For those unconvinced by Mana....

[I-S]

I love it tones... wonderful. Very Flanders and Swann (although their take on that tune was about CdG iirc)

 

[tones]

I love it tones... wonderful. Very Flanders and Swann (although their take on that tune was about CdG iirc)

Plastique, Pompidou, sing the "Marseillaise"
Algérie n'est pas Française!

 

[penance]

Tones
your lyrical talants are surely wasted on us.
Excellent work!

 

[ditton]

This old Man(a)
On Phase 1
Things sound better, much more fun
Textures from the mud come out clean and bright
This old Manas seen the light

This old Man(a)
On Phase 2
Add Soundstage, adjust the screws
Startling music gains, big Epiphany!
PRaT and groove and tunefully

I like this. Helpful too, as I'm at Phase 1, and am considering Phase 2.

Surely there are some basics to be agreed upon: how to reduce unwanted (feedback) effect of vibration: at most extreme when CD/LP transport sits on top of speaker, say.

My Phase 1: A basic 4 tier amp has two sets of spikes, one isolates from floor, the other does the same for each component from the stand (and therefore from each other). Spikes on speakers (or speaker stands) add more isolation.

So what is to be gained in the second verse, as Phase 2, by adding Soundstage under 4 tier amp? Is an extra layer of isolation for each component a worthwhile tweak? Surely, this is a general, not a Mana-war question.

 

[analoguekid]

Spose you have to decide for yourself Ditton, FWIW i believe that Mana prolly works as a good stand at the levels you have it, adding more levels the results will be subtle and I'm sure there is the law of diminishing returns to consider, take JW up on his sale or return policy and decide for yourself.

 

[I-S]

Spikes do not isolate, they couple.

 

[ditton]

you're right. I had major reverb problems when we took up carpet and went for bare wooden flooring. Large Afghan carpet and Auralex MoPads under speakers elimated the obvious. But as ever, with tweaks/subtelty it is likely to be diminishing return territory.

 

[ditton]

Spikes do not isolate, they couple.

please educate ...

 

[I-S]

If you want to couple two items together, you press them together, right?

This increases the pressure of contact between them.

Spikes put the weight of your item over a very small area, massively increasing the pressure (which is weight/area).

The idea behind putting spikes on a speaker cabinet, for example, is to couple it as strongly as possible to a floor (solid stone or concrete best), which then results in a high effective mass, so it is much more difficult for the cabinet to resonate.

 

[tones]

Spose you have to decide for yourself Ditton, FWIW i believe that Mana prolly works as a good stand at the levels you have it, adding more levels the results will be subtle and I'm sure there is the law of diminishing returns to consider, take JW up on his sale or return policy and decide for yourself.

Although, according to its most enthusiastic protagonists, each phase is even more stunning/jaw-dropping/astounding than the previous one. The returns never diminish. Moreover, TV pictures are better and I notice that amplifiers are said to run cooler on Mana. It begins to sound distinctly New Age. Still, judging by the stratospheric levels of some folk, they hear a difference, so best to suck it and see, as AK recommends. Personally, I couldn't persuade even one phase to do anything for whatever I set thereon, so I sold it to Bub.

 

[wadia-miester]

Here we go again.................
I have 3 levels on mana, they support my toolbox at work, it's defiantely got a 'cleaner' clang on entry, but the trailing 'clack' was truncated especially as when the wrench richicet's off the top lid , and its all up front metalic edge reasonce first, certainly doesn't leave any ringing around the workshop
On my system it merely traded note body, realism and decay for leading edge enchancement & up frontedness.
I'm sure it does bring many a back slapping damp patch enhancing merlot drinking jizz factor to some indivduals without question, however I'm not one of them

 

[analoguekid]

Tones the results from any stand are at best subtle, excluding possibly speaker stands, so any improvement would be subtlier subtle, if you know what I mean. I have only heard one large mana setup, if all the iprovements are so obvious, then it must have been dire sounding on ikea lack.

 

[analoguekid]

Here we go again.................
I have 3 levels on mana, they support my toolbox at work, it's defiantely got a 'cleaner' clang on entry, but the trailing 'clack' was truncated especially as when the wrench richicet's off the top lid , and its all up front metalic edge reasonce first, certainly doesn't leave any ringing around the workshop
On my system it merely traded note body, realism and decay for leading edge enchancement & up frontedness.
I'm sure it does bring many a back slapping damp patch enhancing merlot drinking jizz factor to some indivduals without question, however I'm not one of them

What you need is snap-on

 

[ditton]

OK, isolation (of vibration effect) is the objective, not the process/effect of spikes. In the case you give, solid floor is the isolating piece in the equation. Similarly, the angle-iron of Mana amp stand is that isolating piece, which would be limiting factor for Phase upgrade, at least for 'isolation' between components on the amp stand.

'Cos in my case, a major concern is that I have a wooden floor and I want to isolate the effect of vibration from speaker from feeding back into source components.

advice? would granite blocks (as isolating piece) under speaker stands be a better bet/tweak?

 

[wadia-miester]

AK,

I do run snap-on (have for 18 years), my prevous tool box weighed 1 tonne, and had to forked lifted off the truck, that was just the roll cab

 

[tones]

Here we go again.................
I have 3 levels on mana, they support my toolbox at work, it's defiantely got a 'cleaner' clang on entry, but the trailing 'clack' was truncated especially as when the wrench richicet's off the top lid , and its all up front metalic edge reasonce first, certainly doesn't leave any ringing around the workshop
On my system it merely traded note body, realism and decay for leading edge enchancement & up frontedness.
I'm sure it does bring many a back slapping damp patch enhancing merlot drinking jizz factor to some indivduals without question, however I'm not one of them

You mean, you haven't found that the tools perform better? That the screwdrivers are screwier, the wrenches less wrenched, the nuts nuttier, the bolts less rebolting, the sockets have more sock, the drills are less boring? Just think, if you supported the cars in your garage on them, you'd find that the distributors distribute better, the crankshafts are crankier and the pistons...also work better.

 

[analoguekid]

Tones on form as evr pure class, i take it you're a sceptic

 

[ditton]

Here we go again.................

On my system it merely traded note body, realism and decay for leading edge enchancement & up frontedness.

I'm sure you are forgiving, we all get to decision points at different times, and this is mine.

What I have with the AudioSynth Ncode/DaxDecade combo, I like a lot. It has a real sense of the 'note body, realism and decay', which I hanker after helping by getting a bit more grip out of the JMLab Electras (I know that to be there from having had some home demos) and am guessing that I have some unwanted vibration feedback. What I do not want to do is trade "note body, realism and decay for leading edge enchancement & up frontedness".

 

[wadia-miester]

Simple answer ditton 'stillpoints', those that have heard know
Though on wooden floors, FME, if your not going to 'plug the floor' then air decoupling works the best with maybe a granite slabe ontop and speakers spiked (solid brass) with matching cups/coasters, or if you feeling flush a full set of still points.
I agree cost option isn't cheap, however the results speak for themselves.
No, we don't sell them in case anyone is thinking its a subtle plug, its not its a blantant plug

 

[tones]

Tones on form as evr pure class, i take it you're a sceptic

Sucked it and heard - or actually didn't hear. Next time you're at Bub's, the Sound Frame was mine, in my case unexploded.