AFFORDABLE HIGH VFM RACKS - Opinions Please...

I have owned a four shelf Adona for quite a few years. It's a big value at its asking price for the basic model. You can go up the price scale depending on which stand you choose.

The Mapleshade is very much like the Walker Proscenium Stand except less expensive. I am very familiar with the Walker. While it is a good stand, it may not be ideal for unsuspended TTs.

My suggestion is this. Buy the basic Adona and buy a Symposium Ultra shelf for your TT which you would rest on the TT shelf of the Adona. If your TT is unsuspended the results will be fabulous. Good luck!

I've been very happy with my 3 shelf Steve Blinn rack - attractive and sturdy. He can build a rack to your specs. Doesn't cost anything to at least give him a call and get a quote.

Go4vinyl, couple of things to think about:

1. Good racks can be expensive
2. There are many expensive racks but very very few of them are actually good.

Most of the expensive racks change the sound drastically and that is the reason they charge a lot of money.

Anyway, among the many racks I have tried, regardless of money I found the Naim Fraimlite to be one of the best racks. They also have a higher model called Fraim but that is not within your budget. I prefer the Fraimlite to the likes of Finite Elemente Master and Solid Tech Rack of silence. Sonically, the Naim racks are fast, detailed, very transparent yet warm and fluid. You start hearing and understanding the musical flow in a very obvious way. While most other high end racks do the audiophile things well, the Naim racks additionally makes music.

If you put all (and I mean ALL) your gear on some sort of sorbothane-ish feet/pod things I think you can avoid the (perhaps silly) expense of often overpriced hifi specific racks. Really. Trust me. My groovy looking MDF and metal Walmart open rack thing with a bottom DRAWER for god's sake (and unused cables, manuals, tube meter, tubes, a map of Cuba). It's what I do (so you KNOW it's right)...except for my turntable which is on its own firm but light little table per some obscure Linn instructions I found someplace. Having said this, there may be some comfort in knowing you have invested a pile of "hobby bucks" on spiked/slung/isolated/heavy/rolling(!)/wood/particle/non wood/non particle shelves that make you happy, and that's priceless...sort of.

Quadrispire makes their racks out of glass or hardwood. Now, that's a little counterintuitive, you know, what with the ringing thing.