If you were going to build your own system rack what would be some considerations?

[johnny33]

I have a fellow who does great woodwork.I am thinking of getting him to build me a heavy duty system rack.

What are some things I should consider when having this built?

[phish]

you should consider a way to attach it to the wall IMO.

[woody]

mass is good.
adjustable feet for leveling.
adequate ventilation.
vibration isolation for each shelf.

[BigE]

Unless you really need to match existing cabinetry, I'd strongly recommend buying a good steel rack from Solid Steel, Billy Bags or Pagode. You can't make a rack that good for what they charge. A solid wood rack will carry or sustain vibrations not kill or isolate them (think of a guitar body). Certain composites help with this, but the reason most people would choose solid hardwood over a steel rack is for looks.

YMMV
Eric

[soundQman]

You will probably want a good mechanism for routing cables, keeping them organized and keeping them separated to the good extent. I have a rack with shelves that have two holes toward the back of each shelf. This way I can keep the power cords away from the signal cords and can attempt to make the shortest cable lengths possible, depending upon the orienation of the connectors at the back of each piece of gear.

[bdiament]

Unless you really need to match existing cabinetry, I'd strongly recommend buying a good steel rack from Solid Steel, Billy Bags or Pagode. You can't make a rack that good for what they charge. A solid wood rack will carry or sustain vibrations not kill or isolate them (think of a guitar body). Certain composites help with this, but the reason most people would choose solid hardwood over a steel rack is for looks.

YMMV
Eric

Hi Eric,

Actually, a good solid wood rack will "ring" considerably less than any metal rack. Besides, what is really required is a solid superstructure, wood or metal. Vibration isolation must be applied directly at each component, not in the rack itself, where it will never be as effective.

I designed and my good friend built my Enjoyyourshelf© racks, which are made of a solid maple superstructure, with maple platforms, each of which is supported by an air bearing. Atop each platform, I use a set of my Hip Joints© roller bearings. The Enjoyyourshelf racks are the world's first piece of furniture with a fully independent suspension!

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

[Gary]

I built something based on this:

http://www.tnt-audio.com/clinica/flexye.html

It replaced my solid (again, home built) wood rack that vibrated. But I never noticed the wood rack was that bad or realized that it was contributing to fuzzy sound until I replaced it.

[bdiament]

mass is good....

Hi woody,

In my experience, mass stores energy. Speaking for myself, this is the opposite of what I want in a rack so when I designed the Enjoyyourshelf© racks, big mass was not a consideration.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

[Gary]

..... Enjoyyourshelf© racks .... Hip Joints© roller bearings.

Hey, Barry! Are these plans on your website somewhere? I took a quick look but could not find anything......... :)

[bdiament]

Hey, Barry! Are these plans on your website somewhere? I took a quick look but could not find anything......... :)

Hi Gary,

Many years ago, I used to give away the plans for Hip Joints.
Things got ugly on another forum -one without the benefit of the Gorts we have here- and I just decided it wasn't worth the hassle.

The Enjoyyourshelf still might become a commercial product one day so I haven't shared much about that. One thing I like about it is that the air bearing inflation on each shelf can be adjusted without having to first remove the component. You can hear the difference from chaning inflation (up or down) while the music is playing.

On the BDA (http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com) website, the main page shows one of two Enjoyyourshelf racks in the background. The Studio (http://www.barrydiamentaudio.com/studio.htm) page shows a closeup of a component supported on Hip Joints.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

[Dennis Metz]

It would wobble.

[jayme]

I built my component rack several years ago. All wood...2" oak posts, 2x1 oak sideboards, and 3/4" oak veneer plywood. I used a router to cut a 1/8" deep groove in the sideboards, and notched the oak posts. Each shelf is snugged in, all the way around, braced on both the top and bottom. The sideboards are glued to the posts, with dowels to add surface area for the glue. No screws at all. VERY solid...

Looks great...but when I walk in front of the stand, the vibrations can be coupled up to the preamp (I've had problems with microphonic tubes) and I can hear my steps amplified through the speakers.

Despite that, I still wouldn't make it any different...it just looks too nice to me.

:)

[Glen B]

I built my component rack several years ago. All wood...2" oak posts, 2x1 oak sideboards, and 3/4" oak veneer plywood.

Looks similar to what I built and used up until about two years ago when I switched to a Salamander Synergy rack.

[Gary]

Glen, did you notice any (sonic) differences?

Just curious.......... :)

[dogpile]

Shelves with "sandboxes" for dampening - see link. Good luck :righton:
http://teresaudio.com/haven/

[Barry Wom]

I have a fellow who does great woodwork.I am thinking of getting him to build me a heavy duty system rack.

What are some things I should consider when having this built?

