Damned if I Do and Damed if I Don't

Why not have a local wood shop build you a rack that fits in with the antiques, or you could alter an old chest or cabinet to hold your gear. It has been done many times by people with great results.

I have a possible solution that would let you keep the sonic benefits of the Sistrum rack, and have the furniture style that your wife prefers. If you're interested, you can email me privately.

While you're at it, trade her car in for some 19th century transportation.

The best solution I've seen was a period armoire which had been gutted but looked complete from the outside. Inside, the user had placed a high-quality modern rack which worked for him when he opened the doors but was otherwise not visible.

I took an early 19th century primitive cupboard, that was a little beat (do NOT do this to a good quality antique) and bored holes in the back to run cables. You won't get the sonic benefits of a quality rack, but you can use isolation platforms under each piece and put the TT and CDP or pre on top. Mine is about 4' tall and 3' wide. Email me privately if you want to discuss this further. I am in CT and did this when we owned an 18th cent. cape (No longer). You may have a cooling issue with a tube power amp that would require some additional thinking.

Sogood51 offered a great alternative. I had a stereo cabinet built out of solid teakwood. The wood matches the rest of my furniture. It weighs in excess of 200 lbs. The styling of the cabinet is somewhat contemporary, but the room is furnished and decorated in an "eclectic fashion". So basically "anything goes", from vintage antiques to surrealism artwork.

I seem to have found a fair compromise between sonics and vibration control, and aesthetic value. The nicest part of the cabinet is that it sits low to the ground behind a couch, making it less succeptable to airborn vibration and also removing it from sight when sitting anywhere in the room.

I'm in Connecticut also. Is this a New England Thing?

Wood racks from Zoethecus do pretty well at blending in with more traditional furniture, since they are available in 6 colors. They can be improved sonically by using Neuance replacement shelves, or with other cones/footers. If money isn't a consideration, you might check the performance of Grand Prix couplers underneath the electronics on Zoethecus shelves, for example. The turntable might do best both sonically and visually with a separate shelf mount on the wall. The shelf can be kept to a low visual profile, and can have a plant moved in front of it when not in use.

Lugnut, great response!

To follow up Lugnut's response:

Ask her to get rid of that pesky non period gas or electric range, swap out the 'fridge for an icebox or rootcellar, and by all means, the microwave has got to go...

Let me restate what others have said. Let her pick the cabinet maker and let her ok the plan. She will have esthetic consistency;you will have a furniture quality cabinet.

I like Kr4's response. The "shell" of an old piece, covering the modern high performance stand that you like. Both husband and wife get what they want.

Thank you to most of you for your great responses! I'll email a few of you privately to get your good solutions to a difficult problem. To Buscis2, this may be a New England thing, or at least in areas that have homes and styles that are truly antique and very beautiful.

To Lugnut and his friends, I think she did get a 19th century mode of transportation. 4 wheels! Oh yes she did put on those wheels a 2003 Audi A4 3.0 Quattro Wagon, but who's really concerned about what's on the wheels.

jcbach,

It was meant tongue in cheek. No offense intended. I'd get rid of it all if my wife asked me to. I'm a lucky guy since she has never, in 30 years, complained about anything audio.

My solution was to put everything possible on shelves in the cellar, which means that your equipment rack, (or built-in alcove in my case) can be a lot smaller. In my case I have hidden away ten channels of amplification (biamped surround), electronic crossovers, power conditioner/sequencer, and all the interconnects, speaker wires, and power lines. Maybe you don't have so much stuff, but I started the cellar set up when there was only one stereo amplifier, with the main objective of having very short speaker cables from the amplifier mounted just under the floor at the speaker location.

Have to agree with Kal's recommendation and second Albert's applause of what is an absolutely great idea. Cosmetically, the cabinet will match the decor of the house to keep the wife happy and Jc gets to keep the rack that he really loves. Only problem is finding something that is both large enough to house the rack & components, have ease of access as needed and allow proper ventilation. Might be some work, but it appears to be the best of both worlds. Sean
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show her a picture of a Rix Rax see if she approves

Another variation on Eldartford's solution which I've used once and which is now commonly used in home theaters is to build a closet into the wall which can become an electronics cabinet. The back side of it can also be built to allow flow through ventilation. This eliminates the need for a huge armoire in the room unless your wife prefers the cabinet look.

