Everyone--check out the Sistrum rack by Starsound Technologies (email me for Robert's phone no. in Ohio). There are reviews available also. It is stunning looking and suspends all equipment on top of brass Audiopoints. The rack itself is carved metal shelves bolted to stainless steel rods filled with minute steel particles (like black sand, it will destroy your carpet so fill the rods outside, and don't breathe the dust!), with Audiopoints screwed onto the bottom of each rod. This rack sounds like getting a new component. Bass and detail are articulated, background is utterly silent. I bought a pair of their smaller stands designed for floorstanding speakers as well, for my Genesis 500s, and the bass and detail in recordings were even further enhanced. I think the Sistrum stands and platform and going to get a LOT of positive press, try them before the prices skyrocket. 5-shelf stand, including all Audiopoints and the steel fill, is approx $1600. I was using a Bright Star Rack of Gibraltar and a Solidsteel 5 shelf rack before the Sistrum. Big, big improvement.
Which Rack Is Better?
I am in the market for an audio rack, and I've narrowed my options down to three: in order of increasing cost, the Atlantis Reference, the Polycrystal, and the Zoethecus Reference. As I see it, the advantages of each are as follows:
1) The Atlantis Reference is very heavy and sturdy, it has a larger space at the bottom for a power amp, all shelves are 3/4-inch MDF and are spike-decoupled, and the price is only around $500.
2) The Polycrystal has anti-resonant shelves, and has adjustable spacing between shelves. It has been very well reviewed, and costs a lot more money.
3) The Zoethecus has the anti-resonant z-slab shelves, is superior aesthetically to the Polycrystal, and is even more expensive. I would need to special-order it, unless I could find one with a larger space at the bottom on Audiogon.
I believe that my system (Denon 1650AR/Bryston BP-20/Aragon 8008BB/Thiel 3.6/Pro-SilwayII/Oval9) is good enough that I would hear any significant sonic differences between the racks.
Which of these racks would be the better choice, i.e., would there be enough of an improvement over the Atlantis Reference to justify the higher cost?
Thanks for your input.
Alan
1) The Atlantis Reference is very heavy and sturdy, it has a larger space at the bottom for a power amp, all shelves are 3/4-inch MDF and are spike-decoupled, and the price is only around $500.
2) The Polycrystal has anti-resonant shelves, and has adjustable spacing between shelves. It has been very well reviewed, and costs a lot more money.
3) The Zoethecus has the anti-resonant z-slab shelves, is superior aesthetically to the Polycrystal, and is even more expensive. I would need to special-order it, unless I could find one with a larger space at the bottom on Audiogon.
I believe that my system (Denon 1650AR/Bryston BP-20/Aragon 8008BB/Thiel 3.6/Pro-SilwayII/Oval9) is good enough that I would hear any significant sonic differences between the racks.
Which of these racks would be the better choice, i.e., would there be enough of an improvement over the Atlantis Reference to justify the higher cost?
Thanks for your input.
Alan