Mana Audio update

It isn't.

 

thanks for that judgement. have you tried Hutter, btw? and would it stand comparison with a simple 4 tier amp stand, rather than a stand with more bits/levels?

 

more conjecture...

maybe mana can't respond publically because they are in the process of selling the business. maybe wadiameister's going to buy it.

 

Having started all this I think perhaps I should precise the facts so no one is under any misunderstanding.

1. I placed an order with Mana for a custom 6 tier stand on 28 April and liaised with Dave at Mana over the design. A discount was offered if I paid £1,000 in advance - I accepted as my previous dealings with Mana had been excellent. Delivery was to be in four weeks.

2. End of May Dave phoned me to say there was a delay. "We are expanding the business and have bought a whole load of new machinery". Delivery promised within 2 to 3 weeks

3. Mid June Dave phoned to say the new equipment was installed but it needed a "new electricity supply to be run from the main road". He could not give me a delivery date.

4. Early July I phoned Dave and was told they were waiting for steel stock. He was told "by the Boss" to offer me a free Soundstage because of the wait. I declined.

5. End July I phoned Dave and was told a member of staff had injured themselves delaying production. Told to phone back in three weeks. Dave had been told to offer me a Stainless Steel stand upgrade because of the wait. I declined.

6. End of August I phoned Dave and was told staff holidays were delaying things. I insisted on a delivery date and was told he could not give me one, he had no idea himself.

7. I started phoning Mana every couple of days but calls went to answering machine.

8. On 17 September I posted on the Mana Forum asking if anyone else was experiencing delays. My post and user details were deleted.

9. I emailed, PM'd and tried to telephone John Watson directly. No reply to any.

10. On the 27th September I sent JW a registered letter to his home address asking for delivery of my stand or return of money within 7 days. No reply.

11. On 11th October I issued a claim against Mana for £1080 via the Small Claims Court.

I hold no ill will towards John Watson, Dave or Mana - I just wanted my stand. It has been suggested this thread be closed however I should point out a number of people have contacted me directly because of it. One of these is owed a similar amount to myself for an order placed in mid July (see above timeline) and others have shared their knowledge of what is going on. Neither they nor I wish to share this with the wider community for obvious reasons.

It has also been suggested that Mana can only now respond via the Court once a Claim has been issued. This is not the case - they have six options, one of which is to pay.

 

For my two pence worth .....I hope you get a refund and I think that you have acted in a very restrained manner [pun not intended]. In the same circumstances I'd been have been well p*ssed and not so calm! But its intresting to note your course of action and hope I never have to use the information you have so kindly shared.

 

Heuer, taking all that you say at face value, and bearing in mind that you had been ejected from the Mana forum, could you pl clarify whether your first posting to zerogain was to bring this unfortunate siyuation to our attention.

A small point perhaps, but would not want zerogain to be used generally as a noticeboard for upset customers who were not already members of zerogain.

no offense intended, but this thread has clearly caused some upset with well established members of zerogain - even if I disagree that the thread should be pulled.

 

I've heard a Hutter-supported system. The Hutter doesn't seem very good at dissipating unwanted vibration. But give it a try if you like.

 

as in vibration from the individual components? I have a separate CD transport, it sits on cones onto shelf. I have no TT to worry about (am postponing that to retirement - several years off).

btw, and highly tangential to present topic, have you tried cones - wood or what?

 

Ditton

My first ever post on the Mana forum was to (politely) ask if anyone else was experiencing delivery problems. My first ever post here was on the 19th September as my Mana post had been seen (before it was deleted) by a Zerogain member and I was being quoted out of context. I sought to clarify the situation and then agreed with the moderator to pursue the matter through legal recourse. This I did and simply posted an 'update'.

I have no wish to cause upset to anyone but on the other hand neither do I want to see anyone else put in the same situation. Had I been quicker off the mark and posted my experience earlier then at least one Zerogain member would probably not be in the position he is now.

A great many of us use Zerogain, and other sites, to browse for information without necessarily feeling the need to post, except when we feel we have something valuable to offer. If you want me to go away then I will - I was just trying to help the community.

 

No, actually, feedback from the speakers. Try it if you must. I haven't tried any cones.

 

I'm not asking you to go away. I wish you welcome, and have earlier wished you success in getting customer satisfaction, which I guess means your money back.

I was making a general remark re function of ZG. I also learn by lurking, and did so before joining. I only wish we could welcome you in other circumstances. you are obviously a hifi enthusiast - why else go to the length to have a stand custom made - so I hope you've other wisdom/knowledge/information/experience/prejudice/.. to contribute.

 

Hutter works fine unless you're a bit obsessive.

 

ummph. that is a potential threa[t] as I have wooden floors. speakers are on granite tho, and dont face towards kit.

we shall see ...

 

Hutter works fine unless you're concerned about sound quality.

 

<wearily> Whatever you say, Bub.

 

and I thought this conversation was going well ...

surely a specialist hifi stand does not work well if it would disappoint someone concerned with sound quality?

you'll be among the first to hear report of the level of my happiness/disappointment ...

 

Snigger

 

I think that's probably about right.

 

Ditton

Thank you - I hope I can indeed contribute outside this thread. I have ben mucking about with Hi-Fi since I was 11 and remain a fan of vinyl 44 years later. The stand in question was to support my SME20/2 although I could stick that on a tumble dryer and it would still work!

Regards


David

 

I've closed the thread now as there's unlikely to be anything more productive to come out of it.

Michael.