Lug nut no offense taken. Hey we're all in this together, and God bless those wives that put up with our insane passion!

www.mapleshaderecords.com Samson rack/pictures

My wife and I could look at the same piece of clothing in a store window and we get different impressions. While I see form, she sees color. I do many big projects around the house, but without her sense of style and color my finishes would be highly functional, albeit a bit sterile.

Listen to her.

Going to a cabinet maker and asking him to match a piece of her furniture on the outside, built to your specifications on the inside will best both for all.

[Especially if you also commisssion another piece of
furniture, just 'for her' that she will love...]

Wow, that's a shame, and a bit surprising too; The Sistrum 6 is a pretty elegant and understated rack in my eyes. Clean and simple, not at all dominating or bulky. I'm also a big fan of setting things off with contrast but I guess that isn't the case with your rack and her antiques. Are you sure it is JUST the rack that is bothering your wife and not the system itself? I like the suggestion of the gutted Armoire. Perhaps you could even find something big enough to keep the Sistrum, that would act as a kind of shell around it. I don't know how eclectic your wife's taste is, but there are some really beautiful medical and dental cabinets from the turn of the century that I've always thought would make a great display case for a nice system...especially tubes. You'd have to wire and properly ventelate it though as they are usually sealed. This would mean drilling holes in the back (and likely destroying the resale value of it). The most beautiful ones I've seen (IMO) are made of steel and have Queen Anne legs. They're pretty rare to find, and I don't recall ever seeing them in New England (my folks live in VT and I've spent quite a bit of time in that area). Seems like they're more out west and in the bigger cities (maybe Boston has them). I've seen them on eBay once or twice and they go for around the same price as your Sistrum. As far as optimizing it for isolation of components and optimal function as a stereo shelf, I'm sure it would require further efforts. These are not the common dental cabinets with drawers, but more of a medical cabinet with doors. There is currently one on eBay but it is priced pretty high. You can see it here Disclaimer: No association with this seller whatsoever. Later examples are much less curvy, less expensive, and more straight up and down. If you search long enough for one you may find a bargain. Then again, it may not be your wife's taste at all. My wife hates my speakers in our living room. I've already conceded to put the rest of the system in the closet...well, I recently took the amps out. Yes, my amps are out of the closet folks! Anyway, have managed to keep the speakers in place. I may end up building a listening room downstairs in order to make her happy (and me happy)! Good luck with your better half!

Marco

Ok, the way to keep the Sistrum rack and also have the looks your wife wants, is to do as suggested above, and use a gutted armoir for the enclosure, and drill 3 holes in the base to let the Sistrum legs contact the floor. This will allow the Sistrum rack to do its job of coupling to the floor, and hide the system at the same time. Best of both worlds.

I am pulling my recommendations on the Mapleshade platform/equipment rack.I waited a month and a half for two of the three platforms I ordered.I had decided to go with the "black option".When I received the platforms,they were dinged,scratched and blotchy in appearance.I believe that I could have done a better job and would not have rested the platforms on nails while the stain/lacquer dried.I contacted Mapleshade/Eldon to ask if this is what I should expect.Eldon told me "I inspected the platforms before shipment.If you are unhappy with the quality,you won't be happy with anything we provide you".This after calling four times,being left on hold for ten minutes {I recalled on cell-Eldon picked right up-obviously didn't care to speak with me}.We all expect polite service while purchasing,what ever happened to the follow-up/post purchase service.It must be a lost science.TWO THUMBS DOWN and I sell these products! I'll be thinking twice before making another recommendation.

Hey Tpsonic....I often rell everyone how great I think the company is that I just bought from. reality is often a bit of a let-down, after the product arrives and after a few months of use. Perhaps we all should wait to audition thw stuff before going 'aandwagon' on it. Good that you can change your mind. More of us should do so.....

