Component racks

Best to keep the racks completely open. Also, make plans to use some laptop coolers to keep the tubes 'cool'. Laptops coolers are a very inexpensive way to do the cooling. Their fans are very quite. There are many UBS free standing hubs that can be used to power them, no actual laptop needed as they work on a wall wart. I use two Atlantis racks, with the TT's on the top shelve which is spiked. The tops are 46 inches off the floor, with three shelves in addition to the top shelve. The stands are on the side wall.

You want an open air rack, solid shelves, infinite adjustability, and good looks too. Look at Mapleshade before making a decision.

The only test on rack/sound is a comparison to the gear you are using now. I had a Sanus rack with adjustable MFD shelves in an enclosed structure with a door I didn't use. My Krell KSA 200S (about 112lbs) I had at the time broke the strongest bottom shelf pins. I'm sure the Natural Foundations rack is a good one. I bought the Mapleshade, installed the rack and gear and the sound was better. I feel like I received good value and a great product.

Find something that works for you that's really cheap! Then as time and money allow (if this is not an issue then disregard); spend the outrageous money on a "hi-fi" rack. Droppin' 1K-3K for a rack is redonkulous IMO.

Racks are the final touch(es)/tweak(s) for me. Wait until you're at that point in you system building process. I've had a few over the years I've put my gear on that made no difference to sound quality to my ears in my room etc....

11flat6, my current racks are a Polycrystal and Deluxe Roomtunes. I was all excited when I purchased the Polycrystal since it had received so many positive reviews in S-phile and were in many reviewers systems. I moved all the best gear over to my new rack and imagine my dismay when the result sucked. I had to switch everything back again. The Polycrystal sounds dull and sucks the life out of tube gear in particular. I cannot place any component on that rack without some additional interface. Otherwise the sound is degraded.

The roomtunes was a step up from the previous rack which was a Standesign rack which had a cantilevered metal frame with wood inserts. The sound gained solidity and structure and lost some of the brightness it had before. The Roomtunes rack is fairly neutral but does suppress harmonics.

I've done considerable long term experiments with different platform materials (MDF, oak, cherry, butcherblock, maple) plus different footers (spikes in brass, aluminum, ceramic, steel) soft footers like Herbies, vibrapods, and others. The best overall balance and life is with the Mapleshade platform with brass spikes.

My priorities may be different than yours. Based on my experiments and sonic preference, I wish to avoid a rack that is overdamped. The rack needs to have a natural sound to it.

It's funny when I see photos of an amp designer in his lab and his amp is on the "test bench" which usually looks like a formica covered slab of plywood/MDF with legs of unknown composition or structure. Maybe something like that is the ultimate rack.

I also have a lot of gear. I bought a VTI TV stand, with an extra shelf. It is double wide, so there are a total of four shelves (eight component spaces), plus the top. It is wide enough for a pair of turntables unless the plinths are very over-sized. There are two shelf hieghts, and you can pick which order to assemble them in. The taller shelf spaces should accomodate most tube gear. A really big amp with exterior tubes should probably have a dedicated stand anyway.

Here is a link to a 3-shelf version of what I bought:
http://www.audio-video-furniture.com/nobot/VTI-AR503-07-Additional-7-in-Shelf-for-AR503.htm

Note the low price! Just look around for a retailer that will sell you the extra-shelf kit.

The VTI racks are not high tech isolation devices, but at these prices, you can afford to buy individual isolation doodads for your gear.