Audio Rack Opinions


Hi there

Moving and leaving behind a 'very' sturdy shelf built right into a load bearing wall of my house.

So now having to consider an audio rack for the first time in my life . . .

Have a fair bit of electronics to support . . . I'd imagine 6 shelves worth including a VPI Scoutmaster w/ SDS, couple disc players, Plinius integrated . . . the VPI and Plinius the two heftier pieces in this.

I like having the TT up higher for both convenience and keep away from 'critters' that might find it a bit more appealing closer to the ground. Beyond that my main consideration is this: is there a particular structure and height consideration for a TT as heavy as the VPI?

Open to any/all suggestions on this as again, I've never had to consider an audio rack ever and the brief time I've checked out online I'm bewildered to date in what I've been reading. My thoughts are that massive, sturdy rack is in order (as opposed to say the more skeletal models such as the Quadraspire Evo and such . . . But I honestly don't even know at this point because I've never used them.

thanks in advance
terra3
I've used Salamander Archetypes for many years because they are black, not bulky and cheap .
Tried some isolation devices , notably Mapleshade cones and Nordost Kones, didn't do much. In fact the Kones made everything worse.
Brain kicked in a few weeks ago and I remembered I had four 4" finished solid maple slabs in storage that I forgot about.
Put same on the Salmander MDF shelves and the sun came out,
Mapleshades helped and the Nordost Kones helped a lot on both pre and amp.No difference with casters on or off to my old ears anyway.
Many thanks for the opinions and suggestions to date . . .

You know, it never dawned on me, but this new place has a small study just off the main living (err . . 'listening') room . . . . glass door and angled so that it actually complements the room nicely. So I was thinking, while it might not present the system out in the open so well, I 'could' set up a more reasonable 2 x 3 shelf system in that room, route speaker cables out through a wall into the main room and have the system room separated and safe from cats and such. Was going to use that den for guitar and piano practice . . . a music room per se.

Plenty to consider . . . . thanks again
Mapleshade has some excellent ADJUSTABLE rack systems for sale, but
they cost a lot of money- especially if you get a number of shelves or two racks side by side. Of course a skilled wood worker with a good set of plans could build the same thing. I don't like the high prices that come with audiophile rack systems, and it depends on your room and your floor what
you might actually need to isolate certain components. I got lucky years ago and got Deluxe Justaracks (Michael Greene) through audio advisor. The shelves are 2 inches thick and infinitely adjustable. It is a dog to look at but extremely solid, like Salamander racks only on steroids. BUT those threaded uprights
are indispensable IMHO as your system keeps changing over the years.