Equipment Rack - How important in the grand scheme of things?


I have a fairly nice system ($25K or so invested) but I am currently using a cheap rack bought off ebay (1/2" glass shelves with plastic cylinders between the shelves). My amp is sitting on a granite slab (left over from kitchen remodel) on carpet. My system is all solid state with no turntable. My rack is sitting on a tile floor over concrete slab. 

I realize that "everything matters" at least a little, but the question is - how important is the quality of the equipment rack compared to other upgrades I could consider? Have those of you that have switched from a cheapo rack to a nice one noticed much improvement (particularly with SS systems and no turntable)?

On a related note, one of my local dealers sells Solid Tech racks. Anyone with experience with these racks?

Thanks,
Jay


128x128jaytor
I waited over 50 years to even consider a proper equipment stand.  I never gave it much thought assuming it more for aesthetics than anything else.  The I saw an ad for an audio stand that greatly appealed to me.

You are correct that everything matters.  All things have a resonance, the frequency at which they vibrate in free air.  You want a solid base for your equipment which contributes no unwanted frequencies of its own, much like a properly acoustically treated room.

Most commercially available audio stands are compromises because they are meant to ship.  The are broken down into flat sections to facilitate this.  So you must put them together.  How tight are the screws...too tight or not enough?  The stand may twist or get loose over time, requiring re-tightening of the few screws provided or worse. Some use threaded rods which are awkwardly striking against nicely finished wood.  Some stands use metal which rings without reinforcement or messy filling of some kind

I saw an ad for Saluda River Audio Stands which appealed to me enough that I gave Mike a call.  Mike prides himself on not making furniture but audio stands exclusively.  Mike will e-mail you a graph diagram with your prescribed dimensions before he starts. 

Mike uses 2 inch solid maple shelving.  The 4 inch by 1 /3/4 inch vertical supports are cut in to match the perfect indentation of the shelves they mate with.  These joints are then glued.  They are further strengthened by inserting 2, not one, German made screws at each mating point. 

The finish is a custom dye.  The color of my choice required Mike to mix 5 separate dyes for the desired shade.  This is finished with six separate coats of a custom sealer.

Quality craftsmanship this takes time.  In my case it was 10 weeks from start to delivery.  Along the way, Mike kept me informed with e-mails and photos of the very stages of progress and completion date estimates. 

Shipping damage is eliminated because Mike is willing to deliver the stand to most locations for a very small fee.  If the destination distance is just too great Mike fabricates custom crates for freight delivery.

All this care and craftsmanship is at a very modest price.   My five shelf stand was $2K with $400.00 of that being for the custom dye I wanted.

How does it sound?  Properly designed, as this stand is, there is no sound of its own.

I have no monetary or business interest in Mike's company.  I am a very happy customer and wish him much success.  My system can be views under "Member Lookup" username "Kodak805."

Saluda River Audio Stands website is here:

https://saluda-river-audio-stands.business.site/

I hope this helps!
@millercarbon - didn't see your response before posting. I do need a rack since I have limited space for my gear and it has to be organized vertically for the space I have available (other than the power amps).

Well there you go then. You know what to do. If looks are more important then you'll get a better looking rack. If sound is more important then you know to keep the rack you have, or at least not spend much on a new one, and improve Cones, fo.Q, TC, HFT and ECT first. Unless you are really in love with the look. Ultimately its all about you. It is after all your system.

I know the tape and TC sounds funny but I'm totally serious. Whatever improvement you hear from a new rack, and you very well might, but it will at best be enough to have you not feeling like it was a total waste sound-wise. With fo.Q and TC however you will be shaking your head and gaping in disbelief that anything could ever make that much difference. Two sheets of fo.Q and TC will run you about $350. The rack.....?
kodak805 is right. The truth is most racks are designed as much for shipping as sound. Sad but true. No one ever does a real stand demo to know for sure how these things sound but one of those Saluda River beauties, they look so sweet, make even me not care about that.
@jaytor ,
My source and preamp reside in an Ikea Besta cabinet, not the greatest way to isolate equipment, so I understand your situation.
In my case, I use Townshend platforms, as well as maple platforms from Butcher Block Acoustics. The Townshend platforms really provide great isolation, and I heard a significant difference when I installed them.
PM me if you would like more information.
And,
Granite is preferred by Richard Vandersteen to be used under his speakers, so using it under an amp should provide a good base-especially if you add some isolation/damping.
Bob