Racked With Doubt: Symposium vs. Artesania?

[Nathanu]

I am new to WBF, and have never posted here before. I typically do not post anywhere, but I have been reading the posts on WBF and have been impressed by the knowledge, experience, and civility of the members who post. I am researching the purchase of a replacement rack for my system and I am torn between the Artesania Exoteryc with the Krion Turntable Platform versus the Symposium Osiris Stealth. Does anyone reading have experience with (or knowledge of) the pros and cons of each? I expect that, as with anything else audio-related, each will have its tradeoffs. My components include the Vivid Giya G2S2; CH Precision M1.1; CH Precision L1/X1; CH Precision P1/X1; Luxman DX10; and TechDas AFIIIP. I would appreciate your recommendations and advice. Thank you.

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[spiritofmusic]

Nathanu, welcome. I run a 3-tier Symposium Isis rack and ampstands (predecessor to Osiris), plus an Osiris ampstand. I can't comment on the Artesania, but happy to offer my 3 cents (taking account of inflation) on the Symposium.

 

[tima]

Nathanu, welcome. I run a 3-tier Symposium Isis rack and ampstands (predecessor to Osiris), plus an Osiris ampstand. I can't comment on the Artesania, but happy to offer my 3 cents (taking account of inflation) on the Symposium.

Marc - do the Symposium racks bring (roughly) the same characteristics as the Rollerballs?

 

[thedudeabides]

Welcome and nice system. If any forum can help you make an informed decision, it's WBF. Hopefully, you'll get the input you need.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Marc - do the Symposium racks bring (roughly) the same characteristics as the Rollerballs?

Tim, the first thing to say is that Symposium is pretty characterless. That means it doesn't immediately "stand out". So, it's better across the board, but hard to point out a slam dunk eureka moment. Only on going back to my original rack, and ABAing versus the alternative I tried (GPA Monaco, I believe), did I "get" the Symposium advantages. And to me, this made the purchase totally positive, and long term contribution totally invaluable.
It's a little hard to seperate the effects of the rack from Rollerblocks. Again, the effects didn't hit me btwn the eyes (ears), but snuck up on me after a little in depth listening.
I would say the Rollerblocks are complementary to the Isis rack, some synergy in terms of building upon the advantages of the rack.
One additional matter...Peter who runs Symposium is hands down the most friendly and helpful designer I've had the pleasure of dealing with in this hobby, his advice and explanations proved so positive. He even saved me money on diverting me away from a pricey purchase thru him I was ready to transact.

 

[Nathanu]

Thanks for the insight. If anyone reading has experience with both Symposium and Artesania, please jump in.

 

[HughP3]

Thanks for the insight. If anyone reading has experience with both Symposium and Artesania, please jump in.

welcome. the krion table offered a much improved, cleaner sound over the Artesania glass, theater style table i still have. i am not familiar with Symposium.

 

[thedudeabides]

Thanks for the insight. If anyone reading has experience with both Symposium and Artesania, please jump in.

Since they are both SOTA products (each should be solid performers) and once one chooses and is happy with what they hear, they are unlikely to look further. And there are so many other variables with your system that will impact the final sonic result.

See if you can audition one in your system to determine your comfort level with that product. If that's not possible, do your due diligence and make a decision. Either product should meet your performance expectations. Good luck.

 

[Al Stewart]

I am a big believer in Symposium products. Started with Svelte platforms several years ago. Now I have one three level Symposium Ultra Stealth rack and one four level Ultra Stealth rack. I haven't used the Osiris so I can't comment there. What I can say is that this company's products are well made. I special ordered one of my racks with an oversized Turntable platform (27"x23") so that it could accommodate some of the larger decks out there. And, I ordered extra rails so that my rack could stand 250lbs of weight on the top shelf.

Regarding sound quality, I agree that the effect is subtle yet noticeable, and agreeable--clarity of vocals will increase slightly. I now use Stillpoints underneath all my equipment on the rack and the Stillpoints sit on the Symposium shelves of the rack. I don't know why this combination works, but I tried it and I liked it--alot. I read an Agoner post years ago who swore by it. I have tried the Stillpoints under the equipment without Syposium products under them. There is a definite difference in the sound from the equipment, but as others have noted on WBF, in some instances with some equipment (not all) it can bleach or sterilize the sound to a degree. For whatever reason combining the Stillpoints with Symposium shelves/platforms seems to erase this effect (to my ears anyway).

