CDX or Mana?

steve: what equipment supports are you sing right now? if at all possible, i would improve the front end of your system first. i suspect the sbl's are revealing weaknesses upstream. i am assuming of course that the minimum pre-amp for sbl's is an 82. this assumption may be incorrect. check with your dealer, or naim. if the pre-amp is deemed OK, then i would go the cdx route straightaway.

then when you get your mana, it will bring out the best in the cd player.

of course, if supports are higher up the hierarchy than pre-amp, then of course, get the mana first. i really doubt this is the case though.

enjoy...

ken

Ken,

From memory, its a SoundOrganisation Z650, about 180 quids worth, black welded construction, with smoked glass shelves, spiked.

...where are you? You mentioned "Russ" gave you a loan of some Naim kit - is this RA in Edinburgh, by any chance? If so, and if you're not too far away, I have a heap of Mana which you'd be welcome to come and hear for yourself. I'm based in the centre of Edinburgh, and if you bring your Naim kit we can shift mine and try your system up.

Just a thought,

John

steve: i think(?) i know that rack. i will arbitrarily say it satisfies the minimum base requirement for a support -- i have used sound orgs before.

then my suggestion is to get (at least 82 preamp). i hope you are in position to take up john's offer of temporary residence upon his mana racks. this should point to the advantages of a better pre-amp, i hope...

enjoy...

ken

Steve,

would that be the Z560? (See S.O. Z560).

Re "spiked" - it is not spiked between the frame & the glass.

This stand is appalling! Much worse than the old-style Sound Org multi-tier racks, which themselves sound very poor.

Sorry.

Martin

Yup, thats the rack in all its sordid glory - and yeah it sucks.

No, no that Russ, im on the Wirral (other side of the Mersey from Liverpool).

Many thanks for the offer though.

steve: you can clearly see my heavy bias towards better equipment first and stands later.

would be interested to hear what you decide to do.

enjoy...

ken

Steve-

You should (or could) do both--but each in its proper turn.

Ultimately, you'll find that a separate Reference Table (should you choose to accept this task) for a top-notch source makes more sense than spending an equivalent amount to fit all of your equipment onto one rack, with entry-level source and mid-range amplification / speakers.

Something about a standalone Reference Table "breathes" better, than a two-tier table with the same height....it's just difficult to describe.

That said, I've never seen a Mana table with a swing-arm laser.

No, seriously, you'll find it much easier to set an arbitrary spending limit on "black boxes" (to use the token Mana coinage) if you've balanced the system reasonably well front to back; improvements made in the supports area will be better distributed throughout the entire system when you've got a good source.

Hope this makes sense.

Dave Dever, NANA

I believe that the 102 is not the limiting factor. IMO it is too often blamed for a weak source. No, it is definitely not as smooth as an 82 (with two Hicaps) but used with the finest sources, it will really sing.

Change your source.

Paul

Many thanks to all those who have responded, a few comments:

Jean-Christophe - I have contemplated getting a used LP12 and over time increasing its specification with Arm/PSU/etc, but as I'm of the CD generation it would mean an investment in media as i've 10 times as many CD's as LP's. - Its a back burner idea at the moment, but you are very correct!

Paul - I have heared both a CDX and an 82 in my system and I agree with you wholeheartedly. I have heared before the CD Player may be the heart of the system, but the Pre-amp is the soul, in my system a heart transplant gives better improvement than a soul transplant! Both is also better

David - Yes it did make sense Both DO need doing, and it is down to a return on investment decision. I will hopefully this year be getting a CDX, but I have the option of swapping the stands now. I have also seen a used reference table, so I might consider that route too and later replace the SO stand with a 4 tier amp stand, which reduces my initial outlay quiet a lot.

Juan - Interesting idea, and no cost! Do you mean the whole system, or source, or source/pre-amp?

So many decisions, so little money

I have never found the CDX to be so much better than the 3.5flatcap as to justify the extra expense.

Audition the mana option (sale or return in UK) and then decide.

cheers

Nigel

Steve,

dunno about Mana, but the SO is so bad that you could well end up making the wrong decision because performance is so badly skewed.

cheers, Martin

P.S. "S.O." is the rack and not your Significant Other!