Audio rack ( isolation )

Roninaudio said

“Rack of Silence” Love it…I think that describes the first few seconds after you see the price…

I got a substantial discount on the rack, so I could not resist the price.

The reaction probably has as much to do with how the shot was set up as the construction of the rack.

Yeah. That shot looks like it was taken in the Bud Light “Pit of Misery”! 21_gif

@darrenv1070 The Solid Tech ROS is a great rack. It has well thought out engineering behind it. It will be interesting to here your thoughts once you have lived with it for a while.

Frank7036. I can say it was a trick to assemble. !pulling-hair_gif

Apparently you prove your worthiness of ownership by being able to assemble without committing terrible deeds in frustration. Or you work for IKEA Skunkworks.

If one doesn’t have a rock solid floor with rack pretty far enough away from speakers, I’d recommend very heavy bases on a rack soft decoupled from the floor. Otherwise lighter wooden bases on spiked racks might work for the first example (which I personally never used for long time)

Late reply – I bought the Salamander Archetype, 3-level. I bought an extra shelf and the spikes for a nice setup. Good value and decent performance. I am on hardwood floors, so I bought Cone/Spike Decoupling Gliders by Herbie’s Audio Lab, so I can slide rack away from wall to do hookups. Real nice. My setup from bottom up – BHK 250 amp, BHK Preamp, DS DAC, DS Memory Player. That’s a lot of weight, but no problem. If I could afford, I would buy a Mapleshade setup.

When I started building the system around DeVore 3XL and Firstwatts J2, I selected Quadraspire svt bamboo rack; I had opportunity comparing before and after setting up the equipment on the rack (shipped from UK took a while), equipments were on an IKEA bench or on the floor before rack arrived; I have to say the rack DOES make very noticable improvement to the sound on the first note, even when all the equipments were fairly new and not yet fully break-in; it sounded less covered, more detailed, more extensions in both spectrums, more fluid, open and less congested (better imagining). I forgot to mention in another post, rack / isolation could make significant sound improvement / difference;

photo is where I first set up the system; later I made some upgrade to digital gear and added vinyl system. The top tier space was handy;

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How does the HPA-1 go as a pre?

Hi, with a lot of upgrades, I kept HPA-1 as pre-amp and very happy about its performance; Pass gears that I have (Firstwatt J2, HPA-1, XP-17) have highest fit and finish and bullet proof quality in my system, not a single glitch or issues; Sound quality wise, HPA-1 is superb pre-amp, threw a huge deep and wide sound stage, tube like delicacy, but also conveys plenty micro and macro dynamics; The combo of 3XL, J2, HPA-1+ Audience SE/SX cables (power, interconnect, speaker) are very scalable and highly revealing, it really depends upon what you feed them; I think many folks may have focus on HPA-1’s headphone quality and may not had opportunity to tap into’s pre-amp potential. Pass designer mentioned that he first designed and built a high quality line stage to his satisfaction, then expanded it to full capacity headphone amp; I am sure if compare to their fully balanced XP pre-amps, there will be further improvement; IMG_4296

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Thanks, i’ve read a number of reviews and this is on my shortlist. Build quality looks top notch as you’d expect from Pass

The way Pass handled the machining, assembly and aesthetics is impressive; here is XP-17 picture for reference; by the way XP-17 is a dynamite phono pre-amp; I didn’t realize 3XL can rock till I had XP-17; cheers:-)

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Hi, do you still have your Salamander?

Hi @RedRiver, I too have the Qs bamboo stand. What are the wooden blocks you have underneath the equipment? What improvements did they bring and are they worth the investment?

Many thanks

Hi Chirs5, I picked up these Cardas Myrtlewood blocks (they also sold under Arye label) after reading review of QS bamboo stand; I didn’t do A-B comparison with and without them, and trusted what reviewer commented, that the Myrtlewood blocks enhanced the presentation overall. Reviewer also compared Stillpoints and Stillpoints + QS SVT brings out even more sound quality; Nevertheless Stillpoints are a quite few times more expensive (You got what you pay for); Music direct and the cable company both sell them;
ACARMYRTLESMALL
https://www.musicdirect.com/accessories/cardas-myrtlewood-blocks
By the way, the pads under QS SV2T are Bluehorizon spike shoes from UK; I got them from the cable company but I don’t think they carry them anymore. I also placed them under DeVore 3XL speakers. I did comparison with other pads and Bluehorizon spike shoes blew them out of water; neutral, balanced sound and a lot more details and clarity; 276-Blue-Horizon-Spikefeet

Nice rack. Looks really clean and good looking. Not sure about the tiny little speakers.

Thanks Paul, I was not a believer of DeVore 3XL till I auditioned them; Followed your channel on youtube and added a couple REL S3 and the combo really shines; I spoke to many folks they either go with DeVore 93/ 96 or 3XL; learned from previous experience with ATC SCM 20 I placed them away from wall (more then 1/3 of room length), this is also recommended by DeVore’s manual; it is not as neutral as ATC, but delivers more clarity and resolution, nice decay and musicality; I mainly listen to classic and Jazz, DeVore shines in these genres. Thanks again for sharing a lot of great music and equipment experience on your channel, I have learned a lot from you!

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This is a sweet system.

That’s awesome and I am so happy I could have helped even in a small way. Thanks for sharing.