Hi Matt
That’s my problem
I first heard it 30 years ago lots of stuff has come and gone but the mana is still here ! 
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I was ironic
The Japanese one?
Yeah… Errrr. No. 
I’d happily take a performance hit to not have it. But that’s just me.
I look at music like this: Listening to music is, I think most agree, largely an emotional experience. And as such, the experience isn’t divorced from the rest of human senses. The result of which, to me, is that how the gear makes you feel to look at and use is important. And similarly important is the surroundings you place yourself in when listening to music. It all forms part of a symbiotic sense relationship. For this reason, the “doesn’t matter what it looks like as long as it sounds good” argument is alien to me. As is the concept of a dedicated listening room made sparse and utilitarian to serve the hifi (plenty of those on the system pics thread).
In other words, to me, to enhance/complete the emotional experience:
- The music needs to be good.
- The hifi needs to sound good.
- The hifi needs to look good.
- The room has to look good and make me want to spend time in there music or not.
Now, I’m not claiming that view is correct. It’s just a view. Plenty would argue with equal validity, that to them, the emotional focus is just on what you hear and to appreciate and internalise that, other senses should be ignored somewhat and therefore, everything is slave to sound quality in a singular goal. That’s just not me though. I’m what you might call a real homebody.
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Yea, it amused me that it would be hidden by the speaker from pretty much the whole room.
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We are 100% aligned here. If something is going to be in my home, it needs to be furniture. I like the elegance of Fraim (but only really in Black/Black) and just couldn’t countenance Mana domestically.
Hence the point about not wanting to hear it - because those that love it really do love it, and the fact it’s so aesthetically challenged and hard to get and expensive, suggests that when it’s good it’s REALLY good. I don’t want to find I love what it can do, and then have to live knowing how my system COULD sound.
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For those like me i would add the person needs to feel good (various ways to achieve that)
be in tune with the surroundings provide an Atmosphere! Lights out with candles.
In which case the looks of the Hi FI is only relevant as a shadow - unless of course you have
MacIntosh with the blue meters.
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I see you have the LP12 clamped - aesthetically challenging, but of real benefit?
THAT is nicely on the sane end of the spectrum
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It took some guts to clamp it but since a I have more then 10 other units clamped with very good result I took the risk and it did pay off even though it was less then with some other equipment.
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I had a Mana turntable stand under my LP12 and it was a staggeringly cost effective upgrade. I later tried a Mana Sound Base with a glass top way back when under my EAD CD player but it made no improvement.
Mana sound bases are designed to go under speakers, you will get better results if you used a glass top ref top.
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Looks great, I’d suggest to get 2x soundstage under the table will bring close to Fraim height and have a large benefit to the lp12.
That’s borderline arrogant.
Sorry - it wasn’t intended to be borderline.
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