racks

Concrats with your new system and welcome to the forum! You bet Naim attracts a very loyal, enthusiastic following. I joint only a few weeks ago and it took me a while to get used to this almost fierce loyalty (I mean this positive).

Racks and stands can improve (or degrade) the sound quality of your system big time. It would be a shame not to give this some serious attention. Apart from that is a very sensitive topic here.

About 90 % of this forum is heavily in love with Mana racks as THE best sounding. They're (very) expensive and only sold direct from the Mana factory in the UK. I'm part of the 10 % that is not so in love with the so called 'Mana effect' but trying some racks for your equipment is absolutely worth the effort!

Success!

Richard

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About 90 % of this forum is heavily in love with Mana racks as THE best sounding.

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I would put the figure at much, much less than that, at a guess about 35% Mana, 25% Quadraspire, 15% Hutter, 10% Base, 20% other / don't care.

The noisy factions are the Mana and the 'non-ferrous' lot - they seem for some reason to fundamentally opposed. I can hear both effects clearly enough, I personally prefer the Mana route - ideally non-ferrous Mana is the answer.

The non-ferrous crowd seem strangely and uncharacteristically silent at the moment… Where are Dave Cattlin etc?

Tony.

The Rega Planet has very sophisticated absorbing / isolating feet, so may be less stand sensitive than (say) a CD3.5. To find out buy/borrow-from-dealer a set of Nordost Pulsar Points and place the Planet on a shelf on top of the points. If you find little difference then stop worrying. Also worth trying the points under your Nait. If you get big improvements then think about good racks or points or the Aurios that are much fancier/expensive pulsar point like add-ons.

Nic P

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I would put the figure at much, much less than that, at a guess about 35% Mana, 25% Quadraspire, 15% Hutter, 10% Base, 20% other / don't care.

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I ment it more in a matter of speech but you're right to correct me on this.

Only 25% Mana ??? Are you shure?

Jeez... such loudmouths they are then

Richard.

Tony might actually be high--35% Mana seems way too high, although I agree many of them are quite vociferous !

Cheers,

Bob

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Racks, do they make such a difference? How can I get the best out of the components in
the meantime?, currently pride of place on a large wooden bookcase. Should I stack them on top of each other, or leave them seperate?

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Good stands can make a significant difference, particularly with sensitive electronics such as CD players and preamps. Unfortunately good stands are also very expensive, and you need to decide how much you want to spend. If you are planning to upgrade significantly over the next wee while, investment in a good stand with the requite number of shelves would be a good idea. I think it's safe to say almost any proper stand would sound better than a bookcase.

It's never a good idea to stack components above each other. The transformers in each component have the potential to interfere with the music signal and some vertical separation is necessary. Side-by-side placement is better in your situation.

James

Of those commited to one system or another and posting about it, I'd put Mana at over 50%, but if you look at the membership, those who have posted in favor of Mana are a very small percentage overall. Hutter, Base, Quadraspire are much smaller.

--Eri

(as an ex-QS owner, who fell in love with the aesthetic, I can say it does nothing much for the sound, unlike the Mana. Sorry, said that word again )

I'd agree and say Mana must account for about 2/3 of the rack-related postings, but then again perhaps Mana owners are more enthusiastic 'cause they know how good it is. I sure do

- GregB

- GregB
Freedom is not in finding the Holy Grail but in stopping the search for it

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The Mana Postings... are due in large part, IMHO, to the fact that they are organized as a group and choose to promote their cause.

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I have no idea what the cause is, but I've found the Mana Effect damn addictive. Maybe their products should carry a health and safety warning
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James

"There just isn't a Projekt forum or a Hutter forum with an evangelistic leader, that's all"

I personally would like to nominate Paul Stephenson as our Hutter guru ;-)

Bob

Seconded, (sorry Paul)

Cheers

Jason

- GregB
Freedom is not in finding the Holy Grail but in stopping the search for it