[rollo]

I'm sure Frank isn't going to be happy with this kind of nonsense, Rollo. No offense, but hanging cables and cords with ropes is over the deep end. If you think you can hear the difference, goody. I'm not entertaining anything of this nature.

Wayner

  Wayne, wayne, wayne. I am not supporting the concept of hanging wires from string. my point was it is the enviorment that one creates for themselves is what matters. Meaning some can have a sloppy set up with no issues others must have all in place with the correct furnishings and so on. Some perfer a living space while others not. thats all.


charles

[rollo]

I certainly don't mind suggestions about hanging your equipment and wires from strings, but it should be done with good sounding strings.

I urge you all to read up thoroughly about String Theory before attempting this. When you have as good an understanding about this as I and Steve do, then leap right into it.

Sincerely,

Frank Van Alstine

  Actually got the idea from Harvey Rosenberg.  Go figure. I have a degree in string therapy. I worked at a bakery


charles

[martyo]

  Wayne, wayne, wayne. I am not supporting the concept of hanging wires from string. my point was it is the enviorment that one creates for themselves is what matters. Meaning some can have a sloppy set up with no issues others must have all in place with the correct furnishings and so on. Some perfer a living space while others not. thats all.


charles

I think most of us got it, I appreciated that you validated the other posters and acknowledged that we're all wired(pun intended ) differently.

[srb]

Although not for me, I have no problem with others stringing their cables up.  I just hope they aren't buying $100 "audiophile" strings.
 
Steve

[Brett Buck]

Although not for me, I have no problem with others stringing their cables up.  I just hope they aren't buying $100 "audiophile" strings.

 $100?  Oh, yeah, those budget mid-fi strings are probably plenty good enough for you guys to listen to your Britney Spears records.  But, you know, I actually care about *music*, so I use only cryo-treated African meerkat-gut suspension devices. I find it best to remove them from the meerkat first, but with most things in high-end audio, there are those who think otherwise. I feel that using them without removing them first tends to introduce some high-pitched extraneous noise. Not to mention it's messy.

    Brett

   

[Minn Mark]

If it must be meerkat, I'm all for renewable, local sources....go USA !

PS- stay away from moles, voles and chipmunks. These strings are strictly for small scale environment (way-near field ) listening.

M   

[srb]

Brett, I now remember the review you posted on them:
 

"I first tried Premium Monofilament fishing line and then 100% Pima Cotton Multi-ply twine, both giving only a very slight improvement.  But when I got the Wind$ong III Music Suspenders^TM, I heard a more delicate air and separation of instruments, a buttery, creamy and luscious midrange, and a taut, tuneful and articulate bass that did not exist previously."

Okay, back to Audio Racks.  I have a 65" wide, open equipment rack with a 50" plasma screen on top in between my speakers.  The speaker baffles are a few inches forward of the equipment.  It is a conscious lifestyle decision that I have made, and it sounds fantastic!
 
Steve

[Vulcan00]

I read about the isolation platforms and priced a few. Rather than spend $500 on each of audio pieces, I tried my first DIY project.

 I ordered a temp-o-pedic mattress ( remember the lady jumping up and down and no wine spilled from the glass a few ft away)

The only work I had to do was cut  pieces from the mattress equal to the component plus 1" a side using my skill saw. I even used the left pieces for my guest to sit on.

[davidrs]

... it has been my experience that placing equipment low as George has done has little to no impact on the sound.

Ed, (ebag4)

What do you mean by this? Can you explain further?

Thanks,

David.
 

[ebag4]

Ed, (ebag4)

What do you mean by this? Can you explain further?

Thanks,

David.

Hi David, rereading my response I can see the potential confusion, I should have said "no negative impact to the soundstage", perhaps that would have been a little more clear.

At one point I had placed a DIY rack between and behind my speakers.  I was working with speaker positioning amoungst other things in an attempt to get a wider and deeper soundstage.  Someone mentioned that the rack (which was approximately 40" tall by 24" wide, solid front) might be detrimental to the soundstage so I removed it from the equation, VIOLA, much better presentation.  So I started placeing my equipment just off the floor on a large piece of granite, in this configuration I found no recognizable impact to the sound.  Since then I have kept my equipment low.  Now I use a large parabolic diffusor on the frontwall between the speakers to excelent effect, my system has never sounded better.

This was/is my experience in a small room using OB speakers, YMMV.

Best,
Ed

[davidrs]

So I started placeing my equipment just off the floor on a large piece of granite, in this configuration I found no recognizable impact to the sound.  Since then I have kept my equipment low.  Now I use a large parabolic diffusor on the frontwall between the speakers to excelent effect, my system has never sounded better.

