Racks vs. furniture w/pods, points, aurios, etc?

You might want to consider the Salamander Synergy line. Not
the best in terms of rigid support - but if you have a home
with decent furniture (i.e. - Baker, Ethan Allen, etc.)
it will not stick out like a sore thumb, either.
Available in a variety of finishes; and you can add doors, end panels, media drawers, etc. to set up for your
needs. Probably one of the biggest knocks on the Synergy
line is that the side panels fit into a metal channel and
can resonate a bit. This can be easily cured with a few
pieces of Dynomat applied to the inner surface of the panels and some thin foam inserted into the metal channels.
Also - you won't pay a king's ransom for the Synergy
racks. I have a Twin 30 model in walnut with walnut end
panels and an extra component shelf and bought the entire
set up for well below $1K. And since the shelves can be
adjusted for height - you can allow plenty of space to
install Vibrapods, Isolation Shelves, etc. under your
components.

Check out BJ Tanner's work. He does completely custom racks, I have one in birds' eye maple (solid hardwood, veneered MDF shelves) that is stunning, and was 1/2 the price or less of a comprably sized Zoethecus, and better made/better looking to boot. (I have a Zoethecus amp stand for comparison). www.bjtanner.com I think. He's in NH. The rack I got from him is sized to accept standard-sized Symposium shelves, if so desired. (19x21"). Spiked, sand-filled legs, etc. A nice piece. His work is far better than his website, btw.

Fwiw,

-Ed Sawyer

I found a site with some amazing audio racks - www.voicewood.com However, it's a Korean site and they do not respond to my inquiries - do we have any Korean speaking 'Gonners around? Check 'em out, their stuff is beautiful!

Here's my two cents worth (if it's worth that).

I am a woodworker just as much as I am an audiophile. I build all my own racks/entertainment centers. It's much cheaper that way. For me to build exaclty what I want, and to have it very sturdy isn't a problem. It also doesn't come with the 6000 dollar price tag. And I get my choice of wood and stain color without waiting for it to be shipped to the dealer. I can't comment on the increase of sound quality using platforms or spikes under my equipment, but if you find a rack you are happy with, it will atleast look good. Regardless of whether or not it does more than just hold your equipment off the floor.

My racks are nothing more than to display my equipment and keep it off the ground. I doubt it helps the sound any.

I use Salamander racks as a good-looking compromise (cherry and black) and use Signal Guard II isolation platforms under all key components with the spikes of the Signal Guards resting in Aurios Pro isolation devices. It all grew up over time, but works beautifully, and I'm not sure I'd do it any differently if starting from scratch.