Does a component stand impact the sound

Star Sound component Stands.

If you have $10K or more in your system, it might be something to think about, but anything less, I wouldn't bother. I don't have a $10K system myself, but some nice DIY shelves work just fine, so I would bet your Target stands would stand up to the competition. Probably will make a lot of stand mfgs unhappy, but....

My friend, there is no one who can tell you that a particular rack will improve the sound of your setup over the rack you have now, period. Only you can judge your system's performance with your current rack and whether it improves after installing a new one. I'd stick with what I have. Or, if you're really unhappy with the sonics of the system, which it sounds like you are, and must try another rack, then you'll need to experiment and judge for yourself. You might want to try adding some platforms under your equipment on your current rack. Neuance is one I've heard good things about for added isolation. Personally I use a Boos maple cutting board under my cdp and there have been sonic improvements since I added it.

The stand/rack certainly has an impact on the sound. The question of which one will offer an improvement over what you have is the difficult part. If you are satisfied with the appearance and sound of your system you should leave things alone. I purchased a polycrystal rack to put my tubed gear on and it sucked the life right out of them. Conversely, I thought my solid state gear sounded better on the polycrystal rack so I put the tubed gear back on the room tunes rack. It is impossible to take something home just to try out and if you don't like it you're stuck.

As much as cables, that says it all.

I had never noticed a big difference one way or the other until I built a DIY component stand entirely from jars of Brilliant Pebbles. If fact, it made such a huge difference that I was able to sell my entire system and replace it with an $8.00 am radio. Of course you realize they are not just rocks, they are Brilliant Pebbles.

Mags5000- LOL!!!

Hey I was wondering the same thing. I have a tall/slim stand that was under 150. The bottom shelf is MDF, but all the other tiers are smoked safety glass. It looks great but the paranoid audio geek in me wonders what the effect of the glass resonant freq is on the cdp and preamp.
SOunds fine the way it is too...

I originally bought my Billy Bags rack ($600 here on A'gon!) primarily 'cause I like the look and felt it was a good deal, especially 'cause I could pick it up close to home. I was floored by the sonic difference, quieter with more detail were my immediate impressions. Wasn't looking for sonic improvement but it's definetly there!!

I had the same Target 5 component stand and upgraded to a Equarack. The difference can be judged just like any other upgrade, quieter backround is what you will notice especially on vinyl. The backround hiss on my reel to reel did significantly diminish, but of course was still present. Are these changes worth it to you is what you have to ask before you spend.