I have recently brought the platforms back into my system.I did buy the standard finish 2" platforms-no returns on 4"ers.I hoped that I could return them,not needing to spend the money.At first,I wasn't sure.I took them out and listened-not bad.Put them back in,even off axis,it was a no-brainer.Better sense of naturalness and more body on vocals with no dynamic smear.Dimensioality was stunning.
Still not sure that I would recommend the black,but a small issue in my mind.Thanks,Pierre/Elton.

Tpsonic: Without starting a lynch mob, it would have probably been more appropriate to state that you sell these products at the time of recommending them than when decided to retract that recommendation. Having said that, at least you made this point evident, albeit two months later.

I'm not trying to get down on you personally, but i think that most Agon users would like to think of most recommendations coming from satisfied customers, not a "shill". The fact that you clarified the situation and did so in both a cautionary and honest fashion tells me that your initial recommendation came out of respect for the product, not for your own monetary motivations. Sean
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I am a very ,very small dealer for Walker Audio {Silent Source/Omega Mikro},Mapleshade and Red Rose.I have connections around the industry,which I use to help those people who have caught this passionate "bug".I prefer to call things as I see them.This has caught me a lot of guff and I hear it from the manufacturers also.But,let us call a spade ,a spade.I have worked in audio stores and have spent time in several recording studios.I truly like what I hear using the Omega Mikros.They don't give a hoot about being practical or overly durable.The sound comes first.This has driven me to endless distraction.I try to convey this to my customers.It is a love/hate relationship.Maybe one of my customers will throw in their two cents on this issue.I clear about 3K a year in sales.If this should disqualify me from voicing my opinion,then let fellow AudioGoner voice their opinion.If that is the decision,so be it.My humble apologies to anyone who feels misleaded or deceived. Tom

Tpsonic, I think Sean's point is fair. No need to abandon this site. Starting a post with some indication that you are in the business keeps you above board. Duke is a great example, he regularly contibutes his most welcome opinions, yet always points out that he a pro.

Fair enough.I will make a disclosure before submitting my opinions,as long as I still sell audio.The Omegas are the one product that I will support and defend,regardless.

Tp: As Unsound stated, i wasn't trying to stifle input to these forums from professionals so much as trying to encourage "full disclosure". After all, knowing where someone is coming from can be just as helpful as the information provided. Since professionals are exposed to many similar products, their comments have the ability to carry more weight / offer wider levels of insight than comments coming from someone less experienced. As such professional recommendations ARE encouraged, but so is honesty and being up-front. Otherwise, you run into situations where shills are drumming up sales for products that they are affiliated with. This happened with Plinius over at AA.

To take that a step further, some professionals even go so far as to recommend products that they don't carry. Even though they may not sell them, they know that these products do have their place and may work for the situation being discussed. As Unsound mentioned, Duke at AudioKinesis is a prime example of how "professionals" can be a GREAT asset to these forums while being completely straight-up about their affiliations. As such, please don't take my comments as being "condemning" or trying to push you or other professionals away. They weren't meant that way at all. Sean
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Sean,I appreciate you clarifying your statements.The majority of my recommendations have been on equipment that I don't sell {except Omega Mikro-but it does have a return policy}.As such,I will no longer make post on products I sell,unless there is a question concerning availability ,problems or pricing.That should keep my motivations completely above board.

Tp- That is probably the best way to go. Stick around, but remember, some positions in life restrict your freedom in certain circumstances. Our Governor in CT is finding this out the hard way. Some of his "friends" let him use their condos at the beach (read Hawaii and Florida) at no charge. When this was disclosed, he had to re-imbusre them. Then they donated labor or products to help renovate a cottage he bought. Co-incidentally, they also did business with the state. Now the legislature is considering impeachment and the US Attorney is considering indictment. Long way around to say that sometimes you have ot go overboard to avoid even the appearance of impropriety. This is especially true on the anonymous net. Stick around, comment when appropriate, and just make sure everyone knows your affiliation.