I hope everyone had a great Christmas and New Year.

I certainly did since I took the plunge and finally bought a Mana 5 tier equipment rack and some sound bases for my speakers.

Now, it may sound like a bit of a cliche to say this but I was never much of a believer that supports made that much of a difference to a hi-fi system. I knew that they must make some difference, i.e. by isolating the equipment from vibrations, which is why I had tried to use a variety of isolation devices.

The best of these had been Audioquest Soft Feet, although cheap they made a tangible difference to the sound, although it was still only a small difference. I had always found that such effects or improvements were almost always smaller than those from changing the interconnects, the speaker cable, and definitely no match for upgrading any of the electronics.

Having only recently upgraded my hi-fi components, I thought it a good idea to buy some decent supports. I had looked around and thought that, although many alternative racks looked good, they didn't have the reviews or the customer testemonials to back them up. Time and time again I read of Mana equipment receiving excellent reviews, they also came with a money back guarantee if not satisfied. Since I needed a new equipment rack, and since I decided I had nothing to loose, I finally plucked up the courage to buy them.

The service from Mana is excellent. I e-mailed John Watson several times with various questions which he was happy to answer, (and replied to within the space of only an hour or two). Unlike other companies which often leave you wondering as to what is going on, if there are any delays (no matter how slight) Mana will call you up to tell you what is happening and what the situation is. I talked on the phone to Damian on several occasions, each time he was extremely helpful and he managed to get my equipment to me on time even though it was coming up to Christmas and the Millenium.

When the Mana rack first arrived, I was impressed by the solidity of it all. After spending a bit of time setting up the rack and the sound bases I sat back and admired the design of the equipment. Now I know this is very much a matter of personal taste, and a lot of people have said how ugly Mana equipment looks, but personally I thought that the rack looked fantastic. It was simple, elegant, understated, with form very much following function. Even a friend who came round over Christmas remarked about how stylish the mana rack looked compared to my old hi-fi rack, and he hadn't the remotest interest in music or hi-fi.

But (and I now you're not supposed to start sentences with "but), it was when I replaced my equipment and started playing some music that I was truly impressed. I've already mentioned that I'd recently upgraded my system and I was very pleased with it. It had detail, musicality, great bass definition without sacrificing speed and it even even looked half decent even though the compents were from a variety of manufacturers.
On the mana rack everything sounded better. There was greater separation, things sounded more natural, bass went deeper, treble went higher. There was a greater musicality to it all, everything just sounded more right. It was almost as if the components were all working together much better. Whereas before you could hear the characteristics of each component, now they formed a whole, a sum greater than the parts. I listen to a variety of music from classical and jazz, right through to hardcore hip-hop. Everything sounded better on the Mana. I tried to catch it out with a variety of styles without success. Even recordings which I had previously thought were badly produced and unlistenable on proper hi-fi equipment sounded listenable on the mana. I was able to take the volume to amazingly high levels without any hint of bass plodding or treble becoming uncomfortable, but this wasn't because of lack of bass or tr

Takes time and patience to set up. Seems expensive when you haven't heard the performance.

Less a support more a component in the hi-fi chain. Can be upgraded by placing soundstages underneath it for even greater performance gains. A support shouldn't make this much difference but it DOES. Gives music that "night" quality. Works well on cheap as well as expensive separates.
Comes with 14 day money back guarantee so you can't lose. I can't think of any other way of increasing hi-fi performance to the same degree at the same price.
Buy one now!

Similar Products Used:

A variety of supports available from other manufacturers. Isolation devices such as Audiquest soft feet, Atacam Static Stage.

Brings out the best of the components. Upgradeable with Soundstages.

Nothing

A hifi reviewer in Hifi-Choice once said that components sounded half-coocked without a Mana Rack. I can't describe it a better way. This rack transformed my system.
A must for both audiophiles and music lovers!

Similar Products Used:

Apollo, Solid Steel and several others.

Everything - detail, imaging, pace, rhythm, timing, bass, 'slam', but most importantly of all it makes everything sound so real and musical that you have to hear it to believe it.

Nothing - this is the best purchase anyone can make to improve their music system

The Mana rack is the cornerstone of my audio system. With other racks, it sounded fine, but now it sounds better than any system I have ever heard. Detail, precision, dynamics, everything. The most musical sound imaginable. If you read this and disbelieve, I wouldn't blame you, but if you ever get a chance to hear a properly setup Mana system, you will realise that everything I have written is true.

Go hear one today, you will NEVER regret it...

Similar Products Used:

Quadraspire (pretty but dull sounding), Target (ugly and dull sounding), Homemade stands (well, at least I have no-one to blame for them but myself ;-)