I Was Stunned


For years I have resisted a rack for the front end gear because of concerns of the effects of hard vertical surfaces at or near the same height as the tweeters and midrange drivers affecting the center image and the illusion of a soundstage.

My gear sat on the floor.

And then  I got an idea.

A few weeks ago I visited with a friend who is also a craftsman and artisan.

The rack I designed and he built is made from 1" square steel tubing.

All tubes are filled with sand before being welded together.

It has two shelves made from 1.5" butcher block. They are 18" deep and 48" wide.

The top shelf is 20" high.

The tweeters are 48" high, the midrange 40".

The shelves are isolated from the frame with silicone.

It is non-resonant, heavy, solid and gorgeous.

It sits on a wood floor, over a concrete slab.

I wasn't expecting what I heard. Amazing transformation. Greater clarity, cleaner highs, mids and lows. More natural timbres. Better dynamics. 

You get the picture. 

I was stunned.

tomcarr

@carlsbad 

Those ARE street elbows. 1 end male, other end female. A regular elbow has two female ends.

 

Sounds like a Sound Anchors rack. Now, put Townshend Seismic Isolation Corners under the rack and you're really isolated! 

It's obviously not designed with sonics in mind. Those pipes must ring like a bell.

@roxy54 , not necessarily....with the unions one could fill the pipes with sand at a minimum, lead shot for max weight...*G*

...of course, 'moving' the rack itself could be as bad as moving some amps...