Can an audio rack be that important?

@roxy54 Not the case at all. You think what you like and post like you do. To nice a day to waste on you. 

I’d say, like most things we buy, there is a minimum quality standard that should be adhered to. That being said, there are both acoustic and aesthetic advantages to be had if it’s in your budget.

I built my own by repurposing some walnut furniture into a number of shelves that can be configured in a multitude of designs based on where they are placed in the space.

Ive had these as one tall rack, two medium racks and recently into three short racks. Connectors are 3/4" black pipe from Home Depot. Most components are on IsoAcoustics Gaia footers, IsoAcoustics Orea or IsoPucks.

Yes absolutely , you can measure the vibration ,a decent stand today $minimum.  $1500  there are $20 k stands with seismographic control electrically

if you have the bucks ,$500 nothing special , but you can buy the iso acoustic pucks  sold by weight needed and 4 is better then 3  that’s a good stop gap 2-300 per component start with the dac ot digital and or turntable .  They make nice ones for speakers about $600 for 2 speakers .

Yes it is Important.

No, you do not Have to spend a lot of money.... but it Helps.

Thanks guys. 
Prioritizing spending on what makes the most sonic difference can be part of the fun.  I have always tried building or configuring stuff myself like different types of stands, air bladder suspension, lots of cables, and the damped springs I use as footers beneath Sound Anchors speaker stands.   
I try not to get too hung up on the need to spend lots of money to accomplish a goal. For example, a little effort and ingenuity could turn a typical block equipment stand or a flexy stand into something with a unique look.  The stands in the previous post are a good example of how you can make something cool without spending too much. Below are some shelves we recently added as part of a renovation in one of our offices.  The combination of steel framing and aged/cured hardwood boards looks great, and could make a really cool equipment rack, but unfortunately the wood was not cheap.