2. amps-preamps
  3. 188959-5312

Improving a stone rack

Hi all, I have a large stone rack for my system, in beautiful granite, which works great for stability, but maybe not so good for other aspects of the sound. I wonder if it contributes to some treble ringing and harshness. I want to improve the sound, thinking of felt damping on the wall behind the rack, some form of cloth to cover the reflective surfaces of the shelves, and adhesive rubber type mats on the bottom of the stone shelves. Is this the way to go? Experience based advice is very welcome. My rack weighs a ton. It is not easy to compare to a wood or composite rack. I need advice on how to counter the sound problems of stone or similar polished surface shelf racks. I want to try this, before I consider a new rack or shelf arrangement.

Ag insider logo xs@2xo_holter

Showing 2 responses by fleschler

fleschler
1,920 posts
 

I have a very dead/dense/heavy pair of hand crafted steel framed stands (filled with sand/shot 50/50). The top has 1" thick non-Gabbro granite shelves/plates (polished and beveled) mounted on silicone footers. I have no problems with various rubber soled equipment (EAR pre-amps, Zesto SUTs, a pre-amp that had thin aluminum base using Stillpoint SS footers, etc). I do have a problem with an EAR 324 phono pre which sounds best with a buckwheat pillow under it. My VPI VI turntable always sat on a 1.25" thick HDF board on top of a Townshend Seismic Sink (terrible footers on the table).


Below, I replaced the thick tempered glass shelves with silicone bumpers with 1.25" HDF mounted on Blu-Tac which appears to completely deaden the already dense wood. Maple/butcherblock would have been an alternative.

fleschler
1,920 posts
 

@o_holter Is your phono pre also solid state like my EAR 324?   When I used the EAR 864 and the 912 which are both tubed phono and preamp combo, they sound best on the granite on their own feet.   My HW19-4 is used for 78s now and it has a superior spring and rubber footer (a sprung table) compared to the lousy Delrin VPI VI feet (unsuspended).

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