The 'Slab' Effect

Regards,
Frank.

A good rack is the next step, but room layout means I need at least a five tier (preferably six, for adding an XPS) rack to put everything except my LP12 on (that's on a wall shelf above the rack), but also I want a "fit and forget" rack, so I don't think Mana is an option, everything has to fit in the space under the LP12 so all those "phases" are'nt an option, and I would then feel I was missing out.

This new Isoblue stuff seems interesting, if for no other reason than cost, and recent posts seem positive and there's also a dealer in Brum.

This forum usually has an answer for everything, but equipment supports, well that's another matter!

Ade

I recently found when I took the carpets up on my floor that the floorboards are a long way from being ideal - old and spongey would probably be the best description. As a trial (based on seeing this on several set-ups), I bought a couple of the heaviest paving slabs I could find, and put my speakers (Wilson Benesch Actors) on top. Undoubtedly this was a more stable than previous. However, in my situation, I found the slabs to totally ruin the sound, the most grievous fault was that the bass seemed to lose all subtlety in favour of more slam. As ever, you have to try all these things yourself and see what works for you.

David

When the time comes I might try to talk Griffin Audio into lending me the Isoblue as well so at least I can compare different makes.

I'm sure that in the view of some others you've done the unthinkable, replacing Mana with QS, so could you elaborate when you say it sounds better.

Ade

"Seems we've got yet another boybander here. He's obviously not heard Mana and just trolling with all the classic clichés. Just ignore him."

Vuk,

From what I can gather our friend with the QS previously used a 5 tier Mana stand. He has given his reasons why he changed to QS, he preferred the presentation of QS to Mana.

All this, IMHO, he put forward in a very eloquent manner.

This poor chap is now sentenced to a boy band & is accused of being a troll. He looks like a victim of the 'Vuk kangaroo court' to me.

FWIW I prefer Hutter to Mana for similar reasons to Lerxst, & yes I have lived with both.

Bob

You stick to your Quadraspire Stands and don't let Vuk bully you around. As far as I know Vuk hasn't even heard the Quadraspire so his comments can only be taken with a pinch of salt. I've been doing a bit of stand evaluation myself recently and can certainly see where you are coming from in liking the Quadraspire.

You don't mention what mains block and leads you are using. If you are a follower of the Audio Councel school of setup, then the Quadraspire stands are generally used as an integral part of an overall setup philosophy that also includes the MusicWorks mains block and leads.

I've heard the QS/MusicWorks setup used with CDX based systems (typically CDX/102/180) on a number of occasions and I've always been extremely impressed with the results. I have absolutely no doubt that this kind of setup has serious music making abilities that would easily shame many much more expensive systems.

Allan

OK, I will be the first to go along with using one's real name on this forum. That is one of the reasons why I don't think I will be posting on the 'other' forum in future.

I'm fairly sure that Lerxxst is not a proper name & I personally would appreciate some form of de cloaking in future. Lerxxst has only posted a handful of times here & maybe is not familiar with the house rules.

What I have a problem with, & I hate to say it is becoming increasingly more irritating for myself & others is a handful of Mana 'fundamentalists'. I personally place yourself on the fringe of this & not a hard core member, who seem hell bent on ramming their worshiped product down everyone's throat, whether or not an initial enquiry actually involved supports or not.

Mana is good, I've never disputed that, but it is not for everyone's taste. I have a good fried who tried some of my Mana at his home and found the effect too up front & in your face. In his opinion the Mana effect is just that , an effect, but not a musical benefit. I think he is now considering a more mellow approach with some
wooden stands, & no, they are not Hutter.

There are many good support systems out there. Hutter & Mana IMHO are two of the better ones, but there are others to suit different preferences in presentation and budget.

I am quite prepared to believe that Lerxxst once owned Mana & now prefers QS, fine, they are both good stands that go about the music making business in their own ways.

I personally do not believe that there is a Mana/Hutter feud. What I do believe is that a small minority of Mana users are totally blinkered to the possibility that another make of support might be suitable for another person.

I will be out of circulation for a few days, so nothing personal if I don't contribute to the forum for a while.

