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How much difference does an anti-vibration audio rack make

Hi,

I have just put together a Hi-Fi system. It's a two channel system consisting of B&W 800D3 speakers, McIntosh C1100 C+T Pre-Amp and two McIntosh MC1.25KW mono blocks. I considered buying a carbon fibre anti-vibration audio rack from Bassocontinuo (Aeon 2.0) but did not finally end up buying it due to the fact that there were two many racks in my living room which houses my Hi-Fi system. I am currently using a lovely solid wood TV cabinet to house the above equipment.

Question is whether the system gives me a sub-par performance due to the absence of a specialist audio rack or the difference is immaterial. I could not try it to determine as the carbon fibre racks are not stocked by the dealer due to the costs.

Thanks
128x128sudhirgoel
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thyname's avatar
thyname
3,107 posts
 
Good racks matter. A lot. I was skeptical and resistant on these for the past 10-12 years, until I put them in my own system.

And they don’t have to be Uber expensive. Something like my Mapleshade Samson rack will do well. Not pretty, but it does the job well.
onhwy61's avatar
onhwy61
5,137 posts
 
The rack you are considering looks fabulous.  It appears to have some serious engineering behind it.  I say go for it.  Start with your preamp and source component.  If I understand the modular design aspect, you can expand to include other parts of your system at a later point.
I cannot answer whether the Aeon will sound truly better than your current wood furniture.  It's the type of product that you have to try and see what it does.  You should have an in-depth conversation with your dealer about how you can accomplish this.
Please post what you do.
hifiman5's avatar
hifiman5
1,823 posts
 
You want a solid, stable rack to capably support your gear.  Each piece of kit should have a proper footer underneath it to manage/eliminate vibrations getting to your gear.

One of the most effective and reasonably priced footers can be obtained from Herbie's Audio Lab.  I use their "Tenderfeet" under each piece of my system to great effect.  

Another advantage to your system is decoupling your speakers/subwoofers from the floor.  Allowing the vibrational energy of the speakers to dissipate across the floor rather than be vibrated into your rack will do wonders.  BTW... Herbie's has decouplers too.
bsmg
296 posts
 
I have all my equipment resting on the "holes" that were cut from solid blocks of MIL SPEC rubber, about 1-1/2" thick that are used to support pipes in pipe hangers on SSN688 class submarines......the hanger shop would just throw the "holes" in a trash bin and I would now and then go and get a few......nothing illegal about it. I just happened to be a liaison between manufacturing and engineering at Newport News Shipbuilding back in the 80’s. Also, my floor is concrete, so I have pretty solid and damped support. Components sit in a solid wood frame with glass shelves. No complaints.
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