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

gian60

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Apr 17, 2016
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I write here so more people i think can see.
I have very old,bad and cheap rack,old and first Target of 30 years ago which price could be 4/ 500 euro now.

I cannot buy HRS,CSM,SRA,top of Finite elements,too expensive for me
I need 2 rack with 4 shelve to put Torqueo and AF3P on top and 2 for mono amp

My choice and target was for Artesania Exoteryc and aire floor platform for amp,no distributor in Italy so i can have good price,but one friend bought and told me is not happy because sound,has Vitus amp,was not very good and also the shop doesn't suggest to buy Aire floor platform.

Other choice was Italian Music Tool Isostatic,top of the line,cost 4.000 euro price list,with damping glass shelf made of 3 different layers,but 2 friend in Italy had and told me don't buy because kill the sound and sound is no good.

Other choice was Solid-Tech.net the top rack of silence,but one friend had and told me don't buy because was disaster and sold

So how is possible that this top company study and produce this rack very expensive from 4.000 to 6.000 euro price list that kill the sound?

How to do?
 

spiritofmusic

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Jun 13, 2013
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Gian, check out Symposium Acoustics out of the US.

Good solid engineering, no frills, quietly effective, won't break the bank.
 
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Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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Gian,

Floor type?

Concrete (solid) or suspended wood?

Degree of speaker floor borne feedback? Typical SPL levels? Do you play loud often?

And your friends who gave you the feedback on these other racks; what floor types do they have?
 
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Narayan

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Oct 6, 2015
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Gian, with all due respect to your friends, I find it hard to believe that an audio rack will affect the sound of the components placed on it so much as to kill it, from what I understand, you did not experience these racks yourself but are relying on your friends´ opinions and tastes which might be different to yours as might be their listening rooms / conditions. Artesania Audio seems to be universally acclaimed, I find their new "The Absolute" line more aesthetically pleasing and it is supposed to be cheaper than the Exoteric:

https://www.whatsbestforum.com/threads/new-artesania-audio-”the-absolute”-line.25456/
 
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tmallin

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Rather than immediately spending big money on a new rack, you might try adding accessory feet under your components on your existing rack. Try just one component first, such as the digital transport or LP turntable, which components tend to be the most sensitive to mechanical vibrations both from inside the component and from the room environment.

You could do worse than to start by ordering the new A/V Room Service EVP accessory isolating pads. Jim Smith’s “Quarter Notes” and The Absolute Sound recent reviews of the EVP were both very favorable. The EVP was also named TAS Accessory Product of the Year 2018 and has also received Positive Feedback’s Writer’s Choice award. I have a set of four on order to try out under the feet of components on my Salamander Archtype rack (itself pretty cheap at $300 for five shelves) but production is backed up because of high demand in the wake of the favorable recent mention in the audiophile press. A set of four EVPs is about $166 delivered to the USA.

Just for context, I have previously owned or currently use Vibraplane Active, Minus K, Arcici Suspense, and Target racks as well as Black Diamond Racing shelves, Bright Star Audio Total Isolation Systems, and Mapleshade 4" maple platforms with Isoblocks. But even the best of those benefited from accessory feet between rack shelves and components and even a cheap Ikea Lack table worked fine for me when damped with a Bright Star Little Rock between it and the component feet. And I highly recommend the Salamander Archetype as a surprisingly good sounding for the money basic rack.

In my opinion, racks are vastly overrated in terms of sonic effect, except perhaps if you are dealing with an analog turntable. For an LP spinner, in order to protect against acoustic feedback, you definitely need an internal or rack-provided suspension tuned to 5 Hz or below--something where you can visually "count the Hz" of its natural resonant frequency when you nudge it--something like the built-in suspensions of the old AR XA, Linn Sondek, Oracle, or SOTA turntables.
 

Bodhi

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Apr 20, 2014
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I could recommend a few good value racks, incl: Taoc CSR series, Pro Audio Bono, and Core Audio Designs. But I have not found a better value high end rack than Timbernation. Check them out, I think you'll be impressed - http://timbernation.com/
 
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gian60

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Apr 17, 2016
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Dear Friends,
thanks to everybody,tomorrow evening i will check yours ideas
I don't believe trial of my friends so i always test in my home but rack is impossible.My rack are really bad and sing like a bell if you touch them that i find strange to use some good feet on this rack.
My floor is concrete( solid) with wood on and with low or high spl level,but also with 800 peak watt with my speaker of 97 db i have no problem in my room

I try with Ked his S.Mook under my X1 and sound and scene was better,but before i would like some good rack

This are mine
 

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Mike Lavigne

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Apr 25, 2010
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Dear Friends,
thanks to everybody,tomorrow evening i will check yours ideas
I don't believe trial of my friends so i always test in my home but rack is impossible.My rack are really bad and sing like a bell if you touch them that i find strange to use some good feet on this rack.
My floor is concrete( solid) with wood on and with low or high spl level,but also with 800 peak watt with my speaker of 97 db i have no problem in my room

I try with Ked his S.Mook under my X1 and sound and scene was better,but before i would like some good rack

This are mine

thanks Gian.

a wood over concrete floor means if you add a solid heavy rack it would help things just by it's solidity. that would give you a base line of performance, and you can tune from there should you want to. it should be much better than a cheap flimsy rack.

if you have a suspended wood floor then a solid rack might make things worse.....hard to predict.

a rack brand i use on my concrete floor that is well made but reasonably priced is Adona.

http://www.adonacorporation.com/index.html

it's modular and has different levels of quality. there are versions with large top for big turntables. the higher levels of Adona are cross braced. the shelves are granite over wood and provide very solid platforms, especially when the rack legs are used with the spike ends. the legs can be cut to size or purchased in particular lengths for any amount of shelves or height.

my approach is to use a solid rack and then either passive anti-resonance footers or my Taiko Tana/Herzan active units. any passive footer needs a solid, mass loaded rack surface to work optimally.

another suggestion would be to ask CH Precision which racks they find perform best with their products. sometimes it looks like they choose racks that show off the look of CH Precision, but not sure they sound the best.
 
