Audio Rack Opinions


After a fair amount of research, I have landed on 3 candidates for upgrading my audio rack:

  1. Symposium Acoustics Foundation Ultra 
  2. Core Audio Plykraft 4L
  3. Butcher Block Audio Rigid Rack with 4 shelves 

This will be used with the following system:

Palmer 2.5i Turntable

  • LFD NCSE Mk3 amplifier
  • Sutherland Little Loco phono stage
  • Oppo UDP 203 CD player
  • Palmer turntable power supply
  • This sits on hardwood floors to the left of my Harbeth speakers which are Tontrager stands

I am not in the market for a $10k plus rack, but would love to hear opinions on the above racks or any other suggestions  

 

Thanks in advance  

 

128x128thr1961

I previously posted my choice, Timber Nation, but my system photo was not public. Public now..

I know that I should have had them apply a black stain, but I just couldn't cover up the nice grain.

@lak  — thank you for the great perspective you shared:

What I discovered is how much of a difference a solid rack or other means of damping and controlling vibrations in our electronics makes. It’s a big deal.

It’s also a potential rabbit hole.
 

I had a fascinating call with Arnold from Core Audio and the topics ranged from his approach to audio rack design to mid-century furniture to LFD amplifiers.  In the end we both agreed that just about anything would be better than my current rack which almost dropped my LFD NCSE (I waited six months for this unit to be built in England!)

While I am going to speak with Peter at Symposium this week, I am fairly sure that I will go with Core Audio as his designs seem to bring the best of a rock solid foundation with the beauty of wood. I suppose this is one of the reasons that I have a Palmer tt and not one of the equally excellent options that do not use wood in their designs. 

So I thought an update was in order: I am going with the Core Audio Designs’ rack. After a few calls and multiple emails, I am very happy with my decision. I will wait to post photos once I have the rack set up with my system, but want to thank everyone for their input and recommendations. 

Best wood rack for the money and craftsmanship.Arnold bought my MAGICO mini 2s some years back.Great guy good luck.