[purplejersey]

I'm looking for a 4 shelf rack to house my MF A5 Integrated, A5 CD,
Niles speaker selector, and a cassette deck.

After shopping around the internet, there seem to be 3 broad price
points:

1. Sky's the limit - $4000 (Can) and up - eg. finite elemente, Silent
Running Audio (Craz)
2. Expensive, but perhaps worth it - $800 - 1500 (Can) - eg. Apollo,
Salamander, Solid Tech, Billy Bags
3. Furniture, with some attention to rigidity and isolation - $300-800
(Can) - eg. Sanus, Atlantis, Premier

Given that my components are worth about $7000 (Can) or so, what is a
reasonable amount to spend on a rack? Is the jump from category 3 to 2
sonically obvious? Are category 1 racks the only ones that really make
a difference?

I'd especially like to hear from posters who have experience with a
number of different racks.

Thanks for your help.

[Adam]

purplejersey wrote:
I'm looking for a 4 shelf rack to house my MF A5 Integrated, A5 CD,
Niles speaker selector, and a cassette deck.

After shopping around the internet, there seem to be 3 broad price
points:

1. Sky's the limit - $4000 (Can) and up - eg. finite elemente, Silent
Running Audio (Craz)
2. Expensive, but perhaps worth it - $800 - 1500 (Can) - eg. Apollo,
Salamander, Solid Tech, Billy Bags
3. Furniture, with some attention to rigidity and isolation - $300-800
(Can) - eg. Sanus, Atlantis, Premier

Given that my components are worth about $7000 (Can) or so, what is a
reasonable amount to spend on a rack? Is the jump from category 3 to 2
sonically obvious? Are category 1 racks the only ones that really make
a difference?

I'd especially like to hear from posters who have experience with a
number of different racks.

Thanks for your help.

I have the Sanus Euro rack, utilizing the base module with five
additional levels above it (spaced out by 12-inch pillars). It's
simple to assemble, quite well made, and can carry a heavy load without
much difficulty. I have a McIntosh 2300 amp (128 lb) on the base, with
three other Mac amps going up the stack (ranging from 50-80 lb each),
plus a Tuner-Preamp, Universal CD-DVD player, power conditioner, tape
deck, a dedicated processor for my speakers, and a phonograph (on the
top).

Since I've never been much of a subscriber to the sonic isolation
theory (except for record players), I find this rack more than adequate
for my needs. However, I have noticed the tendency of the top level to
sway a tiny bit when I walk past, or handle equipment on lower levels.
This could very well affect my phonograph's fidelity, so I generally
only play it when the kids aren't stomping around the living room.

Best regards, and good luck,

Adam

"purplejersey" wrote in message
...
I'm looking for a 4 shelf rack to house my MF A5 Integrated, A5 CD,
Niles speaker selector, and a cassette deck.

After shopping around the internet, there seem to be 3 broad price
points:

1. Sky's the limit - $4000 (Can) and up - eg. finite elemente, Silent
Running Audio (Craz)
2. Expensive, but perhaps worth it - $800 - 1500 (Can) - eg. Apollo,
Salamander, Solid Tech, Billy Bags
3. Furniture, with some attention to rigidity and isolation - $300-800
(Can) - eg. Sanus, Atlantis, Premier

Given that my components are worth about $7000 (Can) or so, what is a
reasonable amount to spend on a rack? Is the jump from category 3 to 2
sonically obvious? Are category 1 racks the only ones that really make
a difference?

The choice of rack is strictly one of convenience; they have no effect on
sound.

I use the rack from an old rack system. It holds a turntable on top. The
upper shelf has the CD player under the amplifier. There's room for the amp
to breathe. On the shelf under that is a tape deck and a minidisc deck.
There's enough room under those shelves for a bunch of LPs. Casters on the
bottom allow me to roll the system around to suit myself. Because the rack
is made of wood, there's a tendency for it to "4-hinge", so I put a brace on
the back between the upper left and the lower right. This keeps the system
rigid (more or less).

As you can see, there are only 2 shelves and 4 components. I've found that
it's OK to stack 2 units together, provided the one that generates the most
heat is on the top. In your case, I would place the CD player and tape deck
on the top shelf, and the amp and switch box on the lower shelf, being
careful not to cover any of the ventilation slots.

Norm Strong