Stacking components?


I have a Sony 7700 and am getting a Jolida 1501. Is it OK to stack the Jolida on top of the Sony? Both will be going in a heavy wire 18"x18"x74" tower/shelve unit. The tower will have good contact with the floor and I was going to put a slab of granite, wood, etc. underneath the Sony as well. Also, I was going to use something like Vibrapods underneath both the Sony and Jolida to help with vibration even more. I've heard/read that a small bag of sand or other weight on top of the CDP will help some. Can I combine this effect by having the Jolida on top of the Sony or will heat be an issue? Any other ideas for cost effective isolation in this type of setup? I realize the wire tower isn't perfect for this but it fits where I want it in my den perfectly and it is well made and solid. Here's a link to it(bottom/middle of the page):
http://www.125west.com/InterMetro_Home_Office_Furniture_Metro_Dorm_Sale_wire_shelving.html

I'll also have a small 5 gallon mini/nano reef on the bottom shelf and a 14" Toshiba television above the components. I'd like to try and get it to work well with the components in there if I can.

Thanks for any input.
asahitoro

Showing 3 responses by asahitoro

Thanks for the replies everyone,

The rack is actually pretty solid. Each shelf holds about 300lbs. I'm not worried about the integrity just any vibrations, etc. that may effect my sound. I bought an extra shelf as well so I will have a total of four shelves. The nano reef on the bottom shelf should weigh things down pretty well. It will weigh about 100lbs. I think what I'll do is skip stacking them and give each one it's own dedicated shelf. I have enough shelves to do that. I'm definitely putting some wood and something like Vibrapods under each component between the component and the wire shelf. Also, what if I go to Home Depot and buy some sort of 20"x20" cement slab. I could paint it black and sit the whole tower on top of that. Maybe that would help give it a firmer base. You guys have me wondering though that maybe I should look for another alternative. Regardless of how well I isolate the components, I'll most likely be fighting an uphill battle with vibration because of the wire design. I could put them on my desk/table(60") but will they effect my flat screen monitor any?

Thanks again for all of the input.
Onhwy61,

Thanks for your experienced input. I'm eventually going to buy a dedicated audio rack but for now I'm on a tight budget. An expensive audio rack is something that will have to wait for now. I realize how important things like room acoustics, isolating components/good rack, etc. are so I'm trying to do most of that the DIY route. At some point I'm going to hit a point of diminishing returns cost wise relative to how much improvement I can get out of my modest system. I actually thought that stacking my components may help some in making things more solid/vibration free. I'm going to give it a shot with the wire tower/maple shelves/Vibrapods. I just hope I can train my ears well enough to hear the subtle differences while I experiment to make things more effective.

Thanks again for your input.
Elizabeth and Suits_me,

Thanks for your input. That IKEA stuff looks like it could be a good alternative. I wish I had a local store to see some of it in person. I'm only dealing with two components here so I'm trying to make the most efficient use of space in my den by keeping everything in one rack. Since I haven't got my amp yet, I'm not sure about how much heat I'm dealing with. I think I'm still going to give each component it's own shelf and Vibrapods/etc.. I'm more concerned about vibrations with my CDP than my amp. In my setup, with the modifications that I am suggesting, shouldn't that be enough for the amp? Will it really make that much of a difference sound wise in my modest midfi setup? Should I just opt to put the components on my desk beside my monitor? My desk is more of a table(60"Wx24"D), my monitor is about 22" wide and my speakers will be on stands beside both sides of the desk. Maybe by coupling my desk via spikes, etc. to the floor and stacking my components on there with some Vibrapods will be a better alternative?

Thanks again for all of the input.