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

dorkwad

I have Star Sound Sistrum racks that were cut by SS a few years ago so I had 2 shorter and more stable racks. The soundstage became much more pronounced and real after cutting and the bass was even better than before. My racks were now about 26" H with the components on them, and they were 54" high before. The lower the rack the better the sound. It does take up twice the real estate however.

>>>>>That pretty much illustrates the problem with racks and stands in general. I.e.,,the shorter the better. That’s because taller structures amplify seismic vibrations. Since the Sistrum stands don’t isolate against seismic vibration they allow seismic type very low frequency vibration to be transmitted from the floor to the component. Draining alone doesn’t cut it. Same goes for almost any rack. It’s the same as for very tall buildings and skyscrapers - isolation techniques must be incorporated during construction of tall buildings to reduce the effects of seismic type vibration including wind and subways and normal earth crust motion and to prevent collapse due to earthquakes. It’s code in many if not most areas.

By contrast springs are two, two things in one! - they isolate the component from seismic type vibration AND they allow vibration of the component to be drained away. That is why spring based systems are so effective for speakers, for example, they prevent cabinets vibrations from reaching front end electronics AND reduce cabinet resonances.

Millercarbon could not have put it better: rack - shmack!
Your end goal should be vibration control. Sure, you want a rack that holds all your gear and makes connections and on/off switches accessible, but there is a goof reason why the more sought after racks/stands focus on rigidity and minimizing points of contact between the rack platforms and your equipment

Even if aesthetics are more important to your significant other than they are to you, a jungle of cables is never a pretty site 

I would say not at all important, with two big caveats:  You need to use sorbathane isolation feet under your electronics, especially tube gear and more than especially for your turntable.  And if you have floor vibration, you must use a wall mount for the turntable.

All this of course assuming you don't play at an average 98db volume level.