2. amps-preamps
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New to this. How do I stack my stuff?

I'm new to hifi. I've asked a lot of questions here and some of you may already know my situation but I got the following by chance and for free: Audio Research LS16 tube pre-amp, Arcam CD92 cd player, Madrigal Proceed HPA2 amp. 

It is all up and running and I'm loving it. Now just trying to maximize the little things that I can. For instance, speakers had spike stands but spikes were missing so I made a set.

Now I read in the CD manual that it recommends sorbothane feet and says sound quality will be better.

I'm now figuring out that placement of components is important and that proper stands, expensive ones, are best. Well, expensive stands are not going to happen. But I can try to make accommodations that are cheap and won't turn the room upside down.

Here is how it is all situated now...let the ridicule flow, but keep in mind that I am space limited to a serious extent. Was not sure I'd get the system in my house at all:

The (very) heavy Proceed amp is sitting on a carpeted floor on strips of wood which raise the bottom of it well above the carpet. It is higher above the carpet than it would be above a hard surface just on its own feet.

The CD player is sitting on a small, simple, wooden, antique side table. It is sturdy. The pre-amp is on top of the CD player. I have no idea what this might mean in terms of SQ but the CD player actually puts out a fair amount to heat which rises up into the pre-amp of course. That concerns me.

So other than getting some sorbothane feet for the CD player, what else would be a priority here?

Finally are there issues with which cables contact which cables, how much speaker cables are looped, etc. (Most of the cabling is Transparent Super Bi-wire.)

Thanks for any assistance.
n80
wolf_garcia
4,650 posts
 
I've been using Vibrapods (and another rubbery set of footers the brand of which I don't remember) under all my gear for years with excellent results, and they certainly do not render the sound "less lively." In a simple, somewhat "non audiophile" rack I have a tube SE amp running hot (as designed) on the middle shelf with open sides all around and 8" above it, the tube preamp above that on the next shelf with lots of air around it, and my CD player on the top with the dac and streamer...works for me. The lowest shelf has a rarely used tuner and power conditioner for everything. Next to this stuff my turntable is on top of another sturdy rack/stand (this one is supposedly "audiophile") with the phono amp below it and some LPs on the bottom. Vibrapods under the Klipsch Heresy III speakers also. Lively, coherent, and very musical.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
djones, I'm fairly handy with wood. I can't do anything fancy but I build built-in bookshelves with simple lines. There are plans to put built-in shelves where my system sits now but that project is months down the road and will require a re-design to accommodate this system (and for my wife to get used to the idea that it is staying.)

wloeb, that unit does not look bad at all (I was thinking steel and chrome) and it certainly is cheap. I'll let my wife take a look at it and see what she thinks. It is cheap enough that if it gets put aside when I build the built-ins it wouldn't be a huge waste of money. It says it will hold 75 pounds. I'll check the specs on the amp. It feels like it weighs 200 pounds but that is because all the weight is in the front. But I'm guessing 50 pounds.

What puzzles me about a rack is that structurally it is tying everything together which I thought was what you wanted to avoid. I suppose using some sort of isolating feet on each component might help that.

whart, I read that article. And it helps understand what is at stake but it did not seem to clarify whether the goal is isolation or integration. You guys have to admit that using graphite (very hard) in one application and rubber-like materials in another is confusing. I guess experimentation is key here.
elizabeth
6,726 posts
 
I m cheap at heart. So I can appreciate the effort to not spend anything. The amp as it is is GREAT.
The CD and pre not so good.The table steadiness matters greatly. If you can move it horizontally, not good. Also if flimsy the vibrations from speakers will affect the CD player a lot. If nothing can be done abut the table then: The sorbothane feet are a MUST.
3/4" Sorbothane feet are $15 on Amazon. Half globe shape in different sizes The one problem is they WILL stain a wood finish. The solution is a sheet of paper. Cut small under each sorbothane pad.I personally used size 10 butyl rubber chemical bottle stoppers $1.50 each. But they are hard to find.
Raising the pre away from the CD is a good idea. any sort of riser will work. A few blocks of wood? or more rubber bottle stoppers...
One free trick is to tilt the preamp up in front (or in back).. Thus making the heat from the CD FLOW away toward the front or back, faster. It only takes a 1/4: rise at one end to cause the heat to flow away, instead of baking the component above. (if the above component had a face which extends past the bottom, tilt so the back is up.not the front, as the face sticking down blocks airflow .. not as good)   also so the bottom component sticks out a little more at that end the heat is going TO, and the top a little less, if possible.        
Do NOT cut your speaker cables. Sooner or later you may want to change stuff around. And the then too short speaker cables will be annoying. From experience anything cable can be too long and never a real problem. Even one inch too short? major problem. So do not cut the cables. Yes try to separate the power cables from the IC. or s they cross but not parallel for any distance.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
Thanks. I wouldn’t cut the speaker cables anyway. They have a thick outer coating and the ends have thick shrink rubber bonded to the cable end and the spades.

The speakers are out in front of all of this so no direct sound from the speakers should effect the components but I’m sure reflected sound and vibration through the floor does.

In my limited understanding of all this, it seems like isolation is the goal. To that end, it seems that 'disconnecting' the table from the floor would be better than, for instance, spiking it to the floor. It would seem to me that the table (which is quite sturdy) would be best on some sort of compliant, broad feet (even typical furniture floor protectors) that sit on top of the carpet. Again, I have no TT that needs to be stable.
n80 OP
1,227 posts
 
Shoot, I don't think that Monoprice rack will work. And my wife thought it would be okay for a temporary thing. The amp weighs 94 pounds and it will barely fit on the dimensions of the shelves because it is 19.5 inches front to back.

I'll have to look at some others but doubt I'll find anything cheap that will hold that amp.
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