AFFORDABLE HIGH VFM RACKS - Opinions Please...

If you put all (and I mean ALL) your gear on some sort of sorbothane-ish feet/pod things I think you can avoid the (perhaps silly) expense of often overpriced hifi specific racks. Really. Trust me. My groovy looking MDF and metal Walmart open rack thing with a bottom DRAWER for god's sake (and unused cables, manuals, tube meter, tubes, a map of Cuba). It's what I do (so you KNOW it's right)...except for my turntable which is on its own firm but light little table per some obscure Linn instructions I found someplace. Having said this, there may be some comfort in knowing you have invested a pile of "hobby bucks" on spiked/slung/isolated/heavy/rolling(!)/wood/particle/non wood/non particle shelves that make you happy, and that's priceless...sort of.

Quadrispire makes their racks out of glass or hardwood. Now, that's a little counterintuitive, you know, what with the ringing thing.

Really happy with my Arcici Suspense rack, I looked for years and until now never found one worth investing in.

Are the VTI racks any good?

I have Zoethecus stands for both my equipment and my amp. Core stands are similar to the old Zoethecus. Before that I a had Solidsteel 6.4 equipment stand. And before that I had a Target AER4.

My turntable is on a VPI turntable stand filled with sand and a thick maple top. I wanted a separate stand for my turntable away from any possible equipment vibration. The VPI filled with sand is VERY heavy and very solid. The maple top sits on cones.

I have noticed a huge improvement in the sound when I went from metal stands to a wood ones. All my gear is tube so that may make a difference. I think my system just sounds a little more natural on a good solid wood rack. If I were going to buy a new stand today it would probably be something like a Walker or Mapleshade stand. But I really like the old Zoethecus stands with their special Z shelves. I would not trade mine for anything.