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the sound of Tao

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Hi Gian,
Tough choice as the dollars really go up almost astronomically with regards to sota audio rack performance. Perhaps as an option the idea of using some well reviewed component footers as suggested earlier and then getting a bespoke rack to fit your component needs and your room from a quality joiner might be worth considering for a combination of value, performance and aesthetics. The best racks are fairly exorbitant and the more affordable racks seem more constrained by both performance and in their appearance.

You could initially try getting in a set or two of component footers (CMS, stillpoints etc) and trial these along with Ked’s Mooks (if Ked would be so kind to come and visit and explore/compare/play/eat) and try out footers under the components but used on top of your existing stand.

If you are happy with one type of the footers you try then you could consider either getting more of these first or building a better bespoke rack than your existing one and then adding more of the footers as you go.

I’ve tried quite a few different footers and combinations and have found if you like the sound balance of your existing components just use the same footer (same product and the same model in the range) throughout on all your components.

For a rack I’d suggest using perhaps 50mm laminated bamboo slab or Delignit (Panzerholz or Tank wood) tho the Delignit will be much harder for your joiner to work with. Detailing up the rack in terms of ideal dimensions, use of feet etc could be a thread for another time. Or alternatively you could go steel and just utilise pure mass and even sand/shot fill but this might be less manageable in terms of moveability in the long run. Even a combination of metal for frame and bamboo or Delignit for shelving could be good also.

Your audio performance will come primarily from the specialist engineered sets of isolation footers and you will likely get a more flexible and hopefully more furniture grade aesthetic outcome using both a tastefully designed bespoke rack and the isolating engineered footers.

Hope this in some way helps...
 
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Number9

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Oct 15, 2018
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The Quadraspire bamboo shelf racks are pretty decent and are reasonably priced. I also like the Symposium Acoustics.
 
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Barry2013

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I use the Entreq Athena racks which are made of oak, light and dark available, to which you can also add Entreq grounding cables together with a grounding box. My floor is also concrete.
They work well with my system which is in my lounge and have the advantage of fitting in with the rest of the furniture.
I don't know if there is an Italian distributor but I am sure they would supply direct if not and Per Oloff is always very helpful if you get in touch with him.
Details on their site entreq.com.
 
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MJB

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I use the Artesania Exoteryc with the turntable platform and a separate amp stand. It has been a terrific rack and amp stand.

I previously used Symposium.

I would happily own either.
 
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dcc

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thanks Gian.

a wood over concrete floor means if you add a solid heavy rack it would help things just by it's solidity. that would give you a base line of performance, and you can tune from there should you want to. it should be much better than a cheap flimsy rack.

if you have a suspended wood floor then a solid rack might make things worse.....hard to predict.

a rack brand i use on my concrete floor that is well made but reasonably priced is Adona.

http://www.adonacorporation.com/index.html

it's modular and has different levels of quality. there are versions with large top for big turntables. the higher levels of Adona are cross braced. the shelves are granite over wood and provide very solid platforms, especially when the rack legs are used with the spike ends. the legs can be cut to size or purchased in particular lengths for any amount of shelves or height.

my approach is to use a solid rack and then either passive anti-resonance footers or my Taiko Tana/Herzan active units. any passive footer needs a solid, mass loaded rack surface to work optimally.

another suggestion would be to ask CH Precision which racks they find perform best with their products. sometimes it looks like they choose racks that show off the look of CH Precision, but not sure they sound the best.
Adona does not sell outside the US and Canada. I did ask Paul for a fee quote but he could not.
 
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jazdoc

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I've had success with Silent Running Audio.
 

bonzo75

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I have success with Silent Running Audio.

An audiophile in London added mooks to his SRA rack. We also did a compare on another's SRA platform and the owner and I preferred mooks.
 

Tango

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Gian Look! This is one of the best systemin Taiwan. Solid, heavy and secure will just do the job.

C44584A0-C4F5-4B34-83D3-40C3EBEC0EDC.jpeg
2373FD6E-21D7-4A84-84CA-7F50E98DB9DA.jpeg

There is money left for Mooks if you wish.
 

KeithR

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I would recommend getting a rack made in the EU as shipping runs a fortune. Tabula Rasa always looked interesting to me.
 

kodomo

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I am interested in a rack too. I am planning to move my sources to my side when I change my preamp. I wanted more info on Artesenia's rack mentioned in this thread and the new carbon fibre reference rack in the linked thread but there seems to be no information on them neither on their website nor on their facebook page.
 

bonzo75

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Gian Look! This is one of the best systemin Taiwan. Solid, heavy and secure will just do the job.

View attachment 47385
View attachment 47386

There is money left for Mooks if you wish.

I am not surprised at those racks, I have been telling Gian to get a solid wood rack (with mooks of course) and avoid Hifi Racks. Many available in EU. in Germany also these wooden blocks with wheels so that you can move gear around easily. This guy also deals in Artesania
IMG-4881.JPG
 

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