Anyone tried the new Stiga Mantra Sound?

[GOAT 🐐]

Hi, I just found out about the Stiga mantra sound. I’ve tried the mantra hard before and felt that it is too fast and a little hard to control. I’m considering getting this mantra sound rubber for my kid starting table tennis. Have you guys tried this rubber before? What are your thoughts? Thanks

 

[Zwill]

I haven't tried this new Mantra Sound rubber but to me it looks like the old red Mantra sponge with possibly the new Mantra Pro topsheet. It could be OK, it could be just a cheap grab to mix the two. The new Mantra Pro topsheet is great and the old Mantra sponge is not bad at all.
But I would take the new Mantra Pro M rubber, it feels a lot more supple than the old Mantra H and much better in every other aspect too.

 

[king_pong]

Great rubber! We call it the 'training rubber' cause it's like other Stiga Mantras just without the tuning effect. Still soft, still good grip and can be fast (and spinny) when you compress the sponge (I also have Mantro Pro M and older Mantra S). The Mantra Sound taught me to hit through the ball more to apply the spin rather than simply brushing the ball faster (which is good, cause I had always been more of a "brusher"). Buy for your child with confidence.

 

[Tembel]

Good beginner-intermediate rubber. Decent speed but limited grip. Not that similar to the regular Mantra Pro's.

 

[JJ Ng]

Mantra Sounds looks like it is a made-in-China product, from the sponge and the printing on the sponge. It plays fine.

 

[greenbeanmachine]

I’m considering getting this mantra sound rubber for my kid starting table tennis.

Not a bad decision, but you could just get Mantra M or Mantra Pro M. Maybe even the H version. It seems like there is a consensus that Mantra is a pretty good rubber.

Also idk what kind of blade you tried Mantra on, but I think it feels extremely controlled if you put it on 5-ply wood. If you get something like Neottec Voodoo Classic or Butterfly Primorac (pretty much the same blade imo), with Mantra H on both sides, I think you'll end up with a very controllable racket. Personally I use Mantra XH on Neottec Voodoo Classic, and I think it's extremely well-controlled.

 

[Topspinslinger]

I played with it for 10/20 minutes, on clipper and cybershape AC. On clipper it felt very controlled and spinny, fast when you need it to be. Overall too soft for forehand, but backhand it is like a upgraded Mantra soft.While on AC it felt slow and terrible. Maybe because i'm used to carbonado 145 but it really lacked in every depardment.

 

[king_pong]

I played with it for 10/20 minutes, on clipper and cybershape AC. On clipper it felt very controlled and spinny, fast when you need it to be. Overall too soft for forehand, but backhand it is like a upgraded Mantra soft.While on AC it felt slow and terrible. Maybe because i'm used to carbonado 145 but it really lacked in every depardment.

I can't agree that the Mantra Sound is "upgraded" version of Manstra S. I currently play the Mantra S (picked it up after trying Sound for a while). If you read the packaging of the two the Mantra S boasts a tensioned with the 'OCS Sponge'. The Mantra Sound's packaging makes no such claim that the rubber is tensioned though it is an OCS sponge. Mantra sound is 42 degree while Mantra S is 43 degree.
Speed Spin & Control values for Mantra S are - 146/132/84, while for Mantra Sound they are - 141/90/131 which I'd say is pretty accurate.

The claims made on the packaging are slightly different: Mantra S boasts -
"OCS" | "TransTension Sponge" | "Built In Speed Glue Effect" | "Tension Rubber" | "Polyball Optimized"

The Mantra Sound doesn't make claims of any 'speed-glue effect' or 'tension'. It simply says -
"ABS Ball Optimised" | "OCS Sponge" | "Light Weight"

In every way I'd have to agree that those are the main differences. The older Mantra S seems to grab, hold the ball, and spin it a bit better, but their top speeds are quite close. You just have to adjust your strokes a bit.