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New to this. How do I stack my stuff?

I'm new to hifi. I've asked a lot of questions here and some of you may already know my situation but I got the following by chance and for free: Audio Research LS16 tube pre-amp, Arcam CD92 cd player, Madrigal Proceed HPA2 amp. 

It is all up and running and I'm loving it. Now just trying to maximize the little things that I can. For instance, speakers had spike stands but spikes were missing so I made a set.

Now I read in the CD manual that it recommends sorbothane feet and says sound quality will be better.

I'm now figuring out that placement of components is important and that proper stands, expensive ones, are best. Well, expensive stands are not going to happen. But I can try to make accommodations that are cheap and won't turn the room upside down.

Here is how it is all situated now...let the ridicule flow, but keep in mind that I am space limited to a serious extent. Was not sure I'd get the system in my house at all:

The (very) heavy Proceed amp is sitting on a carpeted floor on strips of wood which raise the bottom of it well above the carpet. It is higher above the carpet than it would be above a hard surface just on its own feet.

The CD player is sitting on a small, simple, wooden, antique side table. It is sturdy. The pre-amp is on top of the CD player. I have no idea what this might mean in terms of SQ but the CD player actually puts out a fair amount to heat which rises up into the pre-amp of course. That concerns me.

So other than getting some sorbothane feet for the CD player, what else would be a priority here?

Finally are there issues with which cables contact which cables, how much speaker cables are looped, etc. (Most of the cabling is Transparent Super Bi-wire.)

Thanks for any assistance.
n80
shadowcat2016
132 posts
 
I'm a wood worker, not a terribly GOOD one, but I enjoy building things. I recently finished a simple rack for my gear that to all intents resembles a coffee table with a lower shelf. Used 1x3 red oak for legs,  triple laminated..glued and screwed, trimmed down on a table saw, 1x3 red oak to trim out and stiffen the 3/4 oak plywood top and bottom shelf. I routed out slots below where the amps sit, just under and the full length of the heat sinks for improved ventilation. Installed LED's beneath the top shelf, just for fun and it looks cool at night. The rack is holding about 175 lbs of gear easily. It's low and solid. Stained and poly'd it and for less than $200 I think it looks great. Of course, I've you had more money and less sense you could drop a few K on an "Uber rack" that might make your gear sound better, but I'm quite happy with the one I built for a few bucks..................Don't beat me up for that one folks, I just think there are better ways to spend my audio budget.........Your money, your choice, ain't personal.

When you get to your built in's just keep in mind ventilation, particularly for amps. My larger amp tends to get quite warm when I crank it even though the rack is open on all sides. I picked up a high end, very quite 120mm cooling fan for around $15, built a little cage for it and set it on top of the amp.......Looks fine and problem solved, amp stays cool no matter how  hot the music gets...............Heat and electronics do NOT mix well.

n80 OP
2,102 posts
 
Wolf said:

A block of ice makes an ideal amp stand but unfortunately it melts almost immediately rendering it less than ideal.

You are not thinking like a real audiophile. IF ice is a good platform it would not be that hard to make a small cooling unit to put under the ice block....think tiny skating rink......of course, there would be noise and interference from the compressor........but there are ways around that too if you are really dedicated to getting just the right SQ....
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
JELLO makes an excellent iso stand, believe it or not. It isolates in almost all directions. No unsightly springs or air bladders. Plus you can nibble while you listen. But I have to say the king of all the various food groups for vibration control is SPAM. Good old Hormel spam, the stuff we loved as kids and still love today for all our vibration damping needs. Again, nibble whilst listening. Spam, the versatile food. Not too soft, not too hard. Mmmmmm, good!

“There’s always room for JELLO!”
Post removed 
celander's avatar
celander
1,502 posts
 
@n80, this is one thread in which a pic of your setup would help. Too bad the forum isn’t set up with that functionality.

Having your speakers flanking your other gear is not uncommon.

I recommend moving your preamp off the surface of the CD player. CD players put out both heat and vibration, neither of which is good for a tube preamp.

Your amp appears to be ~15.5” (W) x ~19.5” (D) (width, W, being the footer-footer distance).  I recommend using a set of ceramic floor tiles (11”x11” to 13”x13” squares should work) underneath your amp. That material would improve the air flow under the amp, provide greater safety than using wood, and enable greater choice of color options with respect to matching the carpet, should the WAF come into play.

The wires and cables nest is often unavoidable. I would try to minimize the power cord interactions with the signal interconnects and speaker cables. 
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