One down side is the shelves can get marked up if you tend to "drag" your equipment across them rather than lifting it off the shelf to move it. I made this mistake with my Svelte platforms. My Ultra Stealth racks don't seem to have a scratch.

 

[LL21]

Very interesting, Al. I also have been a big fan of Stillpoints (as well as HRS, SRA both of which I use..as well as Artesania dampers). In fact, we just went from Ultra 6 to Ultra 6 v2 yesterday...and we STILL use HRS Nimbus Couplers on TOP of the Ultra 6s...directly underneath the chassis of the equipment to create what appears to be a similar effect as to what you have with Stillpoints on top of Symposium.

I wonder if Symposium is absorbing some of the 'steely' back-reflections or whatever that are creating that slight hardness/bleaching that some of us hear. In the same way that perhaps the HRS Nimbus Couplers are also blocking that from coming from the Stillpoints back up into the equipment it is supporting.

 

[Kingrex]

I'm all spun up on racks myself. I like the fact the Symposium can have wheels. I need to move my gear in and out from the wall quite often.

I want neutral and clean. I'm a bit concerned as soon as it all moves over, tuning with feet will be an ordeal. Where do you start.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Kingrex, I did audition Stillpoints 5 after acquiring Symposium/Rollerblocks and quickly concluded the SPs imposed more coloration. Not a direction I wanted to follow beyond the trial.

 

[Kingrex]

Kingrex, I did audition Stillpoints 5 after acquiring Symposium/Rollerblocks and quickly concluded the SPs imposed more coloration. Not a direction I wanted to follow beyond the trial.

Good to know. I assume I will be looking at the foundation series. Doubt I will be able to afford the Osiris. They sure look good.
I have played with all sorts of DIY footers under my current rack. It is shocking how much difference a footer can make. Maybe its more evident on my solid wood rack.
I would rather they not be required.

 

[jfrech]

I don't have experience with either rack, so I can't really comment. I have used Symposium shelves and roller blocks in the past. I really like the shelves, the roller blocks were more mixed, certainly better resolution, but felt a tipping up of tonal characteristics.

I do want to say a good rack, what ever the brand, is one of the more important investments I've made. Highly recommend you continue down the path you're on. And welcome to WBF!

 

[Minnesotafats]

Post in thread 'Symposium Acoustics' https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/symposium-acoustics.30333/post-732726

I am a Symposium fan. Great products based on simple well designed and well built products that work. Some of the best dollars I have spent in my system.

 

[Nathanu]

Do you find that there is a lot of movement in the rack because of the roller blocks between shelves? Is that unsettling at all?

 

[Minnesotafats]

Do you find that there is a lot of movement in the rack because of the roller blocks between shelves? Is that unsettling at all?

No it is not unsettling....it does require you to pay attention to leveling the rack feet to have a solid level first base of shelves...but once that is done you will be comfortable with the physics of the system.

 

[Nathanu]

Thanks. i followed the link to the photo, and it looks like you have the Osiris Ultra. Did you consider the Ultimate Stealth with the solid copper legs? Seems a bit expensive but comparable in cost to HRS. Any thoughts on the incremental differences in effect on sound performance — other than the obvious increasing cost to benefit ratio? Did you consider HRS?

 

[Minnesotafats]

Thanks. i followed the link to the photo, and it looks like you have the Osiris Ultra. Did you consider the Ultimate Stealth with the solid copper legs? Seems a bit expensive but comparable in cost to HRS. Any thoughts on the incremental differences in effect on sound performance — other than the obvious increasing cost to benefit ratio? Did you consider HRS?

I don't have personal experience with the Ultimate Stealth and the solid copper legs. I have read up on HRS but have no experience. If I had the cash in hindsight I might have done the upgrade because I was kinda blown away with the difference my rack made. I thought it was a silly purchase when it was recommended to me. I was totally wrong. My next upgrade is Symposium 2+ rollerblocks for the components. I encourage you to just call Peter at Symposium. He is not a sales guy.... he is a technician that knows solutions that work.

 

[Pallen]

Just to balance things out a little, I owned a Symposium Foundation Ultra rack, but not for long. I've heard systems on an Artesania rack at a local dealer, and whilst it's near impossible to know what's driving the sonic result, Artesania would be my choice of these 2 racks.