Rack Recommendations

Schubert,
Keep your $1,500 and donate it to one of your charities. Your statement that your Salmander with all of those footers etc. beats a higher grade stand may be less than the educated guess that you said it was in a previous post.
Besides, with all of the money that you spent on those accessories, you could have purchased a rack that was a better foundation to begin with.
I do agree though that (in my own experience) even a better rack benefits from the addition of additional energy draining devices like Goldmund cones, and especially Starsound Apprentice platforms.

As heavy racks do nothing but store energy the use of energy draining devices is crucial.

Salamander Archetype is very good for the price. Fully adjustable to customize vertical clearances for your equipment and additional shelves and accessories are easily obtainable. I've had no stability issues with the 5 shelf racks. Build quality is very nice - my only complaint is the QC on staining the walnut shelves could have been better. I didn't care for the castors but the stock rubber feet are nice. I'm curious if anyone has had luck using their mega spikes.

If you're furniture aesthetic runs leans more modern/minimal, they don't feel out of place either.

Second the Salamander. I use the mega spikes on carpet and they are very stable. Good looking stands, reasonable priced, well-made, easy assembly.

Neal

If you would think of rack(s) as a component in your system and not something that simply holds the components it will be easier to justify the amount of time and money you will spend tuning your rack with the rest of the equipment. Included with the racks are dampening, shelving and isolation choices to tune the system to your liking. My racks aren't the "best" but with carbon fiber shelving, carbon fiber cones, Sims Pucks and filling the vertical tubing with dampening material, sand and very fine gravel I've found a "sound" I like. The reduction of vibration does clean up the background,"darker background", letting you hear deeper into the music with better separation of instruments.