Isolation vs. Absorbtion

RedKiwi: I have yet to try an audiophile rack and until a recent idea that my wife had (placing the electronics in a hall closet that is located just behind the speaker wall) I could think of no way to incorporate one into our living room. I know that your rack is welded steel, but is it custom or is it readily available from a manufacturer? If custom would you be kind enough to mail me the details/specs on it when you have the time? I could take it from there and either have it made or possibly modify an existing design. I would love to try a "base" that adds a sense of consistency to this matter and since the installation would be in a closet, aesthetics is not an issue. Thanks, David.

I second Dekay's last post. If it is a custom shelf then please post the details for the benefit of all. I have a MGD (metal threaded rods with the MDF Shelves) and maybe I could replace the MDF shelves with the Neuance Shelves with a little tweaking. Do you think that would be light a rigid enough?

Yes Dan: I guess that I was being selfish:-)

Dan I have no idea what would happen if you put the Neuance in place of your MDF. I doubt it has been designed with that in mind. I really think you would only get a good result following my earlier suggestions. Ken (of Neuance) posts here under Caterham1700 and so he might wish to comment. Dekay, as you might guess there are very few racks that people bother to import all the way to New Zealand, one being Mana but they are expensive. But there is a firm in Auckland that probably makes about 50% of all audiophile racks sold in NZ, and the owner is a wonderful man who makes to order at no extra charge, so I usually just fax my designs off to him. I have come to believe that the best design is to follow the Mana example. That is, use 3mm thick L-section bright steel, about 18mm by 18mm. I think this sounds better than tubular steel, but the difference is not great. Even the typical commercial 1mm thick tubular steel racks sound OK with the Neuance, just a little different - generally a little thinner through the mids and less smooth on top - but the difference is not great. While logic might suggest using three points, I find four points is better, provided you are prepared to be meticulous about making sure the shelf sits equally on all four points.

Have a look at http://mana.co.uk/menu-f.htm , then click on Products, to see some pictures of the mana supports.