Racks... The Next Frontier

[GrimSurfer]

Recently read in WhatHiFi, the audio equivalent of those mags you read while standing in line at the grocery store (because it's the butler's day off):

https://www.whathifi.com/us/best-buys/accessories/best-hi-fi-and-av-racks

The snake oil practically oozes from the quill that wrote the reviews!

 

[PaulD]

Hilarious! I wish there was a <laughing hilariously> emoji I could just click on the bottom of the posts. Perhaps the reviewer has not seen this page where in a blind test the equipment on the rickety old chairs and stools sounded as good as the "hi end" snake oil http://matrixhifi.com/ENG_contenedor_ppec.htm - or maybe the writer does know it...

 

[BDWoody]

Recently read in WhatHiFi, the audio equivalent of those mags you read while standing in line at the grocery store (because it's the butler's day off):

https://www.whathifi.com/us/best-buys/accessories/best-hi-fi-and-av-racks

The snake oil practically oozes from the quill that wrote the reviews!

I'm definitely a believer when it comes to a nice rack.

 

[GrimSurfer]

I'm definitely a believer when it comes to a nice rack.

There used to be a company of the same name in Hawaii. Made surfboard racks. The girls showing them showcased the company name. Didn't have to say a word.

 

[Martin]

I tried to get into the hifi rack business about a decade ago. I even showed in a few rooms at RMAF for a couple of years. This was in the midst of the economic downturn and just couldn’t get it off the ground. I do have a nice rack and amp stands I made. I used maple butcher block and 80/20 extruded aluminum frames and a liberal application of spikes to “decouple” the shelves from the frame.

Martin

 

[MattHooper]

Recently read in WhatHiFi, the audio equivalent of those mags you read while standing in line at the grocery store (because it's the butler's day off):

https://www.whathifi.com/us/best-buys/accessories/best-hi-fi-and-av-racks

The snake oil practically oozes from the quill that wrote the reviews!

Disappointed not to see PRAT ratings for each rack.

 

[Killingbeans]

At least they have value as a piece of furniture, unlike the quantum crystal products and the likes thereof.

If something from Ikea is an eyesore to you, then sure.

 

[pozz]

I tried to get into the hifi rack business about a decade ago. I even showed in a few rooms at RMAF for a couple of years. This was in the midst of the economic downturn and just couldn’t get it off the ground. I do have a nice rack and amp stands I made. I used maple butcher block and 80/20 extruded aluminum frames and a liberal application of spikes to “decouple” the shelves from the frame.

Martin

Do you have a few pictures? I bet they look good.

 

[restorer-john]

Love this:

 

[Xulonn]

Do those spiked legs jump off the module below and crash to the floor in moderate earthquakes?

 

[GrimSurfer]

Do those spiked legs jump off the module below and crash to the floor in moderate earthquakes?

View attachment 36666

It depends... on their sonic weight (or is that seismic weight?).

 

[CDMC]

These are the best sounding racks, only because they are visually pleasing:

http://timbernation.com/3s1inchwalnut_popup.html

 

[maxxevv]

For speakers perhaps and in the old days, those overly vibration sensitive tubes, yes.

But modern solid state electronics ?

 

[Hipper]

You people sneer superiorly at these reviews but offer nothing to justify your position.

Have there been measurements of the effects of racks, and isolation products generally (as that is what racks claim to be)?

 

[SIY]

You people sneer superiorly at these reviews but offer nothing to justify your position.

Have there been measurements of the effects of racks, and isolation products generally (as that is what racks claim to be)?

If the electronics are that microphonic, money is better spent replacing them rather than band-aids with a fancy rack. Fortunately, 99.9% of electronics don't have that level of bad design.

 

[anmpr1]

In the '70s, popular equipment makers sold rack for their components. Pioneer, Nakamichi and few others I can't recall off the top of my head.

 

[maxxevv]

You people sneer superiorly at these reviews but offer nothing to justify your position.

Have there been measurements of the effects of racks, and isolation products generally (as that is what racks claim to be)?

Have these rack sellers offered any measurements for starters, in their claims of superior/improved performance from the wider market of electronics products?

 

[pozz]

You people sneer superiorly at these reviews but offer nothing to justify your position.

Have there been measurements of the effects of racks, and isolation products generally (as that is what racks claim to be)?

Pretty sure this was a joke in good taste

 

[KozmoNaut]

In the '70s, popular equipment makers sold rack for their components. Pioneer, Nakamichi and few others I can't recall off the top of my head.

View attachment 36679

The Pioneer rack systems in particular have become quite the collector's items here over the last decade or so. In the 70s and 80s they were popular as confirmation gifts, but I guess most of them have been disassembled and given away/sold in pieces, thrown out or left to languish in bad conditions in attics and basements.

I'd love to get one for a dedicated vintage hifi setup at some point, with a nice set of big old Pioneer or JBL speakers. It still bugs me that my parents gave away their HPM-60s in the early 2000s. They would have needed new woofer surrounds, but I would have loved to have those in my living room now. I really should have taken them and spent the time and money for a full restoration, but I was young and broke.

Maybe I'll find a nice pristine restored set and gift them to my dad once he retires, along with an Akai receiver just like the one he used to have.

 

[Hipper]

Have these rack sellers offered any measurements for starters, in their claims of superior/improved performance from the wider market of electronics products?

I agree I have not seen much that is convincing. And I would also agree that the onus is on them to back up any claims.

My point though is that some on here are convinced they don't do anything. How do they know this if there have been no measurements?