2. misc-audio
  3. 1148749431

High End, and Rack Mountable

One thing that has really helped tidy up my system was changing from tables and audio furniture to a tall, rack mountable cabinet, with a rear door, a shelf, a drawer and casters.

For me, it has been a real treat, albeit a bit more work to initially get the components screwed into the rack.

Now, I am pondering a system change, mainly to warm up the sound of my Audio Research SP11, and also switch out my Sony SCD-1 for hard drive based digital and a new turntable.

I would really love to keep the rack, however, and probably also my Magneplanar Tympanis.

Could anyone therefore, make suggestions for truly rack mountable components that are genuinely high end, could drive my Tympanis nicely and also look great in a matte black, studio type 19" stacked rack configuration.

If you want to check out the rack, it is made by Raxxess.

I hope this isnt too tall an order and thank you for any ideas or opinions.
cwlondon
bright_star_audio
179 posts
 
Hi CW,

I would suggest that you install rack mount "shelves" into the rack and affix them to the rails. This will allow you to place any component you choose into your rack as well as providing a method to employ vibration control feet or platforms. Attaching a component directly to rails rigidly connects it to the rack frame itself and provides a directly coupled path for vibration to enter the component and contaminate the signal.

Best Regards,

Barry

Barry Kohan
President
Bright Star Audio
tvad
9,467 posts
 
Bryston and McIntosh have rack mountable gear. I'm not sure about the new MAC gear, but the older MAC gear was rack mountable with the Panlock system.
kublakhan
717 posts
 
Atma-sphere
Manley
Benchmark (especially for a hard drive system...it's half rack and needs the other blank half rack to work with 19")
Space-Tech Labs as an option
Counterpoint - vintage
Goldmund - vintage
Audio Research - vintage
Mark Levinson - vintage

Computers for your hard drive system: Sweetwater creation station and many DIY computers...just find a rack mount case.

Lots more I'm forgetting about
whart's avatar
whart
1,930 posts
 
I use equipment racks for my video system, including for the audio amplifiers that support the video system. (Mine are from Mid-Atlantic, but are the same concept- full sized enclosed racks with back doors, shelves, etc.)
I'm not sure how well these things treat the components sonically, though. Mechanical isolation? The lighter stuff gets bolted in and needs no shelf to support it, but the heavy stuff is not just bolted in, but also sits on a pretty substantial shelf.
Having said that, I just bought a Mac 2700 as a gift for a friend with a pair of Sequels- it was pretty reasonably priced- and is fairly bulletproof. It should have the power to drive your Magneplanars, and, I'm told, is a sonic sweety.
The other thing is, once you get to using bigger tube amps in a rack, you've got to cool it with fans which contribute their own ambient noise. The Mac, being solid state, should run without cooling, but don't quote me, since I don't have one installed in the rack. (I do use a recent multichannel Mac for a couple of the surround channels, but don't run it in the video system alone- it is on with other tube amps that do generate some serious heat, and yes, my racks are fan cooled).
More to discover