Alternative Rack to Salamander

One of the best bangs for the buck in the Salamander price range (actually a bit less) and not well-known (yet!) is the Studiotech Performance series. www.studiotech.com

The best retailer (he charges less than the manufacturer + FREE shipping) is Dynamic Home Theater (Michael Stone - owner, 781-843-2442) or on the web at:

http://www.dynamichometheater.com/store/merchant.mvc?page=DHT/CTGY/STUT

They come knocked down, easy to assemble and very sturdy.
Order the optional cone spikes, only $8 a set I think. I like the all black, but your wife may prefer the silver.

If money is not an object, here is your answer.

If your wife has a problem with those aesthetics, you are indeed in trouble!

For a performance-oriented rack, alot of people like the Sistrum racks. Winner of the 2004 Brutus Award for Excellence from Positive Feedback Online publication. They are consistently mentioned in any conversation about performance platform systems.

They feature all black powder-coated laser-cut steel shelves, machined stainless legs, and brass accents in construction, and look very sleek and upscale. Proprietary MicroBearing fill and other upgrades are optional. Various heights and numbers of shelves. Holds up to 300 pounds per shelf. Improves performance of video components too!

Not cheap, but not near as much as those Rix Rax, either.

Check them out at http://www.audiopoints.com

Disclaimer: I work for the company.

I like the Sistrums very much. I spent a lot of time admiring them at CES. Unfortunately, they are exactly the sort of thing I cannot have. I need something that at least smacks of looking like furniture, which is why I got the Salamander in the first place. I looked at Rix Rax, and they are definitely a possibility, as is the Billy Bags Pro-54. If there are no other "furniture-like" audiophile quality racks, I guess it will be between those.