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Redwiki - About racks, shelves...

Reading your Neuance thread peaked my interst with racks, shelves and footers and if you don't mind I would like your opinion on my setup. RACK> Lovan (lead-filled) triangle rack
with custom 1/2" glass shelves supported on hard rubber footers on rack. TOP SHELF> 3cm polished granite rests o (3) aluminum TipToes with rubber (on flat bottom) between cones & granite. Cone points sit into dimples of each rack post. Another 3cm granite shelf - with (5) Vibrapods between - sits on top of the first granite shelf. VAC TRIODE AMP> Rests on top of top shelf. Stock footers have been replaced with Vibrapods screwed into the amp, Vibrapods sit on B.D.R. "ThoseThings" bases (only). DDS.PRO TRANSPORT> Bright Star Audio Big Rock platform sits on glass shelf, another 1/2" glass base rest on the Big Rock with Vibrapods between. Transport rests on glass base w/stock footers. M.P.S. (power supply) / DAC> M.P.S. rests on 1/2" glass shelf with Vibrapod footers. Dac sits on M.P.S. with down-pointed B.D.R. cones between. 10 lb. lead bar rest on dac. PASSIVE LINE ATTENUATOR> Sits atop 150 lb. concrete Inoic column. Vibrapods between column & Bubinga 2" (hardwood) base. Down-pointed B.D.R. cones between wood & passive. VPI brick sits on top. SILVERLINE SONATINA SPEAKERS> Rests on 24x12x4"
polished granite platforms. Stock footers replaced by up-pointed Poly Crystal cones which sit on 3x3x1/2" Ebony. SHUNYATA HYDRA PLC> Rests on 15x13x6" polished granite with down-pointed B.D.R. cones. R. Crump suggested i dump the "kitty box" and replce w/Maple platform. The Neuance bases look intersting an alternative. While still evaluating the Hydra's contribution (burn-in process) - I'm looking for a more open, neutral sound with less additive devices to color the presentation., thus considering re-evaluating my set-up.
Whats ya think? Thanks in advance. Reference system: http://
cgi.AudioAsylum.com/systems/436.html.

mwalsdor
jeffloistarca
1,004 posts
 
Rushton & Red, I decided against filling the legs with sand or lead shot mostly because the rack is plenty heavy as it is. The rack itself is 34" high, by 26" wide by 18" deep. I forgot to mention a few other things about my rack, first off I ordered an extra shelf so I'm using five shelves in mine. Bottom shelf is a Classe Audio DR8 amplifier, second shelf from the bottom is an Audio Refinement Complete tuner, third shelf is a Classe Audio Model Thirty preamplifier, fourth shelf is an Audio Refinement Complete CD player, and the top shelf is my Oracle Alexandria turntable. Without the extra shelf I would have to stack components on at least one shelf. I used threaded tiptoes between the top of the rack and the underside of the top shelf, this is an additional cost but worthwhile. Took me about an hour to put together. All told the rack cost me $500 (new), and as previously stated it looks terrific. I'm using this in a second system in my home office and the finish matches my mahogany office furniture perfectly. What would Neuance shelves cost, more out of curiousity than anything?
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
Dekay,Jeffloistarca, and Redwiki, Thanks for your follow up. I have some new equipment coming later this summer and will need a better solution than the current walnut table with gear stacked on the floor below it! Dekay, thanks for the encouraging note about getting the Neuance shelves custom made. That's what I was thinking might be possible.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,555 posts
 
Rushton: I forgot to mention that I had previously been using Mapleshade brass cones and Vibrapod soft footers with Maple platforms (a three decker stack). This was the best that I was able to come up with (per my equipment and tastes) after trying different isolation footers and non-Neunace platforms. These were used in combination with a furniture cabinet that holds our CD's as well as many other items and which weighs in at 400 pounds plus. Anyway, this is where I am coming from. I do not know if Ken applied a discount or not, but my custom shelves did not cost any more than the price range noted at the Neuance website. I did get the impression that they do a lot of custom work as I offered to use four sided shelves that did not extend to the side edges of my rack and was told not to worry about it and they went ahead and made them in the odd shape that I mention above.
rushton's avatar
rushton
2,445 posts
 
Dekay, are you using one of the Studio Tech racks that has spikes extending from each of the four corner posts to support the shelves? Such as the Studio Tech PS-6B 6-shelf model shown here:
http://www.globalmartcameras.com/audvid/access/furniture/studiotech/ZR-06B.htm
I'll be interested to hear your comments once you've had a chance to live with the Neuance for a while longer.
dekay's avatar
dekay
5,555 posts
 
Hi Rushton: The photo at the website looks different than my rack, which I think is a PA-04 (I have the model # buried in emails somewhere). Mine had four side rails(with four upturned spikes) for each shelf. I also had the rack mig welded into a one piece frame (so it is no longer a bolt together rack). Unfortunately when I installed the upturned spikes and shelves last week (three of the upturned spike assemblies (the horizontal posts) snapped off from the weight of my components (which are all under 20 pounds each and only one per shelf). I was not going to use the rack because of this, but ended up making a "safety net" for the three top shelves out of silk ribbon laced under each shelf from the side rails. I just emailed Audio Advisor, where I purchased the rack in February and requested 16 replacement posts (the spikes themselves can be reused) as I do not trust the other posts that came with the rack (would you?). The metal looks "chaulky" where it broke off and is obviously not capable of doing its intended job. Also without the posts, the rack is pretty much rendered useless. Because of this I cannot recommend Studio Tech until the problem is resolved. I wish that I had a direct line to the manufacturer, but we recycled the shipping boxes and I cannot locate the original paperwork (I just have the computer generated invoice from Audio Advisor). Anyway, if suitable replacement parts are available the rack will be a steal, but other wise it was just a waste of money, plus I now have custom shelves made for it. Hopefully this was just a bad run of parts and replacements are available. Neuance has a recommended rack list at their site, but had I purchased one of the racks on the list (as they are more expensive) I would not have been able to budget for the shelves.
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