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Mana, why shouldn't I go back to Phase One?

I'm beginning to think that it depends on your room and system how many Mana stages you need/can handle. For a small, rather low lively room like mine, phase 1 or 2 might just be enough. Add more phases and stages and the added value diminishes.

Right now the bass souds sort of desintegrated, so I'm afraid I need another go at the set up of the Sound Stages. I tried to run them as low as possible, but I don't think that was the right thing to do.
 
dave charlton said:
Surprised you have'nt tried a Rega wall shelf.
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Bizarly I used to have one of those! For my P3, umpteen years ago (1995 or so) They're excellent, if a bit thin sounding. And rather hard to get level on my wall. P9 sounds rubbish on an old Target wallrack. Mana Phase one is so much better!
 
Klyde said:
And rather hard to get level on my wall.
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Admittedly it is a challenge, I use plastic shims for the vertical and 10p coins under each foot (with three tiny blobs of Blutack) for the final levelling.

My ears tell me that light and rigid is the way to go for the P9.
 
dave charlton said:
My ears tell me that light and rigid is the way to go for the P9.
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Twenty minutes to build the Mana back to phase 1 and get the stupid grin back on my face listening to the disturbing sounds of the Greetje Bijma Kwintet (in the Meredith Monk / Yoko Ono league). You can't get any lighter and more rigid than phase one.

Cheers,

Klyde
 
Good sounds for me tonight too, Andreya Triana followed by Wayne Shorter.

IIRC, we both use a similar system approach:- P9/Apheta > phono stage > integrated > speakers.
 
Klyde said:
You can't get any lighter and more rigid than phase one.

Cheers,

Klyde
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Not sure rigid is necessarily a Mana goal, a little sway may not necessarily be a bad thing which is what a few extra phases give you. A Mana mini table is lighter than a sound table so since that is what the turntable is sitting on, maybe better as well. It certainly makes a nice place for storing record care items under. We all know the Mana support was designed for the LP12 with those little 3M bump on feet, so who knows how it interfaces with other decks with feet that might not allow the rack to drain vibrations as well. I know it didn't work out as well for folks with Trampolin bases.

With all the time it takes to rebuild the racks, it would be worth it to make some before/after recordings that will allow you to access the differences better. I found my 3 recording of the various rack combos to be quite interesting and have confirmed my direction.
 
Dark Lord said:
Bizarrely enough in my second system, I have a Linn, Naim, Meridian, DPA, Epos and Mana and it all sounds better on Phase 2 than it did on that non ferrous weenie boy stuff ;)
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what's yer second system, Dev? more detail than brands, at least.

chrsfrmdwnndr

Rico
 
Rico said:
got it in one. phase one has more bounce, life, fun.

phase 4 is like Ethan Hawke's character in Gattaca; sterility rules to live by.
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Quite the opposite for me, but mine is setup properly on concrete.
 
Rico said:
got it in one. phase one has more bounce, life, fun.

phase 4 is like Ethan Hawke's character in Gattaca; sterility rules to live by.
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Fun is everything -no fun, why bother?

Screw inky blackness, lack of veils, transparency and the lower or upper or yo momma's registers.
 
Phase one sounds very natural, direct and communicative. Lots of Mana left over now, two Sound Stages, a Mini Table and a cute little Power Supply Table. I'll try the Mini Table on the Sound Table, to make it into a classic Reference Table and let you know what I think.

And what about the Sound Stages underneath the amp-rack? They seem to be OK.

For Dave:
dave charlton said:
Rega's Ios into a (J Sound Lab) 8watt SET driving (Rega) Naos floorstanders. And you?
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Nagra BPS, Naim NAIT Two, Linn Kan IV's. Plan's include a new amp, like a Naim 5i, or NVA AP30.
 
Promised you a phase one - phase two comparison. Well, here it is: phase two has more and bigger bass, but also a faint 'wooden' feel to the sound. Phase one, with just the glass on the metal frame is less 'cosy' and more to the point, ultimately more accurate. Phase two is better than phase 4. With P9 that is. Well, that's phase 2, 3 and 4 down into the shed if you ask me.
 
Tonight I put the Mini Table / Reference Top back on the Sound Table. Learned quite a lot about the Mana set up in recent months and worked out a method for myself. Quite an improvement now, didn't expect this at all considering my previous experiences. In hifi terms: like adding a HiCap to a Naim 72. Bigger scale, more detail, firmer stereo image. Nait Two sounds like a serious amp. I have two more phases (Sound Stages) in the shed. Now what shall I do?
 
I´ll swap you a pair of sound bases for a soundstage so you can put your Kans on glass, too.
 
Klyde said:
Tonight I put the Mini Table / Reference Top back on the Sound Table. Learned quite a lot about the Mana set up in recent months and worked out a method for myself. Quite an improvement now, didn't expect this at all considering my previous experiences. In hifi terms: like adding a HiCap to a Naim 72. Bigger scale, more detail, firmer stereo image. Nait Two sounds like a serious amp. I have two more phases (Sound Stages) in the shed. Now what shall I do?
Click to expand...

Make your shed sound better?
 
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