Seasons greetings,

Bo

Vuk

Perhaps it's because others are listening with THEIR ears and you are listening with yours. I've heard stuff (ok..at shows) that has driven me out of a room it was so bad. Yet there have been people sitting there with big grins on their faces because they like it. What you find to be very good someone else may easily find 'hard' and 'upfront'.

Brian

Or it might just be that his perception of the sound is different from other folks. An audiologist friend of mine says there is more difference in hearing from one person to another than from Naim to Krell or Hutter to Mana. Food for thought.

Che ers,

Bob @ Qwest¸

I don't 'stick' with anyone, I simply have my own point of view. I'll give you a quick example. My brother thinks that SBL's sound very bass heavy. I've read more than one post on this forum accusing SBL's of having no bass at all. I find it unbelievable that anyone finds SBL's either light or heavy in the bass! Nevertheless, people do think this. All I am doing here is pointing out that we all hear things in a different way and that you should just accept it. Why does it matter to you if someone prefers the floor to Mana?

It was suggested by David that your definition of 'boybander' is someone not posting their real name or their fullname. Since I do both, (just check my profile), I'd suggest a more accurate definition is someone who doesn't agree with you.

Brian

The slabs did great things under the speakers, but I'm having difficulty constructing a rack from six garden slabs!

Ade

Malcolm

can you explain exactly how you've used these boards, it sounds like you've placed them directly under the equipment. If this is the case, what rack etc is it all on. (I'll try anything if it's cheap)
What improvements did you achieve?

Ade

Ade
PS
Does anyone know what a 6 shelf Mana/Hutter costs?

Vuk

Thanks

Brian

Thanks for that, looks like I'm nipping down to Woolies.

Later that day.......
I bought three of these slabs (£7.98) and it looks like my wife has got some new additions to the kitchen.
I placed them under 72/hi/140 and although I could detect some improvement in bass definition, this did not make up for the fact that something had been lost. It was like some of the life had been taken away and the music did not seem as 'emotional' as before. It may be that they took away something that should'nt be there, but it's obviously something I'm used to and prefer.

I'm not saying it won't work, it obviously has for you, Tony, but not for me. In fairness, you said your rack had wooden shelves, and mine are glass, so that might be something to do with it.

Still, the wife's now gonna have something else to open Christmas morning.

(Shuffling my gear around to try this, I'd forgotten how deceptively heavy Hi-Caps are. Is lifting a Supercap a two man job?)

Ade

[This message was edited by Ade Archer on MONDAY 18 December 2000 at 17:47.]

If I've followed this correctly, you've gone from 82/2*Flatcaps/180 on Mana to basically a Nait1 on Quadraspire. And Dave confirms that its sounding better than previously (hope thats right).

Could you explain why you havn't (or didn't) just move your 82/180 system onto Quadraspire ?

To me, a basic "rock-solid" Naim amp is the 102/180 combo, but you seem to have lowered the goal-posts even further.

Allan

You said: "I have yet to meet a Mana user who
has the first idea of the fundamentals of what
it is that makes music work"

I can't tell you how much freedom you've
given me personally with this enlightening view.
All the time I've spent over the years; money
spent on a Conservatory degree, lessons, concerts;
and well, Mana, a P9 and an xx-1 and I still
don't understand why I'm moved by both Eric
Dolphy and Maria Callas. I can just plain
stop trying to figure it out! I CAN'T figure
it out! I use Mana! Whew. Life IS much simpler
now.:-)

Happy holidays,
Scott

Interested in that you are thiking of doing a comparison between QS and Isoblue with kit loaned from Griffin Audio - Birmingham UK.

Let us know the findings.

And anyone else out there who has been fortunate enought to compare QS-Isoblue-Mana-Hutter.

Ade: please give my regards to Bob Griffin at Griffin Audio as he and Dave? Hanna 1st introduced me to real Hi-Fi at Griffin Audio. I was walking down Bristol St. to Ritcher Sounds to buy some new speakers. I walked passed their Griffin Audio shop and thought I would call in (I think it only had an LP12 in the window in those days. Needless to say I was hooked (this was back in the 1980's) and ended up buying my 1st real system from them (LP12, EKOS, K18, NAC72, NAP120). I moved away from Birmigham in the early 1990's and now get expert support and guidance from another specialist shop like Griffen - namely the Sound Organisation in York.

Regards

Richard