Equipment Rack - How important in the grand scheme of things?


I have a fairly nice system ($25K or so invested) but I am currently using a cheap rack bought off ebay (1/2" glass shelves with plastic cylinders between the shelves). My amp is sitting on a granite slab (left over from kitchen remodel) on carpet. My system is all solid state with no turntable. My rack is sitting on a tile floor over concrete slab. 

I realize that "everything matters" at least a little, but the question is - how important is the quality of the equipment rack compared to other upgrades I could consider? Have those of you that have switched from a cheapo rack to a nice one noticed much improvement (particularly with SS systems and no turntable)?

On a related note, one of my local dealers sells Solid Tech racks. Anyone with experience with these racks?

Thanks,
Jay


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Showing 1 response by dorkwad

I have Star Sound Sistrum racks that were cut by SS a few years ago so I had 2 shorter and more stable racks. The soundstage became much more pronounced and real after cutting and the bass was even better than before.   My racks were now about 26" H with the components on them, and they were 54" high before.  The lower the rack the better the sound.  It does take up twice the real estate however.

I originally bought a used 4 shelf Sistrum and added a larger turntable shelf to it. Upon placing the equipment on the Sistrums, the sound became much more involving, with greater detail, and more like live music. The science behind Sistrum racks is to drain the vibrations rather than damp them. All things vibrate and that is what music is. The racks take the vibration to the ground as quickly as possible. The racks look beautiful and I guarantee you they sound spectacular. The Sistrum used to be their top of the line, but are now in the middle. All the Star Sound racks will make a very noticeable improvement in the sound of real music. Yes, racks CAN make a real difference, and the Star Sound racks are among the best at doing this.   Star Sound has many racks with different price ranges.  I feel very fortunate that I was able to get mine used at a considerable savings.  They occasionally show up on the audio sites.

Bob