Mass is bad, lightweight stands are the best. Build it out of perspex or Tortlyte wood, try to have no metal in it at all.

Use compliant squidgey things and not spikes.

[Glen B]

Glen, did you notice any (sonic) differences?

Just curious.......... :)

No sonic differences that I could detect. My main reasons for getting the Salamander rack were for the infinitely adjustable shelves and (with a 3-year-old in the house at the time) the option to add side panels and lockable door. I have since removed the side panels but the door is still in place.

[woody]

Hi woody,

In my experience, mass stores energy. Speaking for myself, this is the opposite of what I want in a rack so when I designed the Enjoyyourshelf© racks, big mass was not a consideration.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

i'm not disagreeing with you but i guess i'm a little confused, as per usual.
i understand the principle of a higher mass object being able to store and transfer more energy than a less dense object but doesn't it take higher amplitude vibration to actually get that energy into the mass to be absorbed and therefore make the object less prone to vibration?

and if less mass is better then why are individual component stands made of massive slabs of maple or filled with lead or sand as in speaker stands?

thanks in advance for any reply. ww

[MonkeyMan]

Zoethecus made some terrific racks. I think they're out of business now, so I doubt anyone would object if you got the specifications and had your friend build a copy.

[bdiament]

Hi woody,

...i understand the principle of a higher mass object being able to store and transfer more energy than a less dense object but doesn't it take higher amplitude vibration to actually get that energy into the mass to be absorbed and therefore make the object less prone to vibration?

While it takes more energy to excite high mass than it does to excite low mass, the reality is there is enough energy to excite high mass unless you listen at very low playback levels and/or your speakers don't have much bass. If you listen at varying levels and your speakers do have bass, everything is getting excited.


...and if less mass is better then why are individual component stands made of massive slabs of maple or filled with lead or sand as in speaker stands?...

Some folks believe (mistakenly in my view) in greater mass, so they use that. Lead and sand are used in structures that would tend to "ring", like metal racks. The lead or sand helps dampen some of the ringing.

Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com

[Dillydipper]

1) Streamlined and simple-looking...let the equipment get the attention! This also means the jumble of wires behind should not be a distraction. I suggest an easily-removable back panel(s!) to hide the clutter, but not impede access...access holes in the back AND room from one shelf to the other should be a neccessity!

2) Adequate ventilation always. Walls and doors that improve tie the furniture to the room are okay, so long as the big hot metal thingies can breathe!

3) Access, Access, Access! Sound geeks tend to want to get behind the unit and fiddle with wires a lot more than normal people. The feet should be able to glide easily even when loaded-down without scratching the floor, because we've all wished our racks would swing out as smoothly as scenery does for Carol Merrill on "Let's Make A Deal"! As above, whatever you use to cover the back of the cabinet should be easily-removable to dig through the cables.

Along these lines, hopefully you can plan to have some light source in the room which would just happen to be easily-focused on the back of the cabinet when you have it pulled-out. Re-wiring while wearing a miner's helmet is SO 1970's! ;)

[woody]

Hi woody,

While it takes more energy to excite high mass than it does to excite low mass, the reality is there is enough energy to excite high mass unless you listen at very low playback levels and/or your speakers don't have much bass. If you listen at varying levels and your speakers do have bass, everything is getting excited.


Best regards,
Barry
www.soundkeeperrecordings.com
www.barrydiamentaudio.com


well after thinking a writing replies a few times i think i understand where you are going with this. so the lower mass stand energy is transmitted to the shelves and components at higher frequencies than a higher mass stand and is therefore easier to tame with component isolation devices rather than the lower frequency vibrations emitted from a higher mass stand. is that the thinking?

[johnny33]

At first , when you guys mentioned " mass" I immediately thought "weight". I dont think that is what you mean though .. correct? We are talking how much matter there is in an actual object not the size of the gravitational pull or how heavy something is.Simple , I know, but may be something to make sure we are all on track with here.

[soundQman]

If you listen at varying levels and your speakers do have bass, everything is getting excited.Including me! :laugh:

Actually for this reason, I have been contemplating moving my turntable and phono preamp into a closet adjacent to my listening room, and then feeding the signal cable through the wall to my line stage. This would reduce acoustic feedback to a large extent, I'm thinkng. But, if high mass is bad for energy storage reasons, what's with all the massive industrial strength turntables these days? Or is that to damp TT motor as well as cartridge/arm generated vibes rather than acoustic feedback?

[woody]

"The weight of an object is the force of gravity on the object and may be defined as the mass times the acceleration of gravity, w = mg. Since the weight is a force, its SI unit is the newton. Density is mass/volume"

so i'm assuming weight and mass as interchangeable.