Audio Racks & Equipment Support


Howdy fellow Agoners.I've got a half way decent rig put together(Sim Audio I-5,Monitor Audio Silver RS6's,Raysonic CD-128,cabled with MAC cables & power cords)& need a rack to put everyting on.Since I just bought my first home money is a little tight right now & the budget is about $750.00.What I'm not sure of is should I shoot the whole wad on a rack like one of Adona's base models with maple shelving or get a less expensive rack & really good vibraton control devices like BDR cones,etc..for all the gear.Thanks in advance for your help.
freediver
Freediver,

Where are you located? I have a 3 shelf TAOC AS-1 rack that I might let go in the near future when my new table is finished.
There is a good write up in PFO from a little over a year ago.
It is "as new" and I just don't want to ship it even though I have all the packing.
I have multiple Adona racks with very good baseline results and have also augmented/tested with Stillpoints, BDR pucks, cones, and other tweaks. The best I've found without spending thousands on things like Critical Mass platforms are from Composite Audio (CF-2010 model). The combination of the Composite platforms and my Adona racks works exceptionally well, is extremely solid and sounds great. Composite also now makes and entire line of stands that you can assemble to fit your needs that are based upon subsequent refinements to their platform design...All this stated, there are many different options that I've seen used by members here with great systems. Take your time, shop around and pick what works best for you aesthetically, sonically and within your budget.
I've used an Audiav Crystal rack to good effect for around a year. Not cheap, but great nonetheless.

http://www.audiav.com/
Get a Solidsteel which will come with isolation(cones in the "5" series and rubber grommets with ball bearings in the "3" series). From there you can add Symposium Sveltes new/"B" stock or used and you'll be ahead of the game(which is what this is).
I just went through a similiar process at a lower price range. I ended up with a Cambre Timber 4-shelf rack for $310 shipped. I missed out on used Samson racks($400+ and a beautiful one at $800). Actually, I purposely skipped the lower priced one due to finances. I did see a couple of Cambre Core racks(solid versus hollow aluminum rods)for sale around $400, but pickup only. I reviewed the Timber rack on Audiogon. For that kind of money, I would want something that claimed some effect on sound quality. Mapleshade's Samson is interesting, or you could build up something from Audiav or Adona(or others). Edensound has a 4-shelf myrtle rack(with solid rods, I believe)for around $380(plus shipping, I would think). You can find their phone number on Audiogon, as they sell their brass footers on Accessories. I have since bought 4-inch Mapleshade amp stands and big brass footers from Edensound. Both of these items added a solidity to the sound. For a cheap tweak, try Eaglesound myrtle feet(which I assume, and they imply, are sized in the Golden ratio) with isonodes underneath(I used the small[32 pounds]ones).