How important is a good rack?

How important is a good rack?

"Music is good for your ears but bad for the gear that reproduces it. Musically induced vibration physically alters audio equipment. A vibrating printed circuit board flexes all its components to a degree. The result is audible signal distortion. For example, consider what happens if the music you’re playing matches the resonance frequency of a capacitor -- say, a nice V-Cap CuTF like the ones in my Atma-Sphere preamp. The physical oscillation of the Teflon causes small variances in the spatial relation of the capacitor’s copper plate that yield tiny yet measurable differences in its capacitance. A few microns of displacement can result in a small voltage deviation. Compound that effect across all the caps in your system and then amplify it and you have chaos.

Airborne energy does the majority of harm to signal accuracy, but it is not the sole source of problems. Structural elements in your home absorb and transmit energy to each other and anything in contact with them. Wood floors resonate and flex; massive, rigid concrete makes an excellent vibration transmitter. Not only is your system bombarded by air- and floor-borne energy, your components generate and propagate vibration as a byproduct of their own operation: power-supply transformers hum, digital transports whir, turntables turn. All of it contributes to that veil of distortion hanging between the listener and the music."

Read more here at The Audio Beat.
 

There's racks and there's racks with vibration control. One gets your equipment off the floor, the other does that while reducing distortion. Some of the latter are more effective at distortion reduction than others. Devices that are highly effective at vibration control and look great, such as those from Silent Running Audio or Harmonic Resolution Systems, command top dollar. Audio room infrastructure (acoustics, power, vibration control) is a necessary condition for realizing the sonic value of electronics and speakers.