Hi-fi, on the rack.

[treeboy]

For years, I've had my seperates mounted on a cheap Ikea shelving unit with the turntable on top. I've got the TT, amp, tape deck, mini disc, cd, and radio on it.
We've just had loads of building work done on the back of the house and had a new floor laid right through from living room to kitchen/dining space. We wanted the flooring to be continuous throughout, so went for an Amtico (cheaper version mind you) type of floor. No carpets, no laminates, just hard floor.
Time has come to start putting stuff back in the living room. The old Ikea unit is looking a bit drab so I started looking about for something else to put the gear on. I've entered the mine-field that is the world of the hi-fi rack. It seems you can spend as much as you want, but what I have been wondering is just how much difference does it make? What are the guiding principles? Is a vertical stack better than a more low level spread? Is the difference in sound quality anecdotal or do board members have positive experiences which could be helpful? I also have a wall mount for the Rega, which I have never installed.
Just thinking out loud and hoping for some advice one way or the other.
Cheers in advance.

[BlackRegent]

Had a similar situation myself a couple of years ago.

After much hand wringing I got a local joiner to clone a Hi Fi Racks Podium Reference: http://www.hifiracks.co.uk/products/...dium-Reference

Despite their high price they can be copied quite easily. I bought some solid oak countertop from Worktop Express. I would like to bet that this is exactly the same stuff that Hi Fi Racks use as the spec and finish is identical. I then sourced some isolation spikes and pads from ebay. I gave it all to the joiner who made it up to my custom dimensions. The joiner could even recess the pads into the tup of each shelf as per the Hi Fi Racks original. Total cost came in at c.£200 (£120 for the oak and £80 for the labour). It would have cost £700 + if I got it from Hi Fi Racks and the only difference would have been the wanky little badge.

Does it make a difference to the sound? Who knows. Does it look great and organise what would otherwise be an unruly hi fi system? Definitely.

[treeboy]

Cheers BR. That could be a good route to go down.

[Ronnies-Pockets]

Not the cheapest things around, but these are fantastic. http://www.isobluehifi.com/prices.htm

[peretti]

While a wall mounted shelf was essential when I had a Linn, my Rega seems happy on just about any surface given a good slip mat. Hi-fi shelving is generally stupidly expensive but ebay often turns up high end racks, often sold with shitty systems that still make the overall price pretty good even if you bin the system itself.

[jay]

Had a similar situation myself a couple of years ago.

After much hand wringing I got a local joiner to clone a Hi Fi Racks Podium Reference: http://www.hifiracks.co.uk/products/...dium-Reference

Despite their high price they can be copied quite easily. I bought some solid oak countertop from Worktop Express. I would like to bet that this is exactly the same stuff that Hi Fi Racks use as the spec and finish is identical. I then sourced some isolation spikes and pads from ebay. I gave it all to the joiner who made it up to my custom dimensions. The joiner could even recess the pads into the tup of each shelf as per the Hi Fi Racks original. Total cost came in at c.£200 (£120 for the oak and £80 for the labour). It would have cost £700 + if I got it from Hi Fi Racks and the only difference would have been the wanky little badge.

Does it make a difference to the sound? Who knows. Does it look great and organise what would otherwise be an unruly hi fi system? Definitely.

Be interested to see a pic of it and your system

[jay]

For years, I've had my seperates mounted on a cheap Ikea shelving unit with the turntable on top. I've got the TT, amp, tape deck, mini disc, cd, and radio on it.
We've just had loads of building work done on the back of the house and had a new floor laid right through from living room to kitchen/dining space. We wanted the flooring to be continuous throughout, so went for an Amtico (cheaper version mind you) type of floor. No carpets, no laminates, just hard floor.
Time has come to start putting stuff back in the living room. The old Ikea unit is looking a bit drab so I started looking about for something else to put the gear on. I've entered the mine-field that is the world of the hi-fi rack. It seems you can spend as much as you want, but what I have been wondering is just how much difference does it make? What are the guiding principles? Is a vertical stack better than a more low level spread? Is the difference in sound quality anecdotal or do board members have positive experiences which could be helpful? I also have a wall mount for the Rega, which I have never installed.
Just thinking out loud and hoping for some advice one way or the other.
Cheers in advance.

I've had maybe 5 different ones over the years all vertical stacking... Never heard any difference at all myself.

I hAve a 5 tier jet black soundstyle now which is rock solid and looks quite nice, to me at least

[Grim Lounge Cowboy]

This is timely.

My set up is spread around a part of the floor in a small room.

I recently acquired a Hitachi PS 15 - an improvement on the old Sony for sound and for looks. A better look all around might be what I need to finagle a move into a living area. There are some nice local timbers in WA. A purpose-made metal frame, weighty with a roughish finish, would suit the dominant aesthetic chez F.

Talk of isolation spikes makes me wonder if isolation is something that I should factor in. And if so, to what extent. I had assumed that weight would suffice to to reduce vibration. Any suggestions?

[treeboy]

So what needs isolating from what? I've seen some racks where you can have seperates sitting side by side, ie lower but wider racks. Does this mean that two items on one shelf won't interfere with each other? Seeing as people go to great lengths to keep this separate, this doesn't make sense to me. Am I being a dimbo?