How important is a good rack?

To answer your question, very important and maple seems to be the wood of choice. Maple dissipates vibration. Since I am in the midst of a complete system upgrade I knew my old wobbly Sanus rack had to go. I wanted a simple four shelf 48" wide solid maple rack but couldn't find anything without resorting to a custom built unit from a company like Timber Nation. Since a close friend is a professional wood worker I decided to build my own. As of this writing it is nearing the assembly stage. It will be solid as a rock and I anticipate it dramatically minimizing vibration over my current rack. The construction nearly eliminates fasteners since it utilizes a mortise and tenon design. I would be happy to provide feedback once it is finished. I would also recommend Timber Nation as they build custom maple racks. They advertise here quite frequently.

Well, frankly, since most racks amplify structural vibrations, even solid well constructed racks, the best sonic results will actually be obtained by placing components directly on spikes or cones on the floor.

Cerrot,
Your comment is simply stated and I believe, correct.

Keep the reports of careful ABs indicating dramatic differences coming! ;)

John

How important is a good rack?

"Music is good for your ears but bad for the gear that reproduces it. Musically induced vibration physically alters audio equipment. A vibrating printed circuit board flexes all its components to a degree. The result is audible signal distortion. For example, consider what happens if the music you’re playing matches the resonance frequency of a capacitor -- say, a nice V-Cap CuTF like the ones in my Atma-Sphere preamp. The physical oscillation of the Teflon causes small variances in the spatial relation of the capacitor’s copper plate that yield tiny yet measurable differences in its capacitance. A few microns of displacement can result in a small voltage deviation. Compound that effect across all the caps in your system and then amplify it and you have chaos.

Airborne energy does the majority of harm to signal accuracy, but it is not the sole source of problems. Structural elements in your home absorb and transmit energy to each other and anything in contact with them. Wood floors resonate and flex; massive, rigid concrete makes an excellent vibration transmitter. Not only is your system bombarded by air- and floor-borne energy, your components generate and propagate vibration as a byproduct of their own operation: power-supply transformers hum, digital transports whir, turntables turn. All of it contributes to that veil of distortion hanging between the listener and the music."

Read more here at The Audio Beat.