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Hi-Fi racks - still a thing

on the other hand racks can be bought cheap 2nd hand as they tend to be things that are "buyer collects" There was a nice 5 tier Target metal rack for just £30 nr London. My 4 tier didnt cost much years ago and collects all the various items together. You have to think of the cables connecting every thing, why tiered racks are useful
 
11 boxes here, one of which could be packed away as it is basically never used.
Space taken by 11 boxes - approx 20-30% of the wall space taken by the media.
None of it would ever look conventionally pretty, no matter how or where it was positioned, and I have been using the same racks for around 30 years (I bought them when I already knew where the set-up was likely to finish-up in terms of boxes.)

Purpose-built racks of one kind or another, especially if there are numbers of boxes, will always make the rats' nest of cabling easier to cope with.
 
I remember magazine articles where you could just as well be listening to a cartridge or a table. The language was the same as was the result. I’m a sucker as much as the next man, but that was taking the p!ss.
Do we learn? After reading a piece about my NA deck not liking the glass table it had been on for twenty years recently I subbed it for the recommended thick slab of wood, a cutout from the real wood kitchen top. Result? Looks nicer.
 
I suppose if one has a collection of hifi components, a rack might be a tidy way of keeping them from occupying too much room real estate. There is no way I can accommodate three power amplifiers, preamp, CD-P, phono-stage, streamer, cassette deck and turntable tidily without racks. But if I had only one or two pieces of hardware to accommodate, I could do away with racks.
 
When I read the title of this thread the company Hi-Fi Racks came to mind.
I own a pair of their ‘Duet’ speaker stands for my Stirling V3 speakers.

They are of pleasing appearance and beautifully made.
Oh, I don’t own a hi-fi rack of any sort...
 
So the consensus then is?

Aesthetically, in the eye of the beholder!

Sonically, do they actually make a difference? If no, why would anyone spend a small fortune on one? Or indeed a large fortune, I'm thinking Mana, or is/was it foo?
I'm not defending it, I genuinely would like your collective opinions.
I just bought the cheapest I could find purely because it was the simplest way of keeping everything together in the smallest possible footprint.
Budget played a large part in my decision!

Andy
 
HiFi furniture for me has always been bought on the strength of its looks. You're not going to hear a piece of furniture.

That said, I think if I find a really lovely piece of furniture that looks good, suits my decor etc. and is of a high enough quality then sure, I'm happy to pay for good design and construction. Not happy to pay for a few bits of pine with some spikes slapped in the bottom, so my first thought is to avoid "purpose built" HiFi furniture and look elsewhere.
 
Since plonking a LP12 sans Tramp down just anywhere is a recipe for a deck that isn't level and dull music, I find some sort of hifi rack a must. I think I paid about £100 for my target 5 shelf rack. It is ugly, but so am I. If I had a suitable cupboard the boxes could hide in there but then I would need a wall shelf for the LP12. Mana made a difference to the sound but whether it was better is a personal thing based on your equipment and taste, at original prices I am happy to have skipped that phase ;).
 
Thanks all, seeing some of the pics posted helped me decide that regular furniture is likely the direction I'll take. Definitely don't want a shrine again.
 
I recall buying a stack of ‘Base’ boards for my Naim filled rack about 25 years ago. At the time I was convinced it made a difference but am willing to admit that could be because I persuaded myself :rolleyes:

I am however convinced an LP12 sounds different when plonked on different supports. From experience a Quadraspire rack with the turntable shelf being glass or wood coaxed noticeably different sounds from the LP12.

These days I use a wall shelf for the Linn to very good effect. As for the solid state stuff (Luxman and Chord), it sits on whatever I want it to with no sleep lost.
 
My experience is that record decks sound different depending upon what they're sitting on, and speakers need to be on something that won't boom. The rest? Stand it on what you like.
 
Purité Audio said:
Racks are of course complete and utter foo nonsense .
Keith
Click to expand...

Experiments show that Naim CDX2 is more percussive with a Target heavyweight open metal/wood/spiked 2 level top level stand. The bottom level, not completely spiked. seems not sensitive with an ATC 150 wpc integrated amp.

Surely you do not need a stand for what you sell, on the carpet is good enough?
 
herb said:
Experiments show that Naim CDX2 is more percussive with a Target heavyweight open metal/wood/spiked 2 level top level stand. The bottom level, not completely spiked. seems not sensitive with an ATC 150 wpc integrated amp.

Surely you do not need a stand for what you sell, on the carpet is good enough?
Click to expand...

A couple of wet cardboard boxes should do unless you have statistically significant double-blind listening results to suggest otherwise.
 
gustav_errata said:
A couple of wet cardboard boxes should do unless you have statistically significant double-blind listening results to suggest otherwise.
Click to expand...

I've never been much of a Naim fan, but even so I'd have to think a CDX2 will make a better stab at playing CDs than a couple of wet cardboard boxes.

In any case, I await with interest the divergence into 'how wet, exactly?' and 'recycled cardboard or not?'
 
gustav_errata said:
A couple of wet cardboard boxes should do unless you have statistically significant double-blind listening results to suggest otherwise.
Click to expand...

OK you've got me there. I have never tried wet cardboard boxes as a stand - sounds dangerous electrically?
 
I think you are getting away lightly on this thread. No pressure to produce double blind unsighted tests to verify any of the 'wild' claims made here.
Down with this sort of thing I say. Excuse me while I get my coat
 
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