Equipment Rack - How important in the grand scheme of things?

I've mentioned this before.  About 15 yrs ago I bought a used Billy Bags Rack solely because I liked the way it looked.  I was totally surprised by the instantaneously audible improvement, it was NOT subtle!   

Hi Jay, I got bored reading everyone else going off topic, so I thought I would answer your direct question with a direct answer. I have had my Solid Tech Rack of Silence for a number of years and I absolutely love it. Their approach is strictly about eliminating vibration both from equipment and the environment. I consider this rack as another component within the system. I refuse to participate in the isolation/vibration debate as I have some very definite opinions of both.  My belief is however, that you should gauge the rack according to the rest of the system. The rack should be economically commensurate with the rest of your system. I also believe in the point of diminishing returns. Solid Tech has several offerings, colors, finishes, and configurations to meet the most discriminating of tastes. They make a great product and you really can't go wrong. Prior to purchasing the ROS I to had an inexpensive rack with what I believed to be good equipment. Once I made the switch I realized how much I had been missing and how important the role of a good rack played in the character of my system. Now don't get me wrong, a rack, no matter how good will NOT make a bad system sound good. A good rack will create synergy between the components and allow them to do the job they were designed to do. Good luck in your search...Stay safe, Stay well, Stay at home and listen to tunes.

skyscraper has some good questions

Millercarbon, would you know if the BDR Cones and Round Things are substantially better than the Vibrapod equivalents? They are substatially more expensive and I’m wondering if there’s enough difference to warrant that extra expense. 

Haven't compared directly. Couldn't say anyway. For me I could say but nobody but you can decide what's worth it. 
Just to look at them its obvious what they have done. Its just like what I said earlier about granite and sand having faults but being good together. Vibra pods combine ordinary o-rings (rubber) with plastic, with steel. Then notice the shape isn't a straight cone its got an angle change in there and the base has a flange. So its obvious what they have done is combine these materials and shapes and tune them to get the sound balance they consider best. 

DJ did the same with BDR Cones. The main difference being the material is inherently superior. Its like the difference between a semi tractor trailer and a F1 car. Both have suspensions with springs and shocks. One is a whole lot more advanced in terms of geometry and materials. Vibration control in BDR is down to the molecular level. The material itself is inherently stiff and highly damped. It doesn't need a rubber o-ring to damp the ringing of the steel ball bearing in other words, which is what the Vibrapod does.

Most of these things the best use is directly on the component. Not under the component feet. There's nothing worse in all of audio than the feet manufacturers put under their gear. Even ones with impressive looking footers, they are so bad probably even a Vibrapod would be an improvement. 

The best practice is to use three. Three points define a plane and so never any rocking with three. Components are different enough there's no one simple rule to follow on where they go. On a CDP it might be one under the disk, one under the transformer, and the third wherever it stabilizes best. The only way to know for sure where is best is to try different combinations. Usually a difference can be heard. Which in itself is amazing. But so is this whole subject. 

If you look at my Melody, its hard to tell from the pics but the factory feet and bottom cover was removed and three BDR Those Things are screwed in right through the bottom with Round Things screwed onto the bottom. So one inside, one outside. Yes the bottom cover is basically clamped between carbon fiber on both sides. Cones screw into the Round Things. https://systems.audiogon.com/systems/8367 Vibration control is a huge component of system performance. I take it very seriously.

I recommend looking at Adona Racks.  

http://www.adonacorporation.com/modular.html

The right rack can bring a high resolution system to a new level of performance.My first rack was a Target then i upgraded to a RixRac which was much better.Now i have a Symposium Osiris 5 level rack with all copper legs with other performance options the improvement in sound is breathtaking.Enjoy whatever rack you like.