Which rack i can buy???????????????

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Hi Bodhi

I prefer open rears too. There is one application where I like 3 legged racks however, Turntables :) They are so much easier to level :D
 
  • Like
Reactions: Lagonda and Bodhi

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
I used to have a three-legged Arcici "Lead Balloon" turntable stand.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
4 post racks can be a relative PAIN to level perfectly. Even if many tables now can be leveled independently, including motor and/or arm pods, the OCD in me just has me belly on the floor adjusting spike height LOL. I'm using a 4 leg now. It's fine now that I got it leveled but on my belly you can bet I was wishing I went with the three poster LOL I would have been done in less than ten minutes, instead of the hour and some it took me.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bodhi

Bodhi

Well-Known Member
Apr 20, 2014
1,051
361
155
4 post racks can be a relative PAIN to level perfectly. Even if many tables now can be leveled independently, including motor and/or arm pods, the OCD in me just has me belly on the floor adjusting spike height LOL. I'm using a 4 leg now. It's fine now that I got it leveled but on my belly you can bet I was wishing I went with the three poster LOL I would have been done in less than ten minutes, instead of the hour and some it took me.
So you're basically saying you're an audiophile Jack?! :D I found a good solution using upgraded FE Cerabase Classic feet on my Taoc racks. I can't recall how long they took me to level, but it was probably too long, lol. My Dealer who is Russian would have done it in <5 mins!
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I use 3 Stillpoints U6's under my cdp for the same reason.

Shhhhh. Don't let the word out that we level our transports/CDPs too. People will really know we're crazy LOL
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bodhi

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405

BlueFox

Member Sponsor
Nov 8, 2013
1,709
406
405
I use three Mapleshade brass Micropoint footers under all my gear except for the amps.
 

tima

Industry Expert
Mar 3, 2014
5,778
6,819
1,400
the Upper Midwest
Sound and other vibrations physically alter audio components. Whatever you put a component on will change its Q. Whatever you put a component on will change your system's sound to one degree or another.

The biggest source of vibration to an audio system is largely the music it produces. Next is floor-borne and non-audio air-borne vibration, and then there is vibration created by components themselves. I suspect the easiest to address is floor-borne vibration through isolation. But you likely know all that.

Ask yourself: What are you trying to accomplish with a rack?

If you just want something to hold your components, buy some nice furniture. Many, I dare say most, 'audio racks' aim to please the audiophile with their looks - and many 'philes are concerned first with looks, which is okay, but there's a lot of furniture that looks better than an audio rack. If you want then to fiddle with footers, have fun. In my experience (I've tried a lot of footers over the decades) maybe you'll hit on a match to a component that actual mitigates a broad spectrum of vibration in that component, maybe. But you won't know what works before trying. And there's usually not a one-size-fits-all footer that works optimally for every component. But you will (almost) always hear a sonic difference. In my experience, footers are not a long-term satisfaction solution. There always seems to be a footer du jour.

(One thing it seems no one talks about with footers is reaction time. Many of them can indeed turn some mechanical energy into heat energy (or into some other resonance at a different frequency), but their reaction time is too slow to prevent feedback of mechanical energy back into the component. Or so is my understanding - I'm not a physicist.)

If you want to reduce, or greatly minimize the effect of vibration on your components then get a rack designed specifically for that purpose. You'll want both isolation and abatement. Every component has its own resonance frequency. Buy an "off-the-rack" rack and maybe you'll get lucky and it will help mitigate vibration's effect to some extent. The majority of racks are generic, they have no clue about the resonant characteristics of the components that will sit on them.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,443
13,473
2,710
London
Tima, the problem is that last para. There is no such rack that is "specifically designed for that purpose" and does not affect sound possibly negatively, or at least we do not know which to select without trying all the recommendations mentioned in this thread. And once he picks a wrong rack, he is stuck unless, as you say, he gets lucky. With footers he can make his own luck because they are easy to shift in and out and and match to personal taste and requirement.
 

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA
Tima, the problem is that last para. There is no such rack that is "specifically designed for that purpose" and does not affect sound possibly negatively, or at least we do not know which to select without trying all the recommendations mentioned in this thread. And once he picks a wrong rack, he is stuck unless, as you say, he gets lucky. With footers he can make his own luck because they are easy to shift in and out and and match to personal taste and requirement.

So then the answer is to get a seemingly sturdy, well-made, decent-looking rack, and then foot to taste.
 

Tango

VIP/Donor
Mar 12, 2017
4,938
6,268
950
Bangkok
So then the answer is to get a seemingly sturdy, well-made, decent-looking rack, and then foot to taste.
Dear Ron. Dont listen to him too much. Regard 51% of his comments as noises or hum. If you havebudget, just by any stable decent ones like CMS, SRA, Nothing rack, whatever give you peace of mind. They may or may not improve sound but I dont think they will do any harm.

Tang :p
 
Last edited:

Ron Resnick

Site Co-Owner, Administrator
Jan 24, 2015
16,017
13,347
2,665
Beverly Hills, CA

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,443
13,473
2,710
London
Dear Ron. Dont listen to him too much. Regard 51% of his comments as noises or hum. If you havebudget, just by any stable decent ones like CMS, SRA, Nothing rack, whatever give you peace of mind. They may or may not improve sound but I dont think they will do any harm.

Tang :p

Tang, no hum, I am grounded due to no head concussion
 
  • Like
Reactions: Tango

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,443
13,473
2,710
London
That said I like Tang's advice for peace of mind... Using maximum budget to take a punt that may or may not improve sound
 
  • Like
Reactions: christoph

gian60

Well-Known Member
Apr 17, 2016
2,503
1,943
343
Thanks to everybody,
i read all,very interesting,now will check and think to find the right rack and try some footers

Will see next months
 
  • Like
Reactions: Bodhi

tima

Industry Expert
Mar 3, 2014
5,778
6,819
1,400
the Upper Midwest
Tima, the problem is that last para. There is no such rack that is "specifically designed for that purpose" and does not affect sound possibly negatively, or at least we do not know which to select without trying all the recommendations mentioned in this thread. And once he picks a wrong rack, he is stuck unless, as you say, he gets lucky. With footers he can make his own luck because they are easy to shift in and out and and match to personal taste and requirement.

Bonzo - Sure, anyone can make a mistake, especially if you follow the trial and error approach of rotating through footers. By and large, after years of doing that I've forsaken them. And sure someone can make a bad purchase of anything including racks, but you can also do your homework and avoid that. From what I gather the problem is maybe you haven't done much homework on racks or vibration management - at least your comments here don't indicate that, no offense meant. You don't need to rely on luck, but of course you can.

If you think you'll find something to put your component on that does not effect sound, you're on the wrong track. People too often use footers to tune the sound. What you want is something that isolates and abates vibration for a particular component. You want to hear your component/system without the effects of vibration - then you'll find out what they sound like. Frequently, if you have decent components, they'll sound better under vibration management.

And of course you can find racks - yes racks - designed specifically to handle vibration in a specific set of components. Of course there are platforms too - the component equivalent of a rack. Some people use individual platforms on racks.

I honestly believe that here you are giving the wrong advice.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing