Rack recommendations
- Thread starter iansr
- Start date
Amber Audio
This is the Day
Lots of variables, number of shelves, what kit, rough budget
I have just pulled the trigger on Quadraspire SVT after a good look around, if you’re specifically looking for vibration stuff Townsend do some platforms you can add to shelves as well as full racks
I considered a few others including Naim Fraim, Isoblue & HiFi Racks. There are some seiously complicated/expensive options out there like the Quadraspire X Ref @ £1100 per shelf.
I have just pulled the trigger on Quadraspire SVT after a good look around, if you’re specifically looking for vibration stuff Townsend do some platforms you can add to shelves as well as full racks
I considered a few others including Naim Fraim, Isoblue & HiFi Racks. There are some seiously complicated/expensive options out there like the Quadraspire X Ref @ £1100 per shelf.
1. Buy whatever rack you like the look of at the price you like.
2. Buy, have made or make some secondary shelves that look nice.
3. Devise a vibration absorption device, be it squash balls, rubber bungs, blu tack, machine feet, your call.
4. Assemble it.
Or: pay a pile of money to have someone else do the work and tell you that it's just what you want.
2. Buy, have made or make some secondary shelves that look nice.
3. Devise a vibration absorption device, be it squash balls, rubber bungs, blu tack, machine feet, your call.
4. Assemble it.
Or: pay a pile of money to have someone else do the work and tell you that it's just what you want.
notevenclose
pfm Member
I'm sure you've already identified the 'usual suspects.'
FWIW, I use a Lavardin K-Rak.
http://www.lavardin.com/lavardin-krakE.html
If I were buying again, I'd probably also want to look at Lateral, who seem to have built quite a reputation very quickly.
http://www.lateralaudiostands.co.uk
iansr
pfm Member
TBH
yes, TBH I’m strongly drawn to the idea of getting something stylish (eg those Jual racks with curved wood) and then spending the money on sorbothane supports etc. I’ve also devised a way of using springs which is all that those Townsend speakers supports are. But I thought I’d have a look around first . . . .
yes, TBH I’m strongly drawn to the idea of getting something stylish (eg those Jual racks with curved wood) and then spending the money on sorbothane supports etc. I’ve also devised a way of using springs which is all that those Townsend speakers supports are. But I thought I’d have a look around first . . . .
iansr
pfm Member
Thanks I’ll check those out as they are new to me.
JemHayward
pfm Member
A) Handles vibrations effectively:
Vibration getting in:
I think you have to identify what your problem is. I've had everything from bespoke systems, well reviewed steel frames, aluminum space frames, vibration controlled platforms and the rest. I now use nothing 'hifi' to support my kit as I don't have any kit that has problems with vibration getting in, or vibration getting out. A simple test is to put everything except your speakers in a separate room, and crank things up loud. It should sound fine. If you then return the system into the sound field and it sounds worse you have kit that was not designed to cope in a noisy environment. My first move would be to sell that kit and buy something designed by someone competent. My Radford STA 25 sits three inches behind my RHS speaker, my speaker has two 10" woofers and 400w of amplification. No matter how loud you go the sound does not alter. Hammering on the case of the STA 25 produces no sound through the speakers at any volume. If Arthur Radford could get that right, using valves, 50 years ago, a solid state designer should be able to get it right today.
Turntables - different problem. Though mine sits on a record rack made from Ikea units. It sounds just as good as it ever has on any of my designer tables (I have three in the loft at the last count) - but it was designed before anyone invented turntable tables. I the old days some CD players were vibration sensitive, but most weren't - even the one I had that claimed it was.
Vibration getting out and affecting something else:
Same answer really, but you need to identify the problem component and eliminate it from the system.
B) Looks good:
Indeed, if it's ugly and in your sight line, it will annoy. My system is mainly behind me, though I can see my STA25 on it's B&M table behind the RHS speaker, and the two huge Martin Logans that no-one could miss. Buy on looks...
C) Isn’t stupidly expensive
Don't buy hifi furniture, it's all essentially small production bespoke (with huge margins) - and often beautifully made, but you are paying for the privilege, if I was going to have some bespoke furniture made I'd get a new dining table.
Of course I may be deaf.
