I am not clear as to whether your budget is 1k because you doubt the worth of a good rack, or if that is what finances will allow. If it is the former, I would say consider investing more, and look at the lower level Adona racks. They provide a noticeable improvement is sound, and can be added to in the future if needed. |
Skyflyer04,
You really wouldn't be sorry with the Adona. I had the old 4 shelf Target for 20 years probably, because that was all that there was at that time. I almost got clobbered for spending $350.00 for it. It was better than nothing for sure, but the Adona has the granite/MDF shelves,some models like my own have adjustable shelves, and they all have a lot more room to move. As far as the way they affect the sound, it is definately easy to hear, but a little harder to describe. Music sounds at once more settled, but more free from the constraints of the speaker boxes. Isolation and vibration draining of components are not a waste of money. Buy the best one that you can reasonably afford, and I think you will wonder why you didn't do it sooner. They look good too.
Good Luck |
Mitch2,
The Sound Anchor and Solidsteel are two different racks to begin with, and I haven't used either of them, but the review that Smrex13 is speaking of may be the one I am attaching. From what I have seen, there are many good choices in different price ranges, and depending on what type of visual appearance and sonic result you are looking for, but in the end, no manuacturer is selling top flight performance for a give-away price.
http://www.hifi-advice.com/SolidSteel-S5-review.html |
I can only repeat what I have said before. There are a number of good brands, Core, Adona, Timbernation, Starsound and of course those that are more exotically designed, and priced. I don't think that you need to spend a fortune, but $1,200-2,000 would be money well spent. |
Hi Riffer,
I have heard of Salamander racks before, but just now went to the website to see what they are about. They seem to be a less expensive version of Mapleshade Samson racks. If your rack is one of the Salamanders with solid wood shelves, it is probably a good value, but after living for many years (not any more) with a Target rack with MDF shelves,I would say that the black MDF version of the Salamander is probably not very good from a sonic standpoint. |
Footers of different sorts are certainly useful in conjunction with any rack, but they are still not a 100%substitute for a good rack. |
Schubert,
If a 2% improvement was a quantifiable subjective improvement over a rack that cost let's say $250.00, then I can see someone thinking that it it doesn't represent good value. The question is of course, where are you getting the 2% figure from, and what racks have you had personal experience with, or is this just an assumption? |
Schubert,
In that case, since my own personal experience with racks is that spending $1,500 - $2,000 makes a very audible and worthwhile difference, I will have to respectfully disagree with you on this one. |
Schubert,
Keep your $1,500 and donate it to one of your charities. Your statement that your Salmander with all of those footers etc. beats a higher grade stand may be less than the educated guess that you said it was in a previous post.
Besides, with all of the money that you spent on those accessories, you could have purchased a rack that was a better foundation to begin with.
I do agree though that (in my own experience) even a better rack benefits from the addition of additional energy draining devices like Goldmund cones, and especially Starsound Apprentice platforms. |
Well stated Samhar, Thanks. |
