I was sent an original Silent Running Audio (SRA) Scuttle rack to review and I ended up buying it on accomodation. It was a very early edition of the Scuttle -- one of the first ones made. A few years later SRA (Kevin Tellekamp) made changes to introduce the Scuttle Mk.2. A few years after that he made even more significant changes and released the Mk.3.. He wanted to test my original Scuttle to see what shape it was in after 5+ years of use. Smart move on his part as he a) guarantees his products for life and b) he wanted to learn how well he might retrofit some of the changes made in Mk.3 to an original model that had been in use.
So he sent me the Mk.3 to review and as I do with most of my reviews did a comparison between the original and the Mk.3. This meant I had two Scuttle racks for a 'side by side' comparison. They were both of a size three high and double-wide to accomodate 6 components. You almost never see racks compared directly so it was a great opportunity. I did not actually have them side by side as having both took up too much space. I had already reviewed the original model so I knew that well -- the review was done when it was brand new. I installed the Mk.3, did my review due dilligence, moved it out, put the original model back, did more listening and note taking, then put the Mk.3 back in place. You might imagine what a pita and how time consuming it is to switch racks back and forth, twice -- I am a concientous reviewer
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. I ended up shipping the original back to SRA for evaluation and purchased the Mk.3, which I still have along with another single-wide Mk.3 that holds 3 components (my Lamm LP1 three-box phono stage.)
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The Scuttle Mk.3 is in the foreground. You can read about the original model
here and the Mk.3
here at TAB.
To speak briefly about the upstream topic of treating components individually. The SRA racks do that. The racks are much more than equipment stands -- they apply multiple SRA vibration management techniques targeted at energy management of whatever is placed on them. These are not generic racks. Each rack is custom made using SRA's Component Specific Design (CSD) which accounts for the placement of each component in a specific spot on a rack. So tubes or solid state do not matter -- each rack is built for the components that you have. No add-on footers (typically one size fits all) should be used. Change components or their arrangement and SRA supplies free updates to match with what you currently have. You can read about their CSD process in the reviews.
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Here is the Mk.3 with components -- from several years back in my ARC time -- look I had a CD player!
My suggestion is to choose from an established vendor whose products are known for their vibration management efficacy. In my opinion there are two of these: Critical Mass Systems (CMS) and Silent Running Audio. If you want a simple stand to hold components off the floor, you're buying furniture -- choose what you like, just make sure the rack will hold the weight and gives adequate ventilation space around each component.