Why are equipment racks so expensive?

There is also an ugly truth to face. Audiophiles, as a group, are fools with money. We may be individually knowledgeable, discerning and frugal but as a collective we are drunken sailors looking to shell out for the next thrill…and manufacturers know it.

I could take a $200 wooden rack, screw a big heavy fishing weight to the bottom that “neutralizes EM radiation”, coat it in a proprietary blend of “anti-resonance” varnish, and then add detailed instructions about how to calculate the proper “toe in” for your rack to experience “improved audio dispersion” and suddenly, I’ve got a $4000 rack, happily on sale for $3495. And sadly, not only would it sell, but I wouldn’t have to look far to find a willing enthusiast to give me a testimonial about the truly amazing improvements my state of the art rack has made to their system. 

Im not saying real science can’t help build a better audio rack. I’m not saying sonic differences don’t exist. What Im saying is that we all want to believe, and that basic desire fuels a lot of hyperbole and industry deception on which we secretly feed, even as we critique, debunk and argue. 

I'm using a very solid and reasonably heavy IKEA TV console stand it's got2 sets  2 adjustable height shelves side by side and some smaller cubby holes on top of those then solid pine top where I put the TV. 

Works great but I bought Audioexklusive dCd equipment bases. These are £250 to £360 ish dependant on size each. Put them on the shelves I have, wow what a difference. 2 under my integrated Lyngdorf tdai3400. 1 under my power conditioner and 1 under my network switch and 10mhz ref clock. Wow what a difference they made adding 3 bases. I'm already using stillpoints or black ravioli under all my kit and power supplies. 

If you isolate equipment with footers and bases the rack just needs to be solid.

ozzy621,510 posts06-09-2021 12:23am

The only equipment that needs isolation is the turntable.  

Absolute rubbish............

Thoroughly agree. Grab a pack of mini IsoAcoustics Iso-Pucks and try them under your CD and Blu-Ray players to get a better understanding.

In all honesty, just isolate everything.

Speaking of IKEA, DIY and audio racks:

https://www.ikeahackers.net/2014/03/lamplig-hifi-rack.html 

I share your feeling re prices of equipment racks.I have three amplifiers, one requiring a preamp, three cd transports three dacs, turntable,and  three tuners.I tried rotating each system onto a four level vertical audio shelf as I wanted to hear it, but old age, bad back and laziness made me look for alternatives.Googled make your own audio racks and came across a style that allowed me to create the number of levels, height and depth and width exactly required to hold all of my systems at one time. Uses 1/2" threaded zinc plated rods. Big zinc plated nuts and washers on the threaded rods and 5/8" thick shelving from Lowes.All of the metal hardware was ordered from McMaster Carr online.Let my wife choose the paint for the shelves.Couldn't be happier.I am a total klutz when building things and this did not come out perfect, but I made it work. It looks good enough for me and is functionally exactly what I wanted.I only screwed up when trying to drill the eight holes through three shelves simultaneously, in that I did not have enough clamps, so I had to move them and two sets of holes  came out slightly off center.  I
cant see it, but I know its there.Unless you want to purchase a really beautiful expensive high end audio shelf that you can brag about, I highly recommend you take a chance on this style.