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Hi-Fi racks - still a thing

How do you like the 440 vs the 400xs James? I had a 400 for many years and picked up a 400xs last year for a silly £300. Perfectly happy with it so just curious.
The 400XS is a stunningly good CDP. It displaced a Naim CDS2/XPS and peed on it from a great height. If I'm being honest, I was somewhat underwhelmed by a new 440XS. Maybe it just needed to burn in. The great thing about the 440XS is the ability to use its DAC separately. That is how I'm able to connect my Node 2i to one of only two line-level inputs on my preamp. The other is used by DV-P75.

I still have the 400XS, and just waiting to find the right replica KSS-213c transport for it. Then, maybe, I can do the direct comparison. But for the avoidance of doubt, I really like the 440XS now and have no desire to find a 'better' CD-P.
 
The 400XS is a stunningly good CDP. It displaced a Naim CDS2/XPS and peed on it from a great height. If I'm being honest, I was somewhat underwhelmed by a new 440XS. Maybe it just needed to burn in. The great thing about the 440XS is the ability to use its DAC separately. That is how I'm able to connect my Node 2i to one of only two line-level inputs on my preamp. The other is used by DV-P75.

I still have the 400XS, and just waiting to find the right replica KSS-213c transport for it. Then, maybe, I can do the direct comparison. But for the avoidance of doubt, I really like the 440XS now and have no desire to find a 'better' CD-P.

Yes it's nice to be able to use the dac separately. Like many I've also looked at the node 2i, particularly as it supports Amazon Music which my previous streamer did not.
Cheers
 
Yes it's nice to be able to use the dac separately. Like many I've also looked at the node 2i, particularly as it supports Amazon Music which my previous streamer did not.
Cheers
I use the Node; love it. I've pimped mine with a linear PSU but I wouldn't have done that if I didn't think it was already a serious streamer with a fab interface. I use mine into external DAC.
 
This is another vote for experimentation. For 20+ years, I have used a spiked oak & granite rack and a Targett wall shelf. Hearing similar boxes on Fraim/ Quadaspire et al did not make me change. However, a bit of trial and error has seen the introduction of some hi-tech rubbery feet and a chunk of granite - it is not what most suggested would work, but it does. For many boxes (not necessarily turntables), an isolation platform makes a modest difference and can mean that a sideboard-plus-platform beats a 'dedicated' hi-fi rack.
 
Not sure the Oak media unit we've got is enjoying the warmth from the ATC amp, had to strip the system down today while painting parts of the room (honestly the brown stripy wallpaper is next to go in a couple of weeks ;) ) and along with the feet marks noticed the surface of the varnish starting to ridge and crack under the amp, so some wood furniture might not be suitable for warm running kit. For now I've popped an IKEA chopping block under it on some felt feet that I had got for putting my speakers on when the new flooring is fitted.

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It sounds no different, although because I had to totally remove the HiFi from that end of the room I did have that "Wow, this sounds great" moment once all put back and powered up again. I'll find something a bit slimmer and a better match to the oak to replace the chunky bamboo block.
 
Speaking of IKEA chopping boards, I bought one of these LÄMPLIG ones for a tenner to use with a Mana Acoustics sound frame; I had a spare frame with glass but I really needed a frame with a board in order to get it in use. Apparently, the board is made from bamboo and its dimensions at 38x45cm make it suitable straight off the bat. I wasn't sure what I'd do about the lip but thankfully, it came off easily enough as it was only held in place with three small dowels and glue; a few gentle blows with a hammer and chisel up and down the inside edge of the lip did the trick.

I reckon it'll need painted to seal it up but I'll get to that in due course; I've got some chalk paint which might work. Failing that I can always just buy some black paint; I've got plenty undercoat already. Alternatively, I could varnish the board and use it naked as it were, depending on where I use it, but I'll come back to that once I've decided whether I'm gonna use it in my living room or in my bedroom as a platform for my Technics deck.

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I also bought one of these Stolthet chopping boards while I was there to use as a booster level for something. I've placed it above my mac mini so I can put a keyboard on it and it works just fine.

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EDIT: I forgot to say that the drainage groove on the LÄMPLIG chopping board doesn't interfere with placement on top of a mana sound frame - all four spikes sit outside the groove so no worries there :)
 
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I still have the 400XS, and just waiting to find the right replica KSS-213c transport for it. Then, maybe, I can do the direct comparison. But for the avoidance of doubt, I really like the 440XS now and have no desire to find a 'better' CD-P.

I’ve received the replacement assembly, looks good, but have not fitted it yet - it maybe after summer now :)
 
Everything reads what it rests on, everything but to varying degrees. Valves, power supplies and transducers are particularly susceptible to vibration.

Can I prove it?

No.

Do I need to prove it?

No.

It is easy to demonstrate, however but that doesn't constitute absolute proof.

No glass, no spikes, no metal.

Only acrylic, PEEK and a composite of these with graphite.

Musicworks


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It's not just vibration, or lack thereof. It's also about maintaining adequate separation. For the longest time, I could not figure out why a pair of Densen B-350s would produce breakthrough hum at the loudspeakers. I tried cable dressing, checking for ground loops etc. They were located on vertically adjacent shelves. The hum disappeared when I placed them side-to-side. My point is, don't underestimate electromagnetic effects when you choose accommodation for your kit. I wouldn't, for example, put a phono-stage directly above or below a power amplifier and its transformers.
 
I have to say the designer’s John Watson/Mana Acoustics and Peter Bizlewicz/Symposium Acoustics had it right regarding energy drainage.
 
Has anyone actually heard glass making a component sound, well, glassy? Or is this just a good old audiophile fable? We're talking at least 6mm toughened glass here, not glass as thin as a wine glass...
 


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