really appreciating architecture on that grand scale


and i still cant get over how many stages Devil has,I cant imagine what it would look like if he was a rich basketball player

 

My god, if you win, will you have the first Sugden to have bleeding edge technology

 

Dear Mr Devil,

May I ask a question? Have you ever been sectioned under the mental health act?

 

What, and the rest of us are sane? :lol: :lol: :lol:

 

My questions for Bub would be

1. How can you look at that in what is a delightful room?

2. How do you over come the paranoia that not all levels are perfectly set up?

3. Any chance of Dyson coming up with a Mana attachment?

 

1. It looks really good to me: it's a bit of a crap photo.

2. By playing a record/CD. You can also tell if it's right by the way each stack sways, I think.

3. Would be a good idea!

 

Bub I have two Hutter stacks and only need one thanks....and you know that I prefer the Hutter over the Mana, but am happy to recommend Mana to others. Dominic