Component racks

11flat6, my current racks are a Polycrystal and Deluxe Roomtunes. I was all excited when I purchased the Polycrystal since it had received so many positive reviews in S-phile and were in many reviewers systems. I moved all the best gear over to my new rack and imagine my dismay when the result sucked. I had to switch everything back again. The Polycrystal sounds dull and sucks the life out of tube gear in particular. I cannot place any component on that rack without some additional interface. Otherwise the sound is degraded.

The roomtunes was a step up from the previous rack which was a Standesign rack which had a cantilevered metal frame with wood inserts. The sound gained solidity and structure and lost some of the brightness it had before. The Roomtunes rack is fairly neutral but does suppress harmonics.

I've done considerable long term experiments with different platform materials (MDF, oak, cherry, butcherblock, maple) plus different footers (spikes in brass, aluminum, ceramic, steel) soft footers like Herbies, vibrapods, and others. The best overall balance and life is with the Mapleshade platform with brass spikes.

My priorities may be different than yours. Based on my experiments and sonic preference, I wish to avoid a rack that is overdamped. The rack needs to have a natural sound to it.

It's funny when I see photos of an amp designer in his lab and his amp is on the "test bench" which usually looks like a formica covered slab of plywood/MDF with legs of unknown composition or structure. Maybe something like that is the ultimate rack.

I also have a lot of gear. I bought a VTI TV stand, with an extra shelf. It is double wide, so there are a total of four shelves (eight component spaces), plus the top. It is wide enough for a pair of turntables unless the plinths are very over-sized. There are two shelf hieghts, and you can pick which order to assemble them in. The taller shelf spaces should accomodate most tube gear. A really big amp with exterior tubes should probably have a dedicated stand anyway.

Here is a link to a 3-shelf version of what I bought:
http://www.audio-video-furniture.com/nobot/VTI-AR503-07-Additional-7-in-Shelf-for-AR503.htm

Note the low price! Just look around for a retailer that will sell you the extra-shelf kit.

The VTI racks are not high tech isolation devices, but at these prices, you can afford to buy individual isolation doodads for your gear.

11flat6,
I can only compare the Adona rack I own to the other rack that I used for many years which was a 4 shelf welded square tubular rack by Target with MDF shelves. That was a sonic improvement over my makeshift former rack, and the Adona is much better than the Target. Better meaning more stable imaging, quieter background, music seemingly more detached from the speakers. And I enjoy the much greater room for easy access, and the good looks and adjustability of the shelves.
I would also like to respectfully disagree with Notec concerning the importance of a good rack. Chosse one and drop the bucks. You won't regret it.

I picked up a 3 wide 10 shelf audioav zirconia system here on AudiogoN. Now I need to deal with mounting my 52" Bravia on a stand of soe kind. The rack will run diag., so I am thinking the Sony must be on an av dual post stand or some thing. I son't know abount mounting a 100 lb + flatscreen on a swing arm. Thoughts on that?

I'd buy whatever looks good to your eye and matches your listening room. Make sure its solid and can support the weight of the gear you want to use. A rack should not have any effect on the sonic performance of your audio system whatsoever. If you have vibration issues, you either have a poorly assembled rack or gear.