Without knowing anything about the turntable the rack or how they came together how do you come up with something like this Peter? The beauty of the Stacore rack is that it does nothing aside from providing solid support, it wouldn't be in this system if it was adding, coloring or as you put it contributed even a little to the sound no less a lot as you mention. I'm sure Joe has something to say about his CMS racks being labeled as crappy with negative "contribution" to the system!
david
David, it is true that I have not heard the AS turntable or the Stacore rack system. But, if I am to believe what I read from the reports of experienced audiophiles about these two products, it is not quite fair to say "without knowing anything about...."
Marc writes convincingly about the efficacy of the Stacore pneumatic isolation platforms. These reports plus my own experience with the similar but slightly different Vibraplanes units I have, convince me that the isolation under the phono stage in that rack system is effective. The reports in WBF on the now two complete Stacore rack systems (Tang's and dcc's) are also convincing to me that these solutions are effective at improving the sound. Now, it is true that Tang did not hear the AS in his system without the Stacore rack, but, I have tried enough different support structures in my own system to know that how a turntable is supported can have a profound effect on the overall sonics of a system.
I can not say how the Stacore system under the AS sounds different from the CMS rack system under the other two turntables, but I feel confident that the three turntables would sound different if the racks were switched. Christian described the difference in sound of his system when he changed the support under his AS. From what you and Christian have written, it seems clear to me that the AC turntable cares about the support on which it is placed. It is not immune to the influences of the rack. DCC in his "My Little Barn" thread describes the difference in sound that the Stacore rack system made to his system. He has before and after experience with this Stacore product, as does Marc.
When I wrote this: "I also suspect the Stacore rack contributed a lot to the quality of the sound.", what I meant was that I suspect the Stacore rack has a positive influence on the sound of Tang's system. Not that the Stacore is adding a coloration or corrupting, or even changing the sound of the AS itself. Simply that the AS sounds different on different support structures. Do you disagree with this assumption?
I do disagree with you that Jarek's creation "does nothing aside from providing solid support." A heavy, rigid, and solid metal stand would do that (though the type of metal may influence the sound). No, I suspect the Stacore is doing more in terms of isolation in the main structural supports, plus the advantage of the pneumatic isolation for the phono stage. I think based on what I have read, that the Stacore is providing an environment on which the turntable and phono stage are supported, which enables those components to sound better than they would otherwise or on other supports. I can not know if the Stacore is the best support or not, but it is clearly a serious design with a lot of research behind it.
Yes, I am sure Joe from CMS would also have something to say about the efficacy of his products. The fact remains that two turntables and one phono stage are on the CMS racks, while the other pair is on the Stacore rack. I presume that those different support environments affect the overall sound in different ways. Kedar also mentions this fact clearly in his report. Of course, I have no way of knowing this without testing it, but it is a presumption based on what I have read and on my own experiments with support structures under the gear in my own system.
In a system as clearly accomplished, revealing and transparent as Tang's, I find it incomprehensible that the two different rack systems would not have different effects on the sound of the components and their contributions to the overall sonic result of what Kedar heard. And I am not saying that one solution is better or worse than the other. I am just saying that I presume they sound different.
EDIT: Here is Fransisco's statement which is along similar lines:
"I think one point that should be addressed is the quality and performance of the turntable support. The Stacore rack used in the AS2000 is an exceptional product, probably superior to the other racks used in the other turntables? How would it affect the performance of the other turntables?"