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Brands that disappeared very quickly

Discussion in 'audio' started by Woodface, Feb 8, 2019.

  1. Woodface

    Woodface pfm Member

    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?
  2. Sean K

    Sean K pfm Member

    Mullardman likes this.
  3. martin clark

    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

    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

    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

    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

    Ph-a-a-a-ase 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.

    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


    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
  4. Woodface

    Woodface pfm Member

    Ha, ha. I seem to vaguely remember a Mana forum which was quite nasty? The first rule of Mana club...
  5. Rob998

    Rob998 Scimmia Nordoccidentale

    Didn't they have to be stacked in prime numbers to work properly? :rolleyes:

    This kind of nuttery probably didn't help the cause:

  6. misterdog

    misterdog Not the canine kind

    Nothing wrong with that rug..

    Dictionary result for manacle
    plural noun: manacles
    1. 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
  7. lazycat

    lazycat pfm Member

    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
  8. oldius

    oldius I miss baked beans and brown sauce.

    I thought this was bands who disappeared and I immediately thought of Kajagoogoo. They were too shy.
    Drumossie, nobeone and Ginger like this.
  9. PerF

    PerF Member

    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
  10. Woodface

    Woodface pfm Member

    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.
  11. Jamie

    Jamie pfm Member

    I recall the 'Oak' turntable from the early 80's. It was dirt cheap, no arm (add RB250), nice looking. Did not last long on the market.
    The HiFi press raved (well, at least 'Stereo -The Magazine' did- anyone remember that one. It 'folded' very quickly!)
  12. Andrew C!

    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?
  13. Martyn Miles

    Martyn Miles pfm Member

    What about Amstrad ?
    It was marketed as Hi Fi, but soon discovered to be something else...
    ian r and Snufkin like this.
  14. AndyU

    AndyU pfm Member

    Tag McLaren
  15. Ptah

    Ptah pfm Member

  16. Tony L

    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.
  17. PerF

    PerF Member

    What was the name of the Brand (Naim 160/42 clone?) amplication back in the eighties ?

    Recall it was created by former Naim staff and possible the single only product from him/them.?
  18. Woodface

    Woodface pfm Member

    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.
    HansW and Rob998 like this.
  19. Rob998

    Rob998 Scimmia Nordoccidentale

    What you did there, I see it. :D
  20. Martyn Miles

    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...
    ian r likes this.

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