Mana Equipment Supports Resurrected

Hi-Fi Corner
1

I found a website called SoundSupports that seems to be a one man band company producing armboards for various turntables but also intriguingly Mana equipment racks! Those members of a certain age will remember these from the late 70’s/early 80’s (I think that’s right) as being regarded by many as the best thing to put your Linn and Naim equipment on. Basically steel welded racks similar to Target or SO but having glass shelves.

I’ve made tentative enquiries and it seems he makes these to order and is quoting £250 per shelf plus shipping. They certainly look the business from the photographs on his website.

The big question of course is how do they compare to the originals in terms of performance? I’ve never actually heard an original Mana. They didn’t seem popular around our neck of the woods. One difference highlighted to me is that the glass used is now toughened whilst the original apparently wasn’t. Also I recall that the originals had special damping pads on the underside of the glass to damp out the ringing. The new ones don’t have these, but as the glass is now different perhaps they aren’t required.

I must admit I’m very tempted indeed. Apart from loving the look, which would suit my Nait 50 and CD5si very well, if the performance is as good as their reputation of old then the asking price is a bargain and I’m sure I would prefer their claimed extremely fast and dynamic sound to that of my Quadraspire SVT. Frankly I dislike the look of the Quadraspire and I don’t think it’s the most forward or punchiest sounding rack. But probably the best option below Fraim.

Any thought’s from anyone on all this? Is anyone still using Mana and have you compared to modern racks such as Quadraspire SVT or Fraim? Of course when Mana was all the rage there were actually very few specialist racks around and it’s reputation was gained in comparison to what there was at the time. Things have changed quite a bit since then so I do wonder if it’s performance still holds up well against modern alternatives.

3 Likes
2

@70sPete

I’d give him a call and see if he could do a rack for you it’s the best manufacturing rigidity process and seems like the Target type but wouldn’t want to start a collection.

It can get a bit silly. :wink:

My target blew away my Quadraspire and I wasn’t even interested in how they sounded it was for rigidity and convenience.

2 Likes
3

Thanks. I’ve emailed him to get a few more details. No 'phone number though. The rigidity of a welded rack is certainly a big theoretical advantage as far as I can see in terms of performance. These seem virtually non existant now. I guess partly this is due to difficulty / cost in shipping. What I don’t want is obviously to blow around £750 + shipping on something that turns out to sound worse than my Quadraspire. If it sounded no better I would still be happy as the more I look at the Quadraspire the more I feel the urge to take an axe to it!

1 Like
4

Maybe around 20 years ago Mana was a very controversial topic.

I never heard it myself. My memory of the destructions was that Mana had a particular sound signature that some loved!

2 Likes
5

It won’t,

Still a few Target jobs on the auction site and might be worth organising shipping yourself to get one.
The seller has nothing to lose.
They used to just come wrapped in cardboard and the shelves in bubble wrap in a box.

2 Likes
6

Never understood the fascination with Mana, ugly looking stuff.

Understood even less those proud of having an LP12 sat on a 5ft stack of mana supports.

3 Likes
7

I agree that the practice of putting multiple levels under components looks absurd and even dangerous. I would just be using a standard 3 shelf rack.

2 Likes
8

Long time ago I had an industrial looking rack that was welded single frame with glass shelves.

The EB Acoustics EB2 speakers were nice though.

image
image1920×1440 514 KB

5 Likes
9

Mana was much discussed 10-15 years ago, they even had their own forum if memory serve.

Suddenly disappeared, but possible many of these rack available s/h in UK.

Personally I’d much rather have your Quadraspire, each to their own.

1 Like
10

Which is probably the result of form following function. It wasn’t designed to be pretty, unlike most of today’s offerings which try to look good and almost universally fail miserably IMO. It’s personal preference of course but I much prefer an equipment rack that looks functional and industrial than one which attempts to look stylish and just ends up embarrassing itself.

1 Like
11

You would think so wouldn’t you? But I can’t find any!

12

I hesitate to add a contribution here as you will do exactly what you want if previous threads are anything to go by, but well you have asked for opinions.

I will preface this with the declaration I am rather cynical - so my wife says.

At our age (guessing of course) maybe our hearing is not as acute as it once was, and with the aging process, and maybe in some cases abuse from high volume headphones, loud rock concerts, or poor workplace care (which has changed and health and safety is taken more seriously these days), maybe the nuances of the change in platform will be missed and not heard. The mana system was intended for the LP12, which was prone to reacting to its supporting platform, and usual salesman talk persuaded the support benefit to extend to amplifiers.

However you do not have an LP12, so any decision is only about ascetics and appearance, and not to do with performance (which you are unlikely to hear).

You have settled on a simple system and clearly the initial reaction from your listening is very positive, so may I ask why you are chasing more nuances of performance, which is from a reputation of some sales talk from a product some 30 years ago?

Seems to me to make more sense to sketch out a design on the back of an envelope and go round to a metal fabrication yard and ask for something to be made locally, and you know enough to get the appearance and design elements right.

(I did a similar exercise when I designed a metal frame supporting four wood shelves to support my four Naim components, NAC62, HiCap, NAP140 and NAT02 (now sold) to screw on the wall.)

(I had an LP12 for a time too, but moved it on. I used a Target Turntable wall shelf)

My advice for what it is worth is listen to the music, and not worry about your system any more.

Get a stand for your components either made up as I suggest, or a simple wooden shelving set that you like, and I doubt you will hear anything bad, and you can sit back and enjoy.

Says a cynic…

4 Likes
13

I thought you were done with tweaking? Or is it that this rack physically fits better?

2 Likes
14

Or fad following fad (or rather fad layering upon fad!)

15

I’ve always had a very strong prediliction for doing exactly what I want rather than what someone else wants me to do. A flaw in my character I guess!

Anyway I want the rack for appearance mainly because I dislike my Quadraspire but also because I want something that sounds more punchy and up front. Not really a characteristic of Qaudraspire although it’s excellent in other ways.

16

Long gone the old days – probably the same outcome as you fiddled with Nait 5!

17

I am. It’s mainly driven by a strong dislike of how the Quadraspire looks.

2 Likes
18

I suppose if you try hard enough you can reduce most things to being a fad.

19

Go and get one made locally.

It is not hard for you to design one that has elements of isolation for the shelves, and looks right, and fits your decor. You will get it made for much less than £750, and have the satisfaction of it being your design.

It will not be a fad if you design it yourself.

20

Are we back with tinkering and making things complicated? Mind, if you go for it because of looks and have the change in the back of your sofa, why not. As to sound, it reads like you are not (entirely) satisfied with the sound of your new system? Pointless to tell you that I don’t believe for a moment a new rack will give you what you want (did I just do that :wink: )?

Subtly repositioning speakers will do much more but failing that, it may not be quite the system you wanted?

2 Likes