What is the deal with expensive HiFi racks?

[J.M. Noble]

I had to check...

Man, this is ugly!

Charles & Ray Eames were icons of 20th Century design (see the much-copied Eames Lounge Chair, still in production, etc). The Eames Storage Unit was supposed to be an affordable modular design that used easily sourced (and for the time, cutting edge) materials, but now it's pricey designer stuff. Modernica makes authentic clones for less, and Etsy has some builders who make near-clones for even less.

In context, the pieces look good but wow would they be awful around a bunch of Chippendale or country-style pieces or whatever. It needs the supporting cast! It's also pretty solid and is reported to work well for turntables & LPs.

 

[Cbdb2]

Why low-mass and rigid? I'm not a mechanical engineer, so I don't know for sure. The arguments mostly centred around energy storage and rapidly moving away excess energy mechanically generated by the stylus. Heavy mass storage was considered to "play along" with the music but slightly delayed, thereby impacting "speed" and affecting tunefulness, especially in the bass. See also "why do spikes work" etc.

I thought the proper way to reduce interfering vibration was to make the systems resonant frequency out of band, like 5hz for audio, like with tone arms, then you absorb it.
Don't know how you would achieve this because the mass of the gear is part of the equation and you would have to adjust the "spring" of the rack for different mass.

 

[MattHooper]

Many audiophiles are obsessed with vibrations. Anything tied to reducing vibrations and their system is a selling point racks included.

I’ve even seen reviews of high-end equipment racks where the reviewer talked about how the rack “broke in” and sounded better over time.

That said I do like the aesthetics of a nice equipment rack. I’ve seen some really expensive ones that if I had the right room, I’d love to own just for how they look.

I don’t fuss over equipment racks myself because my source and amplification equipment is in a separate room from my listening room, and placed out-of-the-way.
I still use an old, quite small Lovan rack I bought decades ago.

Although I did go to lengths to build an isolation platform for my turntable, to isolate it from footsteps along our springy wood floor.

 

[kemmler3D]

Are they just pieces of furniture?

Yes, basically, as far as I can tell.

Do people buy based on aesthetics, strength or do they really make everything sound better

Do glass shelves make things sound glassy; is wood more mellow; does steel make the music sound hard.

If you ask certain people, yes.

in most cases there's also a "audiophool tax" applied also.

I think this is basically the thread in a nutshell.

 

[egellings]

Are they just pieces of furniture?

Do people buy based on aesthetics, strength or do they really make everything sound better

Do glass shelves make things sound glassy; is wood more mellow; does steel make the music sound hard.

I haven't seen a 'racks' thread so thought I'd start one.

It's probably belief-dependent. It the owner thinks that a certain kind of rack improves the S.Q., then to him and him alone, it will.

 

[egellings]

Many audiophiles are obsessed with vibrations. Anything tied to reducing vibrations and their system is a selling point racks included.

I’ve even seen reviews of high-end equipment racks where the reviewer talked about how the rack “broke in” and sounded better over time.

That said I do like the aesthetics of a nice equipment rack. I’ve seen some really expensive ones that if I had the right room, I’d love to own just for how they look.

I don’t fuss over equipment racks myself because my source and amplification equipment is in a separate room from my listening room, and placed out-of-the-way.
I still use an old, quite small Lovan rack I bought decades ago.

Although I did go to lengths to build an isolation platform for my turntable, to isolate it from footsteps along our springy wood floor.

A vacuum tube amplifier could have microphonic tubes in it, and the effect those would have on S. Q. could be influenced by mounting rack characteristics like rigidity or 'deadness (damping)'. If microphonics is not an issue, then the beliefs of the listener on rack damping characteristics would dominate the opinion on S.Q. .

 

[MaxwellsEq]

Can vibrations really impact electronics via the generation of tiny currents? Is microphony a thing or just a phony (!)

For a university project I had to build an amplifier with very high gain. Despite being totally solid state, it picked up movement and loud speech in the lab!