Darren L
Egalitarian
Probably the best looking, affordable and available 'off the peg' rack since the Clearlight audio (IMHO of course)
Darren L
Egalitarian
Yes, first buy your circular saw and router, and learn how to use them without losing fingers. It's a great solution, don't get me wrong, but if he had these skills, equipment and inclination he would have started already. Even then there are easier DIY options.
iansr
pfm Member
I have a track saw, router and other kit, so it is an option I’m considering. I also know Misterdog . . . .
In which case I know what i I would be doing. Either from scratch or modifying an existing product. Things like chopping boards and worktop offcuts are often cheaper than the wood needed to make them, and they come with ready cut and planed sides.
johnny nocash
pfm Member
Sound Organisation ... Great, fit for purpose racks. industrial looking, yes. You can always replace the black mdf shelves with wooden ones of your choice
Del monaco
Del Monaco
Nice bricks or breeze-blocks, pre-cut shelves, sorbothane semi spheres and you have an Uncle called Bob. Simple solution. You can’t wheel it out but it’s solidly anchored.
BruceFlea
pfm Member
The 40mm oak rack that I have just built isn’t that difficult if you’ve got the basic kit needed, as you have.
The beauty of making your own is that you can make it to your specs, the oak weighs a ton and you can put various damping solutions on it to suit.
I’ve also got a couple of Atacama Evoque racks and they are pretty good, not as sturdy as the 40mm oak and the Atacama for one shelf costs roughly the same as the whole of the 40mm oak project.
I've always liked Isoblue:
They help hide the side view of any cables and are dead easy to setup. I compared it to Hutter, TimeTable, Archidee, entry level Quadraspire and some cheap Ikea options. For me, it's influence on the system was to make more sense of the music, more coherent, with a very natural sound and decay of notes. It won't sound the clearest though, being slightly muddy compared to some. Hutter was my next favourite - slightly less coherent but a little more clarity, but you can't go wrong with Quadraspire either. Still prefer my LP12 on a £6 Lack though.
List of UK dealers, here: https://www.isobluehifi.com/dealers.htm
From memory, it's about £200 per shelf but racks come up on ebay fairly regularly for much less.
They help hide the side view of any cables and are dead easy to setup. I compared it to Hutter, TimeTable, Archidee, entry level Quadraspire and some cheap Ikea options. For me, it's influence on the system was to make more sense of the music, more coherent, with a very natural sound and decay of notes. It won't sound the clearest though, being slightly muddy compared to some. Hutter was my next favourite - slightly less coherent but a little more clarity, but you can't go wrong with Quadraspire either. Still prefer my LP12 on a £6 Lack though.
List of UK dealers, here: https://www.isobluehifi.com/dealers.htm
From memory, it's about £200 per shelf but racks come up on ebay fairly regularly for much less.
Not so much Isoblue but less fashionable brands are a real bargain secondhand. Nobody can ship them so they are collection only and for loose change you can get really nice racks that were rather costly in the 90s. You do have to sift through the TV stand crap and avoid the more utilitarian smoked glass, black and chrome designs that were so cool in the 80s, but in general you get a durable piece of furniture that has never been abused and you pay loose change. I missed out on one, it was advertised here for weeks and the price went down to nearly nothing, well under £50, may even have been £30, it was in Oxford, which is nowhere near me but one day I was passing nearby and I couldn't raise the guy in time. I forget the brand, it was one that used a tripod design and powder coated legs in different colours, it looked really good and they were very much the thing to have in 2000-2005. Ho hum. If you can pick up something like that and it suits your needs, it's not worth building anything.
deebster
Half Man Half Biscuit
I've just switched from a bog standard glass-shelved AV stand to an Isoblue, picked up from this parish. It's a nice bit of kit and certainly looks better. Can't say I've noticed any difference in sound quality.
One thing to perhaps bear in mind is that the side panels on the Isoblue restrict viewing of and access to the back of components, so when switching stuff in and out it's a bit more fiddly (for me anyway) to have to get to cables from the back of the stand rather than just reaching in from above or to the side.
One thing to perhaps bear in mind is that the side panels on the Isoblue restrict viewing of and access to the back of components, so when switching stuff in and out it's a bit more fiddly (for me anyway) to have to get to cables from the back of the stand rather than just reaching in from above or to the side.