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Hifi furniture ?

LOTUS HIFI

LOTUS HIFI

LOTUS Hifi
I am thinking of commissioning a carpenter to build me a heavy duty oak table with shelves. The idea would be to have spikes on all feet but then for the equipment I possibly have another isolation layer that would sit under each box on upturned spikes. What would be a good material for this ? More wood or squares of granite or slate ? If i purchased them at the same time i guess i could get the carpenter to build in 4 recesses with sunken spikes in them for each equipment place or footprint.

What is the theory behind a good support ? Should I aim for high mass and very thick layers of wood ? I will have a heavy-ish turntable on the top so it needs to be very sturdy. Again, the turntable will also have a bespoke isolation platform underneath.
 
A pal of mine has solid wood shelves from hifiracks and they look very good.

I had some AV furniture build to special order from Blok.co.uk and their prices were very reasonable. Worth looking into both, because I asked a couple of local carpenters for indicative costs and they were three to four times the price....
 
peter_964rs said:
A pal of mine has solid wood shelves from hifiracks and they look very good.

I had some AV furniture build to special order from Blok.co.uk and their prices were very reasonable. Worth looking into both, because I asked a couple of local carpenters for indicative costs and they were three to four times the price....
Click to expand...

We use Blok too, swapped out the rubber feet for spikes and it seems to do the job. Solid wood wouldn't be my first choice for hifi furniture (design depending) because of its movement with changing humidity. You can't guarantee that the movement will be uniform and in one direction, you can season it, kiln dry it all you want but you'll never stop it moving
 
Ive been speaking to hifi racks and thats one route but i was after something that doesnt look that hifi ish and looks a lot more organic and natural, like it was just freshly built out of raw materials.

I have found a lovely rustic oak table with massive thick slab sides and top and it just needs a rework for stuff to fit and then 5 upturned spikes per 'place' for your isolation level in your choice of material. If each isolation layer was adjsuatble then that would get around any movement of the wood I would have thought. I am thinking 4 nice squares of green/black grainte and then perhaps something more involved for the turntable like an SRS.
 
Dinovector said:
We use Blok too, swapped out the rubber feet for spikes and it seems to do the job. Solid wood wouldn't be my first choice for hifi furniture (design depending) because of its movement with changing humidity. You can't guarantee that the movement will be uniform and in one direction, you can season it, kiln dry it all you want but you'll never stop it moving
Click to expand...

Fraim, isoblue, pagode ... Its all mostly made put of wood isn't it. I wouldn't want glass personally or metal.
 
If it's Oak you want, insist on the use of true quarter sawn timber, at least that way the majority of the movement will be just side to side. Using 3 spikes onto a hard flat surface will allow then to slide as the wood moves (expect up to 3 - 4 mm back and forth), Quarter sawn is the best looking Oak so it's not as if it's a bum choice :)
 
Dinovector said:
If it's Oak you want, insist on the use of true quarter sawn timber, at least that way the majority of the movement will be just side to side. Using 3 spikes onto a hard flat surface will allow then to slide as the wood moves (expect up to 3 - 4 mm back and forth), Quarter sawn is the best looking Oak so it's not as if it's a bum choice :)
Click to expand...

ok thanks ill see what they say
 
I'm a joiner by trade and capable of building any wooden structure I like, however I also love music and in my experience using wood as a structure or even shelves is a no-no, I find wood as a platform for hi-fi makes the performance "wooden" , slow, turgid, overall non involving.
I appreciate wood is aestheically pleasing, if you have to use wood stay light, I do agree with you, glass or metal have equal problems.
I have had super results with acrylic but I appreciate it's not everyone's cup of tea visually.
As Dinovector says, maybe veneered MDF would work, good luck anyway.

regards Al
 
trio leo said:
I'm a joiner by trade and capable of building any wooden structure I like, however I also love music and in my experience using wood as a structure or even shelves is a no-no, I find wood as a platform for hi-fi makes the performance "wooden" , slow, turgid, overall non involving.
I appreciate wood is aestheically pleasing, if you have to use wood stay light, I do agree with you, glass or metal have equal problems.
I have had super results with acrylic but I appreciate it's not everyone's cup of tea visually.
As Dinovector says, maybe veneered MDF would work, good luck anyway.

regards Al
I have had super results with acrylic
Click to expand...

Thanks Al, what about if you use wood but have a separate raised isolation platform for each actual piece of equipment. That layer could be say a 2cm thick slab of acrylic or stone on upturned spikes ?
 
So really the solid wood shelf would be largely hidden by acrylic or stone? Why not use veneered MDF or birch ply with substantial solid wood edgings? Best of both worlds
 
here we go

i can accept that i might be starting with something totally wrong as far as hifi is concerned but it's the look i like sadly

you can see in the second pic I have stretched it length ways a bit and also stretched the height or apreture of the first shelf so it can house a taller power amp (although its probably the lower shelf that would be best as the taller one)

http://www.lotus340r.net/TMP/table.jpg

(cant PFM have inline pics like most other forums ?)
 
I made our AV unit which holds the living room hifi system as well...

I'm not a wood-worker at all but gave it a bash and it turned out to look superb (I'll load a pic when I can)

It's made from american light pak (I think that's what it's called); about 3.5ft wide and 2 ft high and 2.5ft deep)

Made it with a drawer to go underneath that holds the DVD's as well...

Took me a good few weeks but the feeling is amazing when you do something like that yourself from scratch :)
 
I'm really pretty fed up with the whole thing tbh. The whole Mana experience was a bit Of a nightmare for many, including me. Hutter is nice, but if you don't have a fit and forget solution like Naim, you need the flexibility of a bit more openness. I'm seriously looking at Ikea TV benches.... TTs being a relatively obvious exception.
 
Tim,

Think wood, lightweight and rigid and you'll probably be just fine with Ikea or similar construction. Don't discount used furniture from the thrift shop either - especially if you're on a budget. Refinishing a used piece can be enjoyable as well.

regards,

dave
 
I made this bench from an old pine shelf from my parents home that my dad sorted out 40 years ago. It is 3" inch solid wood and whilst it has twisted slightly over the years it works really well.

I also used some spikes from a pair of Rega R3s to decouple it from the wooden floor.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s55/Jono_13/P1000755.jpg

I also tried, and liked this setup.

http://i149.photobucket.com/albums/s55/Jono_13/P1030468.jpg

Like others hear I love the look and influence of wood as shelves for hi-fi to sit on but I cannot get worked up about it like some.

Markus's setup has an impeccable WAF of at least 10/10 just for not looking like a mad boys toy.
 
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