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Advice on stacking equipment

In a possible space saving and redisplaying exercise Im thinking of stacking my line stage ( see system for details) on top of my cd player.To be honest I'm in two minds regarding the audible benefits of isolating/coupling equipment. But like most of us I I've bought over the years a number of aftermarket accessories in the pursuit of improved performance . At present I have a 1" thick sheet of black delrin under my klyne pre. one set of black diamond cones and 3 DH squares under my cd player along with some (12) small medium hard rubber like feet brought and recommended to me in by a high end dealer in England in the early 90s . I'm wondering what other members have used with good results when having to stacked equipment. Or is it always a bad idea? Thanks.
128x128pcoombs
rodman99999
6,131 posts
 
Besides the mentioned issues: Your equipment(digital OR analog) is emitting interference that will be absorbed by other gear(especially if stacked), and will affect your music signal. Digital circuits are really good at generating interference, as are the power supplies/transformers in any kind of gear. (http://www.peprollc.com/about/technology/threats/) I've always used Texas Instruments' TI Shield, over and under my individual components, to block any RFI/EMI. See page 14 of this catalog: (http://www.percyaudio.com/Catalog.pdf) The Stillpoints Suppression Cloth looks interesting too, but- I've not tried it.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,199 posts
 
Stacking a device with a low level phono stage in it near a power amp other powered components or devices is the main problem I've encountered, but certainly many other similar kinds of problems are possible when multiple electronic devices are in close proximity to each other.

Having said that, I have my components stacked pretty tightly and there is no trace of noise or distortion as a result in my system currently.

I did have to move things around a bit recently and add some external magnetic field shielding to my step up device for my low output MC phono cartridge to eliminate very noticeable hum otherwise (see postings on my system for details).

In general I would recommend avoiding stacking components in close proximity if it can be avoided.
bar81
791 posts
 
That's also an excellent point; generally, stacking electronics on top of each other can result in increased electronic interference between the units vis-a-vis each other which has the potential to degrade system performance.
kijanki's avatar
kijanki
4,428 posts
 
Not only interference. Stacking reduces surface area and makes air flow - convection cooling very difficult. Electrolytic caps' life is temperature dependent (2x shorter for each 10 deg C increase).
pcoombs's avatar
pcoombs OP
84 posts
 
Ok I think I'll put the stacking idea on the back burner. I'm also thinking of putting all the equipment along side each other. How close do you think its safe to go before interference kicks in?
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