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I Was Stunned

For years I have resisted a rack for the front end gear because of concerns of the effects of hard vertical surfaces at or near the same height as the tweeters and midrange drivers affecting the center image and the illusion of a soundstage.

My gear sat on the floor.

And then  I got an idea.

A few weeks ago I visited with a friend who is also a craftsman and artisan.

The rack I designed and he built is made from 1" square steel tubing.

All tubes are filled with sand before being welded together.

It has two shelves made from 1.5" butcher block. They are 18" deep and 48" wide.

The top shelf is 20" high.

The tweeters are 48" high, the midrange 40".

The shelves are isolated from the frame with silicone.

It is non-resonant, heavy, solid and gorgeous.

It sits on a wood floor, over a concrete slab.

I wasn't expecting what I heard. Amazing transformation. Greater clarity, cleaner highs, mids and lows. More natural timbres. Better dynamics. 

You get the picture. 

I was stunned.

tomcarr
carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

I have my racks fabricated in my friend's offroad racing ship.  Like yours they are 1" steel tube.  I cut 4" heavy wood slats that I can place under each set of feet on each component so there is air under the equipment except for these stripes.  

Picture in my biography.  

I can't say it improves sound since I have always had it.  My speakers have drivers all the way down to the floor.  But I am very happy with it.  I'm gettting a 3 chassis custom amp built so I'm going to have to design a 3 shelf version.

Jerry

carlsbad's avatar
carlsbad
1,551 posts
 

Those are not street elbows.  

jrwaudio
346 posts
 

They are 90 degree straight elbows and he also uses straight tees Plus unions for assembly  No welding required  :  )  

bigtwin's avatar
bigtwin
1,205 posts
 

@izjjzi What an ingenious way to hide those unsightly hot water baseboard heaters.  Disguise them as equipment racks. 🤣

asvjerry's avatar
asvjerry
4,680 posts
 

*mmm*  ...looks like a great way to consider tapping off the heat from those pesky tubes and into the hw heater....or the foot of the bed to warm those tweaky toes.... ;)

Insert a rubber diaphram driven by a sub voice coil to 'pump you up'.....

 

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