Audio Rack Opinions


After a fair amount of research, I have landed on 3 candidates for upgrading my audio rack:

  1. Symposium Acoustics Foundation Ultra 
  2. Core Audio Plykraft 4L
  3. Butcher Block Audio Rigid Rack with 4 shelves 

This will be used with the following system:

Palmer 2.5i Turntable

  • LFD NCSE Mk3 amplifier
  • Sutherland Little Loco phono stage
  • Oppo UDP 203 CD player
  • Palmer turntable power supply
  • This sits on hardwood floors to the left of my Harbeth speakers which are Tontrager stands

I am not in the market for a $10k plus rack, but would love to hear opinions on the above racks or any other suggestions  

 

Thanks in advance  

 

128x128thr1961

<<IMHO racks represent the least bang for your audio bucks. The only component that significantly benefits is the turntable, which requires isolation from structural borne resonances and footfalls. For the table, a wall mount shelf properly installed is best or a dedicated stand properly positioned in the room or better still on the concrete floor of your basement. For the rest of your gear an inexpensive basic rack is fine—add a Symposium Svelte Shelf beneath your digital player if you want to go a bit further. Spend what you save on music or component upgrades that will actually increase your musical enjoyment.>>

I tend to agree, but my current rack is a "tripod" with glass shelves, and last week I luckily noticed that the shelf with LFD had almost pulled out of the back bracket, thus prompting the search.  As noted, my Palmer is VERY heavy, and I listen to LPs about 99.9% of the time, so goal one is a foundation for that,

Space and logistics does not allow a wall-mounted shelf or a separate stand, so I am going to focus on a single rack.

I've been happy with my rack from Hi-Fi racks in the UK. You can customize the rack right in their website. There was no import duty.

 

 

What about quadraspire?  Good match with the LFD.  

You are right -- I forgot to put that one on the list.  Although its appearance will require some additional spousal management....LOL

Not sure I love the idea of a wood frame rack for turntables. But if very well implemented, it could be fine. And the ones you've picked do look quite solid.

What worked for me was a rack architecture that’s as rigid as possible, with isolation delegated to the shelves. My case was an extreme though, as I went from a flimsy Lovan Sovereign stackable 3-post rack (AWFUL) to an over-the-top CMS Maxxum (wonderful!). Boy did that solve my turntable feedback issues, though. You definitely want a 4-post rack, not 3, and avoid non-fixed stackable levels! I cringe whenever I see a nice table atop one of those VTI modular racks, because I know what that was like :(

Eyeballing those options, I like the Symposium for its solid aluminum posts.