I was reminded the other day, not sure why it popped into my head, of the strange case of 'Mana'. Their stands & speaker bases were everywhere, they had rabid adherents which made fervent Naim supporters seem like a paragon of sanity. It seemed to end so suddenly, I've never really heard them mentioned again. There must be loads of the gear still out there but I've never seen any for sale; their acolytes seem to have disappeared also. Where did it all go wrong?
Brands that disappeared very quickly
- Thread starter Woodface
- Start date
martin clark
pinko bodger
In 1995, Mana seemed like
Just another Stand war
But it wasn't, it was
Different in many ways
As so were those
Who did the fighting
In World War II
The average age of the
Combat soldier was twenty-six
[Chorus]
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
The heaviest fighting
Of the past two weeks
Continued today twenty-five
Miles northwest of Salisbury
I really wasn't sure
What was going on
[Chorus]
N-n-n-n-nineteen, nineteen
N-nineteen, nineteen
In the Stand wars, the combat soldier
Typically served a twelve month tour of duty
But was exposed to hostile fire almost everyday
[Chorus]
N-n-n-n-nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
Ph-a-a-a-ase N-n-n-n-nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
In Anglesey, a miltary spokesman
Said today, more than 720 posts
Were killed last week in
That sensitive border area
In all of Mana wars
The enemy lost a total of
2,689 purchasers.
[Bridge]
All those who remember the war
They won't forget what they've seen
Destruction of men in their prime
Whose average Phase was nineteen
D-d-d-d-d-destruction
D-d-d-d-d-destruction
According to a Veteran's Administration study
Half of the Stand combat veterans suffered
From what psychiatrists call
Post traumatic stand disorder
Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or insufficient tings
Some succumb to suicidal thoughts
Eight to ten years after emptying their home
Almost eight -^^^^^ men
Are still fighting the Mana Stand War
None of them received
A hero's welcome
None of them
None of them
Just another Stand war
But it wasn't, it was
Different in many ways
As so were those
Who did the fighting
In World War II
The average age of the
Combat soldier was twenty-six
[Chorus]
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
In the Stand Wars, he was nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
The heaviest fighting
Of the past two weeks
Continued today twenty-five
Miles northwest of Salisbury
I really wasn't sure
What was going on
[Chorus]
N-n-n-n-nineteen, nineteen
N-nineteen, nineteen
In the Stand wars, the combat soldier
Typically served a twelve month tour of duty
But was exposed to hostile fire almost everyday
[Chorus]
N-n-n-n-nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
Ph-a-a-a-ase N-n-n-n-nineteen
N-n-n-n-nineteen
In Anglesey, a miltary spokesman
Said today, more than 720 posts
Were killed last week in
That sensitive border area
In all of Mana wars
The enemy lost a total of
2,689 purchasers.
[Bridge]
All those who remember the war
They won't forget what they've seen
Destruction of men in their prime
Whose average Phase was nineteen
D-d-d-d-d-destruction
D-d-d-d-d-destruction
According to a Veteran's Administration study
Half of the Stand combat veterans suffered
From what psychiatrists call
Post traumatic stand disorder
Many vets complain of alienation, rage, or insufficient tings
Some succumb to suicidal thoughts
Eight to ten years after emptying their home
Almost eight -^^^^^ men
Are still fighting the Mana Stand War
None of them received
A hero's welcome
None of them
None of them
misterdog
Not the canine kind
Didn't they have to be stacked in prime numbers to work properly?
This kind of nuttery probably didn't help the cause:
Nothing wrong with that rug..
manacle
Dictionary result for manacle
/ˈmanək(ə)l/
noun
plural noun: manacles
- 1.
one of two metal bands joined by a chain, for fastening a person's hands or ankles.
"the practice of keeping prisoners in manacles"
synonyms: handcuffs, shackles, chains, irons, fetters, restraints, bonds
lazycat
pfm Member
Didn't they have to be stacked in prime numbers to work properly?
This kind of nuttery probably didn't help the cause:
Flat-earthing(sic) had a lot to answer for. And I speak as someone who, despite selling it all 10 yrs ago, had an LP12 and Naim for half his life.
Never had any of the above malarkey tho'. Phew. rofl
Mana used a genius marketing strategy
By the beginning era of the internet someone invented "Buy more Mana" slogan
They managed to brainwash various forum posters and ran a successfull period
Many threads on the early Naim forum was infected with those disciples
Slogans like "Your nobody without.." never became that success
By the beginning era of the internet someone invented "Buy more Mana" slogan
They managed to brainwash various forum posters and ran a successfull period
Many threads on the early Naim forum was infected with those disciples
Slogans like "Your nobody without.." never became that success
I seem to recall an emporer's new clothes moment with a review which showed how much it added to the sound (in a bad way). Hard to imagine a time where people would put 10 sound bases beneath a speaker. It's a bit like admitting to being a moony. I still have a naim/linn system but never had the Mana habit.
Andrew C!
Been around a while....
I had a Mana stand, and one level below each SBL at the time. Did seem to be beneficial, especially on a suspended wooden floor. Got rid of both when I moved to the current abode - concrete floor.
Can't remember to many names from back then that came and went very quickly. I did have a Sharp cassette player for a while, followed by an Akai one - don't remember seeing either name for too long after both purchases, but that could be just me being misinformed?
Can't remember to many names from back then that came and went very quickly. I did have a Sharp cassette player for a while, followed by an Akai one - don't remember seeing either name for too long after both purchases, but that could be just me being misinformed?
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
What about Amstrad ?
It was marketed as Hi Fi, but soon discovered to be something else...
It was marketed as Hi Fi, but soon discovered to be something else...
Tony L
Administrator
Mana were actually around quite a long time, a good decade or more. It “ended suddenly” as they went bankrupt despite running on a ‘customer pays in full first, we deliver sometime later’ business model. John Watson ended up having taken money for orders he was unwilling or unable to deliver and it understandably got rather ugly as folk either wanted what they had bought or their cash back. There is still a large thread in the reference room here documenting events as it spilled over to the other forums as Mana were censoring theirs.
Yes, I remember that now, there was an awful lot on the naim forum also. I have only recently been drawn back into the audio world so I am being plagued with sudden long buried memories
So Mana ended up being a con on a number of levels.
Rob998
Scimmia Nordoccidentale
Martyn Miles
pfm Member
I never did believe in these expensive stands.
They seem to be marketed as another ‘must have’, along with very expensive cables.
I recall Martin Colloms raved on about Mana stands, but then he raved on about a lot of things...