Poll: Which rack s would you use and why?

Fmpnd, since your turntable has it's own suspension, you are limited to a non-suspended rack for best results. if you have a suspended rack it will work against the suspension of the SME and cause problems.

what you want is a combination of mass and absorbtion......or......if your wall will hold a 90 pound turntable......you could wall mount a turntable shelf and get a suspension rack for your other gear.

my preference for a suspended rack would be the Grand Prix.....although it's WAF is marginal (which is why i have the Zoethecus).

for a solid rack, the Rix Rax is a good choice if you have the room and the 'look' is right for you. the Zoethecus is pretty good and great looking. with a solid rack you will need to individually tune each shelf depending on it's occupant.

my gear is in a similar place relative to my speakers as yours and a 4-shelf Zoethecus rack 5 feet in front of my speakers doesn't seem to harm the soundstage in any way. i also have a 2 shelf Zoethecus rack (that i use when auditioning additional gear) that i put between my main rack and the speakers that doesn't seem to cause any problem.

here is a look

A dedicated stand for the turntable is required. In the case of the SME, a light weight rigid stand that is not very tall, is recommended. Put no other gear on the turntable stand.

As for the other gear, the Sistrum racks are said to actually improve the soundstage and imaging, when placed between the speakers. My preference is always low racks, as tall ones are less stable, and more intrusive. Sistrum has a trial period for auditioning, so you could try them at no risk, if you like.

I am not the highest authority on equipment racks, but I do know how a turntable should be sited, and my advice above will yield better sound from your TT. Light, low, and rigid.

I agree with Mr. Lavigne once again :) I do like his idea of wall mounting the tt and then getting what ever rack you want for your other gear- Sistrum, grand prix, rix rax or zoethecus. As you may or may not know my friend Don got his Rix Rax Hoodoo the other day and I put it together for him(he isn't very good at that sort of thing), it is nice in fact very nice- but not worth the money- IMO. Its construction is high quality(grinded and smoothed welds) but the standard finish leaves a little to be desired(on the metal frame the finish looks like the black crinkle that you would get on a pair of wall brackets from home depot for $3.99) the wood he decided to go with is very nice maple, I can find no complaint in it- though it is nothing super special. The real pain was filling the freaking thing with sand! what a pain in the a$$! All of my complaints and critisism aside it is a breath taking piece, its presence in a room is second to none. As soon as I get pictures I will post them. Prior he had a sistrum SP-5 with top shelf(for his tt, which also had a suspension- which is the reason he got rid of the rack), his system always sounded good on sistrum I am looking forward to listening to the Rix Rax, though I am not overly impressed with the technology employed with it, very basic shelves screwed to little tabs welded to a metal frame. A friend of mine does metal working and I was telling him about it and he thinks he can make the metal frame for under $500, I will probably take him up on that! The look alone is enough to make one wet himself- if you know Don you know this rack is not him ;) but its still cool. I have heard good things about the grand prix though I have no experience with them and don't care for the lack of rear support, it doesn't mean they don't work well. I am sure Mike can tell you more about the Zoethecus then I. This is a tough choice, for me I am going to have my friend make me a custom stand to my specs(similar to a Hoodoo), though I will probably use carbon fiber BDR shelves, higher quality paint, and brass cones instead of aluminum. I would rather have the look of that beast and sacrafice a little performance- what the hell am I saying compromise sound for aesthetix(not a typo:o) I do like the technology in the Sistrum racks but I just don't care for the way they look(and I have an audio aero capitole so you know I am not too particular with how ugly a unit is;) Though the sistrum will not work with your tt.

Frank I am not envious of you for having to make such a decision! Good luck