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Stacking components?

I have a Sony 7700 and am getting a Jolida 1501. Is it OK to stack the Jolida on top of the Sony? Both will be going in a heavy wire 18"x18"x74" tower/shelve unit. The tower will have good contact with the floor and I was going to put a slab of granite, wood, etc. underneath the Sony as well. Also, I was going to use something like Vibrapods underneath both the Sony and Jolida to help with vibration even more. I've heard/read that a small bag of sand or other weight on top of the CDP will help some. Can I combine this effect by having the Jolida on top of the Sony or will heat be an issue? Any other ideas for cost effective isolation in this type of setup? I realize the wire tower isn't perfect for this but it fits where I want it in my den perfectly and it is well made and solid. Here's a link to it(bottom/middle of the page):
http://www.125west.com/InterMetro_Home_Office_Furniture_Metro_Dorm_Sale_wire_shelving.html

I'll also have a small 5 gallon mini/nano reef on the bottom shelf and a 14" Toshiba television above the components. I'd like to try and get it to work well with the components in there if I can.

Thanks for any input.
asahitoro
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,248 posts
 
The Inter Metro stuff is very robust, but not particuarly rigid so it's not ideal as an equipment rack. Your idea of using Vibrapods is good, but you might want to supplement them with a maple butcher block style board. If you use cones, use them on the bottom component to couple them to the maple block.
fatparrot
1,314 posts
 
I agree with the other posts. This flimsy stand would be great for a dorm room, with a low-end, light weight system. With your plan, I fear that the stand would be 'top-heavy', a recipe for disaster!
asahitoro OP
244 posts
 
Thanks for the replies everyone,

The rack is actually pretty solid. Each shelf holds about 300lbs. I'm not worried about the integrity just any vibrations, etc. that may effect my sound. I bought an extra shelf as well so I will have a total of four shelves. The nano reef on the bottom shelf should weigh things down pretty well. It will weigh about 100lbs. I think what I'll do is skip stacking them and give each one it's own dedicated shelf. I have enough shelves to do that. I'm definitely putting some wood and something like Vibrapods under each component between the component and the wire shelf. Also, what if I go to Home Depot and buy some sort of 20"x20" cement slab. I could paint it black and sit the whole tower on top of that. Maybe that would help give it a firmer base. You guys have me wondering though that maybe I should look for another alternative. Regardless of how well I isolate the components, I'll most likely be fighting an uphill battle with vibration because of the wire design. I could put them on my desk/table(60") but will they effect my flat screen monitor any?

Thanks again for all of the input.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,248 posts
 
Asahitoro, I've used the Metro as an equipment rack in an HT setup and it will work, but it's not a high quality stand by audiophile standards. The cement slab won't do much, you need to focus on isolating your equipment as much as possible from the rack itself. A combination of maple shelves and vibrapods will be very effective in that regard, but it's an open question as to whether this combo will bring out the best sound from your components. You will have to decide how serious you want to be in this area. A good quality audiophile rack can easily cost more than $500. I would recommend that you experiment with low cost mods (maple shelves and vibrapods) to your existing setup before making any decisions about changing your equipment rack.
asahitoro OP
244 posts
 
Onhwy61,

Thanks for your experienced input. I'm eventually going to buy a dedicated audio rack but for now I'm on a tight budget. An expensive audio rack is something that will have to wait for now. I realize how important things like room acoustics, isolating components/good rack, etc. are so I'm trying to do most of that the DIY route. At some point I'm going to hit a point of diminishing returns cost wise relative to how much improvement I can get out of my modest system. I actually thought that stacking my components may help some in making things more solid/vibration free. I'm going to give it a shot with the wire tower/maple shelves/Vibrapods. I just hope I can train my ears well enough to hear the subtle differences while I experiment to make things more effective.

Thanks again for your input.
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