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Brands that disappeared very quickly

Mana, “oil rig chic”.

I think it morphed into another wishful thinking stand by a company with 4 letters and a A and M in the naim.

After the groundwork done by Mana they found they could charge even more exalted prices.
 
IAS loudspeakers. A local HiFi shop (long gone) sold them. I can’t remember the specific model, but they were very bright - perhaps there was an issue with the drivers.
 
Alba may have been short lived in Hi Fi but they`d been manufacturing radios since the twenties.

They made "hi fi" for many years as well! 20 maybe.... IIRC the 800 receiver was popular for a short while.

Some of the brands being mentioned are not particularly obscure....
 
I think it may have been a very early sample where they were using gravity rather than glue to hold them together. They always looked very nice though

I think it’s more a case of them using gravity - the shelves fix to the triangle vertical bits using push-fit dowel, so when I dissassemble mine I do have to be careful nothing drops off(!) - so far so good... I agree they look nice although I do wish I’d gone for a different finish. Ah well...

Mick
 
There was Virgin branded HiFi for a short while in I think the 80s.

Anyone remember Alba? One of their ‘top loading’ amps got a surprisingly excellent review many years ago.

Then it was discovered it had been specially brewed for review.
Off the shelf ones were bloody awful when reviewed.
 
Quantum Electronics and Crimson Elektrik are two names that spring to mind. Magnum... I had the IA125 for a year in 1985 (Colin Wonfor design pre Inca Tech), sounded superb.
 
Quantum Electronics and Crimson Elektrik are two names that spring to mind.

Quantum were short-lived, but Crimson are still with us as far as I know and rather well respected.

PS A Quantum pre-power totally destroyed a friend’s lovely pair of HB2s by ‘going DC’ or whatever solid state amps without any sensible speaker protection do. Whatever it did it totally welded the voice-coils.
 
There must be a lot of TT brands gone from 20 years ago. Are Nottingham Analogue still around? I am sure they had a TT made out of part of an actual log. Are Tom Evans still going, I remember they were catnip to certain hi-fi mags.
 
I think there was a big gap between the demise of Mana & birth of Fraim but I could be very wrong. The Lp12 is a very fine turntable, I am sure others prefer others but I've always enjoyed mine.

I think naim used an idea that vuk first developed which he called the "ball-nutter" - essentially ball bearings in a nut which supported glass shelves.

When I suggested this on the naim forum I was banned.
 
I think naim used an idea that vuk first developed which he called the "ball-nutter" - essentially ball bearings in a nut which supported glass shelves.

When I suggested this on the naim forum I was banned.

I remember this
Fraim certainly developed on Vuk's idea combined with Mana which JV himself used back then
Not sure Fraim was finalised in JV days or by Paul Stephenson management ?
 
I remember this
Fraim certainly developed on Vuk's idea combined with Mana which JV himself used back then
Not sure Fraim was finalised in JV days or by Paul Stephenson management ?
Yes, I remember the Vuk idea. Was Mana modular? I actually have Fraim myself as I was lucky enough to get a base unit & 3 shelves for half price 10-15 years ago from Audio Works when they stopped selling Naim. Said shelves now retail at more than a lot of hi-fi.
 
Yes, I remember the Vuk idea. Was Mana modular? I actually have Fraim myself as I was lucky enough to get a base unit & 3 shelves for half price 10-15 years ago from Audio Works when they stopped selling Naim. Said shelves now retail at more than a lot of hi-fi.

Never liked the looks of Fraim

Dislike the need for constant fittling and adjustments

Prefer Quadrasphire, Hutter, Isoblue and a couple of others (Max B in Milano do have some beautifull ones, name forgotten)
 
Mana, “oil rig chic”.

I think it morphed into another wishful thinking stand by a company with 4 letters and a A and M in the naim.

After the groundwork done by Mana they found they could charge even more exalted prices.

The 'groundwork' was done, in large part, in articles by the charming Peter Turner (admirer of Emma Kirkby). Peter experimented with feet for sub-tables under various pieces of equipment. I recall he found some spare oak drawer handles particularly euphonic.

The Linn began to advise the use of a lightweight table under the LP12 (IKEA Lack was their preference). Then The Sound Organisation produced the Sound Org Equipment Table. Derek Whittington (who made these at the Sound Factory ?) devised the Tripod range and various others made LP12 tables and wall-shelves.

Mana came along late enough to first enter my consciousness in a fairly mainstream comparative review against several extant designs. At the time I KNEW it couldn't be effective as I'd tried glass. Turned out there are no fixed rules or perfect materials.

The Naim 'iteration' of the primitive ball nutter refines with a 3 point lower contact - in a triangular recess. It might well have had spikes but spheres were found (if neurotically cleaned) to give a more reliable point contact.

Of course, none of these products can have any effect on anything. It used to amuse us through the cold nights.
 
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Was latest item from Mana this one,? believe in stanlesss Steel
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It was an art tightening exact
 
The f
Never liked the looks of Fraim

Dislike the need for constant fittling and adjustments

Prefer Quadrasphire, Hutter, Isoblue and a couple of others (Max B in Milano do have some beautifull ones, name forgotten)
The Fraim is a little tricky to set up & the sticky plastic cups deserve a special place in hell but once up it is very solid & looks good with naim kit. Cannot say it made a massive difference to the sound as it was ages ago that I bought it.
 


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