Thanks for the further explanation, Ed.

I would have my gear on the floor, but the critters are too much of a risk.

The rear panel of my speakers is about a foot out from the front edge of the rack (in the plane) and are about 5 feet out from my large screen TV.

This has been working very well for me, but as with anything, likely could be improved upon.

- David.

[Brett Buck]

Brett, I now remember the review you posted on them:

   Brilliant analysis but alas that was not me. I found the windsong III suspenders to be far too polite and a little gritty. The Windsong IV's were a revelation, at least until the next Absolute Sound told me they were obsolete a month later. Then they just seemed insouciant and indifferent.

   I am sticking with the original recommendation. Actually anything in the mongoose, ferret, or weasel family has appropriate audio qualities. I use the upper intestines from a black-footed ferret in my bedroom system, actually, but that's not for critical listening applications. Golden Lion Tamarind works, too, but it's getting awfully expensive.

    Brett

[I.Greyhound Fan]

I tried a VTI rack (the BP Series) and it sucked.

Nothing but trouble.  Bent legs that wouldn't match up to the dimples wher ethe spikes are supposed to set in,   brass caps that were all crooked and poorly capped onto the leg posts.  Took several weeks to get a replacement and the replacement was equally screwed up.  Finally I asked for a refund and that wanted to return it.  The whole process wasted two months of my time and left me with no rack.   

That's just my own personal experience with those racks.

Sorry to hear that.  The RGR series that I bought is well made and I had no problems with the assemebly or damage.

[Listens2tubes]

To the OP: Don't look at my website as my setup will upset all who see what my obsession has come to. A centered rack can work very well, it's the most popular way to set up a system there is. There is no one way to go about it. I've heard superb sound from most configurations. Just remember to tweak away to your heart's content, or should that be ears? 

Enjoy,
        Neal

[TjMV3]

Cello strings!  What could be more musical for hanging equipment,  than cello strings?

 

As an added benefit,  if one of those pesky expensive cable audiophiles starts to annoy you;  you already have some strings hanging from the ceiling

I kid...I kid. 

I wouldn't waste good cello strings on an expensive cable audiophile type

[rcag_ils]

Here's my rack, I am still waiting for the U3 shelves to arrive, then the 550 amp will be at the bottom. Unfortunately, I may have to stack the cd player, DAC, and the preamp on top of one and other. As you can see, the rack is not in between the speakers, the turntable will be move to where the rack is, and no TV, just music.

I'd roll the whole rack right up to my finger tip, no remote needed.

[rcag_ils]

Just a thought, I wonder if Frank would make his equipment rack mountable. Those old Carver you see on the floor, they were not built to be mounted on a 19" rack, I tried, the handles were there for looks.

The Japanese stuff, they were precisely built to be mounted on 19" rack.

Just imagine a Ultra550 with handle on both sides, with that studio look.

Frank could call it "AVA studio custom" Ultra550. How about it?

[Minn Mark]

rcag,

If you really want rack mounts, you could pick up old Haflers on eBAy for a song...the DH-200, 220, 500 etc.,  I think were all optioned with 19" faceplate with rack handles.

I've got an old DH-200 with rack face...all original and still works (but you'd send for AVA upgrade).....make me an offer?

M

[rcag_ils]

If you really want rack mounts, you could pick up old Haflers on eBAy for a song...the DH-200, 220, 500 etc.,  I think were all optioned with 19" faceplate with rack handles.

Good idea, but I have way too many amps. Also I don't think Ultra550 can be built into an Hafler chassis. Non rack-mount equipment can be put on a rack mount shelf, so I think it'll work out good for me.

[Wayner]

Now that we seem to be getting along better, and I don't want to piss you off anymore, I think you have your acoustical theorys backwards. The perfect place to put the rack is in-between the speakers, where there is a natural boundary. Putting the equipment (and the window) off to one side is going to have a huge impact on sound stage though your sitting spot appears to be forward of that. The hard surface of the window will reflect much differently then the opposing wall's plain sheet rock. So the room to begin with is not symmetrical. That is a big problem for many folks and sometimes we can't help those situations. Putting the rack on that side will increase stray reflected boundaries. I do like that your reel-to-reel is very handy, assuming that you use it a lot.

Anyway, I think you need some window treatment to knock down some of those hard reflections. One method to see if it's in your listening plane is to have a friend hold a mirror on the wall an have him move forward or backwards along the wall and you should be looking for an image of the closest speaker. Once you find that spot, that is the first early reflection point and I thinking it will be in the window on the right side and on sheet rock on the left side.

Just some ideas for you to fix your room's asymmetrical problems.