For normal HiFi gains and sensible listening levels solid state will pick up vibrations, but the levels will be incredibly low and so inaudible.

Turntables are seismometers. Carefully lower the stylus onto a non rotating record and turn up the sound. You will hear all sorts of stuff.

Tubes are made of tiny metal screens in a glass tube and so can also be microphonic.

 

[Purité Audio]

More audiophile tosh but they do save you from bending down, I suppose from days gone by when there was some laboratory association.
Prefer a smart piece of furniture myself, looking at four components placed on the floor.
Keith

 

[somebodyelse]

It's one thing to ask which equipment might be sensitive to vibration. Which hifi supports provide isolation is another question entirely. If you want something that really does the job then look to a manufacturer of laboratory equipment - theirs have to do the job properly otherwise it will show up in their customers' measurements.

 

[Vacceo]

I wish more manufacturers did what McIntosh does with pieces like the MX100: easy, out of the box options to use U racks.

U racks can go as industrial and functional or as wood finished as you want, they are sturdy and give you a very compact solution to keep things tidy and clean.

 

[Mart68]

They're for guys who can say "it's only money".

Pioneer JA-R2 Vintage Stereo Rack - electronics - by owner - sale - craigslist

Pioneer JA-R2 Vintage Stereo Rack with custom oak side panels asking $1500

binghamton.craigslist.org

If I had a full Pioneer 'SPEC' system to house I'd probably get an authentic period Pioneer rack. Not because I think it would do anything for the sound, but because its 'proper.'

I wouldn't want to pay that much for one though.

 

[DLS79]

I tried my hand at starting a business building and selling audio racks about 15 years ago. I was at RMAF in a couple of rooms for two years. This was during the financial crisis caused by the collapse in subprime mortgages and never really took off. I felt they were reasonably priced. Anyone can build them for several hundred dollars using 80/20 aluminum extrusions and butcher blocks.

One of the benefits of having woodworking & metalworking equipment is being able to make almost anything!

 

[Digital Mastering System]

I like wire shelving. It's extremely flexible and can be configured many different ways; for home theater, two channel audio, or kitchen island. Glass and butcher block is available, although I prefer just wire shelves for great airflow. Chrome, black, copper, and even green can be obtained. I have a black unit for my HT and you can hardly even see it.
Check out: https://metro.com/wire-shelving/

 

[Mart68]

Back when I was younger I tried various different materials under amps and CD players.

These were the changes in sound I perceived:

Wood - warm and organic
Glass - clean and clear
Metal - cold and clinical
Rubberised material - warm and soft.

What a coincidence that the change in sound matched exactly the perceived properties of the materials!

Of course I was immune to expectation bias in those days.

 

[egellings]

More audiophile tosh but they do save you from bending down, I suppose from days gone by when there was some laboratory association.
Prefer a smart piece of furniture myself, looking at four components placed on the floor.
Keith

How about just a nice table for the equipment?

 

[Vacceo]

For me, the balance of convenience, clean install and versatility is something like this.

 

[coonmanx]

I don't really do audio racks. Just hooked up this amp and speakers along with a CD player and the crate seems to do the job. LOL.

The other system behind it is mainly for TV sound but it also has a CD player attached. Will probably listen to both of them.

The furniture in the back is from Sauder, the kind of thing you have to assemble. Had that thing forever. Maybe 30 years. I punched holes through the cardboard covering the back so that wiring could go through there.

 

[Sokel]

Did a little test,just lightly tapping rhythmically my interface while measuring:




left alone



messing with it

It seems there is some truth to the vibration thing but I don't know what kind of rack would solve it.

 

[MattHooper]

I don't really do audio racks.

View attachment 369729

Wow, you sure don’t!

 

[Purité Audio]

How about just a nice table for the equipment?

I do have a couple of tables but I have been messing about comparing streamers, again.
Keith