2. misc-audio
  3. 164598-114930

Wood racks and humidity

I'm thinking about upgrading my rack and like the appearance of the Butcher Block Acoustics and some of the Timbernation products. My system resides in a basement, where humidity in summer sometimes reaches 60 percent. I have a dehumidifier, which I run as needed. The previous owner of my house was a musician in a symphony, and he successfully stored sheet music in the basement here, with the aid of dehumidifiers.
The Butcher Block Acoustics website cautions that their racks should be in environments where humidity remains in the 35 to 45 percent range.
Does anyone here have experience with wood racks and higher than recommended humidities? Am I asking for trouble by buying a wood rack rather than something with metal posts and MDF shelves? I expect to move in the future, and a wood rack would look better with other furniture as part of a setup in a room of the house rather than in a basement. For the foreseeable future, the stereo will remain in the basement. 
conlad
conlad OP
36 posts
 
Thanks very much, dadsears and mijostyn, for your well informed suggestions. I haven’t yet bought a rack but had about concluded that the Solidsteel S-3 is unlikely to be a big leap beyond my current Sanus model. I have been eyeing the Symposiom Foundation racks and those by Adona, both more expensive than I would prefer. It seems that my environment is hardly ideal for a wood rack. And dadsears, thanks for the tip on the dealer.
conlad OP
36 posts
 
I ordered a Symposium Foundation Ultra rack today, after learning that a price increase is just over the horizon. I was reluctant to spend so much on a rack but decided to buy once rather than buying something cheaper now, then spending yet more money on a future upgrade. My cheap Sanus rack has served me well, but it is time to move up the food chain. Will someone here be so kind as to reassure me again that the Symposium rack will be worth the rather steep price?
ebm
9,311 posts
 
The Symposium Foundation  rack will be sonically much better.I have the Osiris 5 level all copper legs my rack(EM) is pictured on the 3rd page of the Osiris racks it is now over 16k it was a big sonic upgrade.
conlad OP
36 posts
 
Here’s an update: UPS delivered my Symposium Foundation Ultra rack last Wednesday, and I found time to assemble it this weekend (had to clean much of basement in the process). Dadsears is absolutely correct; this rack is rock solid and made in U.S. Peter at Symposium was reassuring when I contacted him recently about when my rack would be ready to ship, and the wait was worth it. So far, I have played only one (Japanese) CD, ELO’s Time. What I noticed is that the tunes I heard seemed just to snap into place. Soundstage expanded to right and left. Jeff Lynne’s vocals were more clearly from center stage. Instruments were more distinct one from another. Since the Symposium rack cost about ten times what I paid several years ago for my now discarded Sanus rack, I have to wonder is it ten times better? Perhaps not, but the sound that my system produced this evening is a clear improvement. I don’t regret spending the money on a quality rack. Thanks to everyone who responded earlier to my questions, as your answers helped steer me toward a good decision. Now, my chief remaining problem is dismantling Peter’s bulletproof packaging for disposal and recycling. 
More to discover