Racks made of wood

I built a DIY rack (maple/brass) that was fun, but not cheap. Since then, I've learned some things from experience about certain downsides. The rack is nice and high, so perfect for playing vinyl, as I don't have to bend over. Luckily, all the shelves can be adjusted and/or removed, so I'm going to remove my mono blocks from the bottom shelf and put them on the floor. The reason, is to remove a layer of shelves so that I can lower the height of my rack, and I will then have to bend over. Huh?

The rack is in the middle between my speakers, so it and the equipment are interacting with the sound through reflection. By lowering the rack considerably, the sound will be truer and it will add stabilization, as I too have wood suspended floors.

What I have actually found to work for mechanical feedback issues through floors, are springs. I have spring loaded feet under my turntable and under my subs. I will probably keep applying these springs to my amplification. There are some in this Forum who build their own DIY spring solutions, plus I use Townshend Isolation Bars under my subs (not cheap).

When deciding on a rack that has to be placed on wood floors, it needs to be rock solid and handle feedback for the best sound (IMO).
Kenny

+ 1 DeKay
I read Ken's thread contribution and agree that flexi racks sonically, are just furniture. Mine included. However, from my own experience, spikes don't do much to eliminate mechanical feedback caused by wood suspended floors. Just saying.

Ken's posts were excellent and very detailed. My rack is 9 years old, and as I approach the assembling of my final components, I no longer need a flexi rack to make adjustments. I may look for a ridged fixed rack, but springs will be a definite part of that solution.
Kenny

Dekay,
Will the IKEA Lack rack handle a heavy turntable on the top shelf? So, 50 to 80 lbs? And, do you know if there might be any flexing in this situation using the Lack coffee tables?
Thanks,
Kenny

My daughter, is close to getting her first TT. She rents a small house with wood suspended floors and has an old TV stand cabinet with a broken back leg, that's no good for a TT. What a perfect opportunity to build and try the Ikea Lack solution. Her first TT and first DIY project. Oh, oh...I'm growing another Audiophile!
Kenny

prof,

A number of us have reached the same conclusions, and I too have experienced the benefits of springs if properly implemented. I started with an SRA platform under my TT, but that did not eliminate the feedback from my subs. I then replaced the feet of my TT with upgraded feet with a built-in spring system. This did reduce the feedback to a degree, but did not eliminate it. I finally, added the Townshend product under my subs and voila, no more feedback.

My thoughts, are to add the Townshend Pods under my tube amplification to experience the results. I have some concern of how mechanical feedback may interact with tubes. This is speculation.

While, it was a labor of love building my flexi-rack, I would like to try to improve the sound characteristics by going with a more ridged framework and use smarter materials for resonance, like the Ikea idea. Racks can get very expensive and so can the Townshend products. It's then very exciting when you discover less expensive solutions that may work, like the IKEA rack and with some audiophiles who are making their own spring products. You have to try to know.
Kenny