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AV Racks. What difference does it make?

Im not sure i understand what difference your rack could possibly have.

I understand everybody here seems to feel that reducing all sorts of vibrations is important as well.

How is that? its not like 1's and 0's get rattled off the circuit board by vibrations

Whats the point in a better rack? What is a better rack? And how does a $1,500.00 rack make anything sound better? I mean, technically, in depth, can anybody explain this phenominon?

Sounds like a buncha horse pucky to me. Kinda like the kinds new clothing.

Does anybody have a theory of how one AV rack can sound different than another? And dont give me any of that room accoustics stuff, i dont see people talking about which sitting chair is best for sound!!!! :)

"I found that wearing wingtips and khaki shorts really opened the soundstage compared to my nikes and TH bluejeans."

I have a good understanding of electronics and accoustics, but i cannot imagine any way a rack could make a difference.
What is the theory of how a Maplewood rack might sound better than an oak for example?

Do you all use racks and isolation pods at the same time?
slappy
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Vectorman67....A slight correction...Error "correction" does not interpolate data points. It recovers the original data values through processing of the redundancy in the data stream. Hence, error correction is not undesirable. In fact, to transmit a maximum amount of information the hardware should be operated at so high a frequency that correctable errors do occur. The error correction process permits this...if the hardware had to operate without any errors it would have to be run much slower.

Of course, at some point errors occur so frequently that the original data values cannot be recovered. When that happens, interpolation is used. If things get really bad, the machine gives up and quits.
twl
3,251 posts
 
The vibrations do affect the quality of the sound you hear. How your gear and the stand it's on handle these vibrations will affect how your ultimate sound comes out. You may not realize or even hear this in your system, but I assure you that some people do hear it in their more revealing systems.

Wire is wire, racks are racks, nothing makes any difference, and other nonsense is pervading this site, and making a mockery of this entire hobby. Perhaps you should ask yourself why every top level system on this website has a performance audio rack or stand system, and why these well-respected and knowledgable audiophiles would waste their money on something that they think doesn't work. I think you are a little too green in this hobby to be doing alot of implying that the experienced people don't know what they are doing. You want an answer, do some research.
gunbei
2,327 posts
 
Hey Slappy, I know exactly where you're coming from. When I first heard about the effect isolation or vibration control could have on a system, I was pretty skeptical. But the more I read posts on Audiogon and the more I talked to audiophiles about mechanical vibrations and their potential detriments it really started to make sense.

Over the years I've tried different types of platforms and cones, and have found some that worked very well for me. And I'm still experimenting.

I'll reiterate what many have said here already. Start with a good solid rack. Once that is taken care of, turn your attention to optimizing what's under your source.
flex
292 posts
 
Slappy, vibrations affect sound by smearing it. With turntables the relationship is intuitively obvious, but the fact is that vibration affects transformers, which are present in all audio components, motorized devices (like cd platters), wires (mechanical resonances), and likely many other subsystems.

If you have never heard the effect of vibration, you have simply never tried, as vibration can easily be experienced with cheap gear as well as expensive gear. The smearing effect becomes more noticeable and more intolerable as the resolution of your system goes up.

There is a basic article called "Bad Vibes", by Shannon Dickson (Nov., 1995), in the Stereophile archives at www.stereophile.com. You might read this for a basic discussion on the construction of resonance-damping platforms. I would certainly do this before accepting any particular design philosophy of audio racks.

Also, you might check Alvin Lloyd's discussions on vibration control in other fields as well as in audio itself at his website for Grand Prix Audio (www.grandprixaudio.com).
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Twl...Cool it! Those who disagree with you may be just as experienced and knowledgable as you. You can't prove a technical point by personal insults.
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