[sunnydaze]

Yeah, transforming that wire shelving stuff into a functional, attractive and sanely priced rack is very clever!   

I use it in my kitchen and storage room, so I know it's quite sturdy and adjustable.  With a few tweaks and solid shelving laid on top, I bet it "sounds" great.  If you used BB I suspect you could eliminate all your other tweaks.......maybe?   And visually (maybe sonically too?) it would add some wood warmth.

[jarcher]

An easy DIY,  fairly inexpensive, with solid results.
Butcher block counter tops on craigslist  https://chicago.craigslist.org/wcl/mad/5204918521.html
and a trip to the hardware store.
Some of the offerings on craigslist will be the cheap stuff that looks thick on the sides but is thin everywhere else.
Try to find solid 2" or at least 1.5".



I recently grabbed a 8 foot piece of rock maple, not pieced together, but full 8' length strips, from a deli counter. $60
It required a trip to the local lumber yard for to run through their thickness sander.
But when done it will make a great rack.


Greg

 Interesting, reminds me a lot of the Maple Shade racks. Of course a DIY job is going to cost less, but for the money the Maple Shade stuff is silly good.

[Syrah]

I guess there are two competing shelving theories - high mass and low mass, with wood somewhere in between.  People seem to like granite bonded to MDF, the MDF tames the ringing and granite is extremely hard and heavy, for example.  Others theorize that the mass retains the energy and reflects it back, giving muddled sound.

In my (albeit limited) experiments, I've found different results with different components.  I think in a perfect world you could switch out different approaches for different components - but that's a bit unworkable.  I've found the best I can do is switch out shelves for turntables and such, and compare.

For example, my old LP12 liked hard and light shelves, my VPI likes butchers' block (particularly Bloodwood), my Teres likes granite.

So I figured I'd start with a low mass rack, then I can experiment with high mass shelves.

[sunnydaze]

So I figured I'd start with a low mass rack, then I can experiment with high mass shelves.

IMO, a good idea!  Just my gut talking, but I think the wire rack will be just fine as a foundation, and will not muck anything up.  You can then fine tune things with whatever you lay on top for shelving.  And as you say, different gear can have different materials underneath it.

I have a Eurolab / Scheu table, similar to Teres.  And I do have a granite slab, not in use.   Hmmmmmm........got me thinking         

[mcgsxr]

To further complicate matters, there also appear to be 2 schools of thought around vibrations.

Airborne (ie from your speakers agitating your components)
Internal (ie actual vibrations that emanate from the inside of your components through their own operation)

To address airborne, I use a media closet separate from the listening space.  Helps with bright leds too!

I don't do much to address internal anymore, but I have experimented with weight loading the top of components, and using lightly inflated inner tubes under them.  Usually the component is on a platform of some kind (like a slab of butcher block).

For now, I simply use 2 flexi's I built.  Both are in my media closet.  Some of the components are on Herbie's feet, or recently moongel pads (used by drummers to deaden the drum head for practice).

[Syrah]

Maybe I should design and patent a Maxwell Smart cone of silence for audio racks.  I know for turntables, wisdom was that the covers made things worse by absorbing all of those vibrations and then passing them on to the plinth.

I guess if heat weren't an issue with components, it would be easier to install them in those printer sound proof boxes from the 80s.  Maybe heavy vinyl soundproof curtains on the sides of the rack?

Symposium advocate a CLD design which they claim assists at draining away both vibration sources, whereas the squishy stuff is like jumping up and down on a car hood for the vibrations generated by the component.

I've given up trying to figure out all the variables that are at play, which is what led me to my strategy of - hard lightweight rack, play with shelves and see what happens...

I'm always drawn to DIY for racks.  Every time I look at the prices of audiophile racks I can't help but think how much better my system would be if I put that money into the actual components instead.  I don't doubt that they sound better, but for $5-10k I really doubt they sound better than a preamp, amp, speakers, DAC, etc. that cost $5-10k more (sitting on milk crates).

[C17FXR]

Syrah
Not sure of the thickness of the solid shelves but I added the B-Quit material to the underside of the shelves and it deadens the shelves quite well. I then added some vinyl material from floor mates to the top of the shelves (cut to fit), on top of this I added Black Diamond's The Shelf and The Source shelving.

Also one funny thing I forgot to mention while assembling the rack. The rods that support between the 48" shelves and 24" shelves were actually being forced side to side by the shelves. The 48" shelves were forcing the rods one way while the 24" shelves were pulling them back in the other. Wth them being bound up like that they didn't transmit to many vibrations when tapped.

