I built my own out of salvaged mdf I got from a used display rack/ cabinet from behind a K mart store. At first i built speaker stands, but now I use them for equipment stands. Each comoonent has its own stand. It looks and works great and in fact, I have had lot of people ask where I got it and they can believe it was basically free except for about 10 bucks spent on fasting hardware. Maybe i sould go into business making these.
suggestions on affordable equipment stands.
i have a basic stereo system with lots of tweaks because this is part of the hobby i like. my goal is to get the best sound quality for budget prices so i use emotiva amp, pre and cd. music fidelity vdac. magnepan mmg speakers with dual deq velodyne subs. i have improved the performance of my system with isonodes , room tune and bass traps room treatments, furman and ps audio ac improvements and all morrow audio cables. today i put all my gear on a slab of concrete resting on tennis balls and some thick wood butcher blocks between each component. the system was on a glass shelved metal rack from walmart. isolated with vibrapods but still from walmart. the sound quality is improved and i suspect resonance from the metal and glass were a problem. any opinions on this or suggestions about a inexpensive rack that would help ? thanks john
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@Jdoris - 4 legs would be more stable than 3, but I haven't had a problem with stability. I suspect going with 3 rods over 4 is the same '3 points make a plane' principle as using 3 footers under a component instead of 4; the least contact while still functional. The rack in the link you provided does have a leg in back, so your previous observation may be true in this case. |
I expect you are checking, but below an FYI about the kind of (3 legged!) thing available here (no affiliation with seller). My guess is that over time, lots of options for 500 or less come up (eg, Soild Steel comes up from time to time). Depends on how you want to spend your time and money, of course. J http://cgi.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cl.pl?accsrack&1293842194 |
My bad, Tholt. Missed it on the first picture. You save the cost of one rod and associated hard wear this way; is stability affected (kids, pets)? Hotmailjbc: I use Boos in my kitchen. Nice blocks, good price. You might call a local countertop/kitchen place for prices, but the Boos are pre cut and finished, which is a nice savings on labor, depending on your woodshop. J |
I got a lot of help for a DIY rack (which I enjoy) on the thread below. But a bit of patience could get you a nice used rack here for a price that might be quite competitive, as the materials for DIY can be pretty dear. Note that if you go a rod and shelf design, the three rod version linked above limits the depth of components, which might be an issue with some gear, like big power amps. John http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1158841915 |
DiY baby! Costs less and you get that special pride when you're done... click here. This is a great rack, I made mine with Ash that still had the curves of the wood on the edges. Cost me around $200 in materials and a couple weekends of drilling and sanding. Love it |
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why not rest each component on an ikea lack table with the tennis balls and concrete slab. The tables are cheap enough about 7bucks each. There made of composite wood. There very light weight yet sturdy and will support each piece of gear.I am guessing you have a seperate listening room from the description of various room acoustic materials..good luck. |