Smack me if somebody has already discovered this mod, but I have found a way to vastly improve the sound of Sound Org racks with Naim gear.
Many of us are familiar with that midrangy blat and limited dynamic that Sound Org reveals as you climb higher up the Naim chain. You can almost hear the equipment striving to do what the racks are not able to permit.
One night after ordering Mana and starting the long wait, I was listening and staring resentfully at the Sound Org rack. Then something occurred to me - Mana uses damped glass shelves. Why not simply get some glass cut and replace those old, bowed Sound Org shelves?
So I did. At a glass shop I paid $37 Cdn for two chunks of 3/8" plate cut to fit. At a hardware store I bought some rubber stripping with adhesive - another $4.50. I stuck 4" strips to the bottom of the glass shelves in roughly the spots that Mana places its damping rubber.
Then I slid the glass shelves into the Sound Org frame. The results were immediately wonderful! A much, much more relaxed presentation with far greater dynamic range. The mids faded back slightly and the whole range snapped into better balance. The irritants that had been bothering me vanished.
This isn't just my opinion. A friend who's very familiar with Mana figured I'd achieved a considerable portion of the Mana effect, even though I was able to use the glass only under my Supercap and CDX. The 52 and 250 are still on supports far inferior to ordinary Sound Org.
Again, if this has already been discovered and discussed, my apologies. If not, I'd be interested in reactions.
Don
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Former member
I've got four 'original-for-LP12' Sound Org floorstands which I've owned for about 15 years.
Ive tried MDF, 6mm glass, Aerolam, air(really!) and marble in place of the original chipboard.
None give better results in my opinion.
Sound orgs were designed to be light & rigid. The combination of light alloy and light, damped chipboard is a very balnced compromise.
If you want (& like) the Mana effect - you have to pay for it & buy the real thing.
Rob.
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Former member
Some time ago (in a more obsessive former life) I had a 10mm glass shelf made to replace one of the MDF shelves on my (unnamed) rack. I tried the glass by itself, and on top of the MDF sheld, and separated from the MDF shelf by sorbothane pucks, wooden cones, and metal spikes. I tried every permutation I could think of. I tried it with the LP12, the CD player, and the amps.
In each case, the effect of adding glass was the same, and differed only in intensity: the glass emphasised high frequencies, reduced low frequences, and thinned out the midrange. The sound became, hollow, thin, glassy, etched, and bright. Thus ended my experiments with glass.
Ross
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Former member
First off, my mistake above: 3/8ths is close to 10mm (you got it for an excellent price).
Ross.
I have had the same bad luck with glass in the past, although placing it in a system of layers, but not directly beneath a component, could yield good things with the TT. Consequently, I expected exactly what you describe when my Mana Reference Table arrived. Somehow the make it work: the sound is actually less strident and more textured/detailed/complex than what I had before. I seems Mana acts sort of like Judo combatant, using the opponent's attacks against him. The glass rings in nasty ways and the rack throws it all to the ground, away from the gear. Now how's that for a nice scientific explanation?
Vuk.
[This message was edited by Vuk Vuksanovic on FRIDAY 29 September 2000 at 04:22.]
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Arthur Bye
Don: This mod does not sound like it would work unless you could mount the glass on metal spikes like Mana. You might be able to jury rig something like this with threaded rod and some nuts. You could then grind the threaded rod and make points to mount the glass on.
Then you will be able to "tune" the shelf.
Without the shelf being tuned I can't imagine that you would get anything approximating Mana. You've got the glass sitting on plastic inserts now and that just won't cut it.
Even then, the Sound Org rack doesn't have the structual rigidity of Mana so I would be suprised if it wasn't just a waste of time.
This sounds like a job for Vuk.
Arthur Bye
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Martin Payne
Vuk,
your mistake again, he said 3/8ths, not 3/16ths. Still, that is very nearly 10mm.
Arthur,
my Mana table is surprisingly flexible compared to my Sound Orgs.
Mine is an early one, although John Watson assured me at the show on Sunday that the performance would be as good as a new one.
Also, my SOs have metal spikes - did later ones lose this?
cheers, Martin
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Arthur Bye
Martin:
My SO rack, which is about 2 years old has metal spikes for the floor, but plastic inserts for the glass shelves to sit on. The holes are about 2.3-3mm and do not go all the way through the support bar.
I wasn't aware that SO rack made metal spikes for the glass to sit on.
Just took to wiggling both racks and they seem about the same strength wise.
Doesn't seem too hard a project to try doing one shelf of this. Might take a spin at it since my SO rack is sitting unused right now.
Don't know where i'd go to get 10 mm glass tho.
Arthur Bye
Posted on: 28 September 2000 by Don Braid
I didn't mean to claim it was Mana - just that it's better than it was before. In my system, the improvements are unmistakable. The tuning with strips made a big difference.
I'm not trying to change the world here - just pass on a cheap tweak that I thought might be useful. I should have known it wouldn't be an original. You guys are even crazier than I am.
Don