Also to combat any airborne vibrations I use StillPoints Ultra Mini's under my turntable and to support the plinth on the turntable along with a StillPoints Record weight and a carbon mat for the platter. All my components are sitting on the StillPoints Ultra Minis, the McCormack Gear also has the StillPoint Standoff's for the circuit boards. I hope that should cover the vibration aspect of everything.

Wait isn't this thread suppose to be about a cost effective rack? Off the description soap box.
Back to our regularly scheduled posting.

The rack really works well, had considered using spray foam to help deaden the rods even further, just didn't get that far yet.

Hope this help's someone looking to build this or something similar.   

P.S. Forgot to add that the hometheater components are sitting on the same vinyl mat just made a shelf from the same Russian Birch the rack is resting on.

[Syrah]

Cool setup.  Sounds like you've definitely deadened it out.

I'd be inclined to only use materials that provide rigidity while damping to keep to my low mass/high strength goals.  If MDF or hardboard were epoxied on to the top of the shelf, that should provide added rigidity to the shelf while also damping the vibrations from the steel.  I'm thinking if I then did a layer of closed cell foam/hardboard/sheet aluminum on top of that - I'd really be in business.

This new rack from Symposium looks great - http://www.symposiumusa.com/Osiris.html

I don't know what it costs, but if you have to ask...  And again, it's probably not worth the money I could spend on a component upgrade.  But damn it looks good and it's not a bad template for what could be attempted with inter metro as a base.

[Syrah]

Aluminum sheet group buy anyone?

[C17FXR]

Syrah........
NICE RACK.....

[C17FXR]

I would want the OFC legs though.

[Syrah]

Clearly a group that appreciates a nice rack.

[chgolatin2]

Thanks guys, lots of good ideas... 

[SteveRB]

Target hifi racks show up on the used market all the time.

[Zoonhollis]

Flexy racks can be a fun project. Here's my absurdly overbuilt specimen.

[srb]

On my 6/4 red oak AV rack I didn't want exposed threaded rod, so I added 1-1/2" texture painted PVC tubes with self centering 1-hole butyl rubber lab stoppers and O-ring trim.

Rod is blind threaded into machine thread wood inserts with no through holes in the top and through hole countersunk washers and nuts on the bottom where they're not visible.

 

 

Steve

[Letitroll98]

Sweet looking stand Steve, thanks for sharing it with us.

[Phil A]

Sweet looking stand Steve, thanks for sharing it with us.

+1 on that - looks similar to my Odyssey rack

[andycsb]

Hi Guys,

In the market for a audio rack...a budget one.

I intend to use some footers to couple components to rack shelves instead of just plonking components on the rack. My question is...would it be best to look for a rack with shelves made of...

1) solid wood...eg...maple or even carbonized bamboo
2) MDF
3) Doesn't matter...chipboard would work just fine.

Let's assume that the above options are of equal thickness and racks are of equal rigidity. In the case of solid wood...would choice of wood contribute to SQ (tone)? I have been hearing that certain woods can contribute a certain tone to overall presentation. I am thinking of a softer wood than maple or carbonized bamboo to achieve my goal...a more organic tone. Or would a harder wood be a step in the right direction? Anyone tried thick plywood?


Thanks.

[JLM]

IME:

1.)  Floor construction?  (Wooden, crawl space underneath, concrete slab on grade).  Rigid equipment racking does not benefit from "soft" or resonate flooring. 

2.)  Location?  (Between speakers, inside a separate enclosure, to one side of the speakers).  Between speakers interferes with imaging/soundstage.  Inside a separate enclosure as Mark stated above would minimize air borne vibrations.  To one side lengthens speaker cables (not good).

3.)  Footers?  (Spike, roller, soft).  Spikes anchor but only downward to any significant degree and then only to the proportion to the weight of the components.  Roller eliminates horizontal anchoring (for whatever good that does).  Soft footers attempt to decouple but compliance is rarely properly matched to the weight involved. 

4.)  Rack materials?  Typically a crap shoot because the components weight, floor, footers, and rack materials combine to develop a resonant frequency.  Uncoupled masses will vibrate at their own resonate frequencies (at sufficient sound pressure levels). 

This is my current "rack" (the best I've ever had):  A 43" x 12" x 3/4" MDF spiked shelf that sits on concrete slab on grade/pad/office carpet and is located parallel to and 4 feet from the front wall (like a homemade amp stand).  It cleared the soundstage, moved the gear away from a bass node (floor/wall intersection), and allows for shorter speaker cables.  BTW I don't listen loud enough to excite the components.