Equipment Rack Rec's

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Originally posted by Gerard:
I am looking to replace my current StandDesign racks with some newer/better models. Outside of Naim Fraim's,(toooo costly!), what can people recommend? I see alot of people giving Hutter praise. These are available in my area.
Any experiences with Isoblue or Finite Elemente's racks?
Also, I need to get two sets of racks. Is it better to do two separate single units or one double unit?
My current set up includes a 52/52PS/250, Arcam CD Transport and DAC, Magnum FT101 tuner. My Orbe SE/Graham2/Ruby2 reside on a wall mount for now but may be placed atop a double rack if I go that way.
Thanks

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Mana Acoustics. I use 2 Reference Tables (one for the pre-amp and one for the CD player) with great success.

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Wow, that makes Fraim look even vaguely affordable!

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From what I understand, a 4 tier Fraim will cost 1400 UKP whereas a Neat D-Wave with 4 shelves costs 1100.

I use An Atacama equinox,its modular,sounds good, looks good and at £140 for the base and then £70 per level its very good value for money!....

But I,m sure the fraim is better...but then so is the price!

Mad Boy Matt

Hi there
I have a Hutter and it is really great. Easy to set up, sturdy but not dense. Great sound and looks not bad in a living room. Also price is moderately reasonable. Finally, you can have two Hutters side by side and these can be joined or can remain free-standing.
Cheers
Raphael

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Originally posted by mrbassman:
Here we go again rack no 3 in less than six months ! Could have bought a fraim for less !!


Mark

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Thanks for doing some trial and error and sharing it with the forum. Maybe you have saved someone from doing the same mistake. Always look at the bright side of life.....

Does anyone know who the UK distributor of Hutter is? I would like to see some in the flesh. The Quadraspire reference certainly looks good to my eyes and may replace my Mana but I would like to see/hear Hutter first.

Shame Fraim is so expensive even if it were excellent I would have to think twice.

Brendan

Audio-T (Reading, Camberley, Basingstoke) do Hutter, also I think Audience (Bath).

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My current set up includes a 52/52PS/250, Arcam CD Transport and DAC

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Hi Gerard;

Sounds like you should be spending your money on a decent CD player (from Salisbury UK!)

If you want v.f.m. quality racks - Isoblue is the way to go over here at £110 per level. A friend has just put his modest system on it, from a ghastly sounding steel framed Sound Org rack. It sounds great.

It doesn't have the verve or resolution of detail, of Fraim, but it produces a very nice benign sound with no nasties.

Good luck.

JPO mate ,

It sounds as though you are suggesting that I should of done a rack dem first before ordering the atacama...It would be nice to have the time and energy to do such a thing

Seriously though it would be quite a hassle to collect several racks from a dealer ( I'd imagine they would be very reluctant to let me do so) take them home, set each one up then place each component on desired shelf of said rack ...Listen ...then go through the whole process again & again untill satisfied, oh & then dissasemble the remaining racks, repackage & return to the bewildered dealer

It be quite difficult to dem equipment racks it be

Mad Boy Matt

Gerard: please check your private messages.

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Has anybody heard\tried the Torlyte stuff from Russ Andrews?

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Once, during a short vacation down in the Lake District, I chanced upon the factory store - heh heh, "honest dear, I had no idea it was here" - and heard some admittedly rather good sounds from an LP12/Lingo/Ekos/old Naim (32.5?)/unknown speakers on a Torlyte rack.

So, I'm sure it's reasonable stuff, but it sure is expensive and the side-by-side rack they offer at, what, £1500?, materially appears no different to a certain Ikea £75 TV stand which we have.

For all we bicker about Mana versus Fraim versus QS Ref versus Isoblue versus whatever, at least none of them look like a £75 Ikea TV stand...

I'd be very interested to find out if Torlyte is actually in practise much different to one of the many particle/fibreboards that a decent builders' supplier could provide. I'd hope (for anyone who has bought a Torlyte product) that it is substantially different, but I am very suspicious.

I'm currently using QS Ref, which is a great value stand from a difficult company to deal with (not very good customer service) which in my system sounds better than the previous Mana rack and soundstages (excellent customer service with colourful attitude, but the product ultimately wasn't quite right for me). Ideally I'd like something a bit more substantial looking than QS Ref but I wouldn't want to interfere with the sound - though Fraim is sorely tempting...

John

TC '..'
"Girl, you thought he was a man, but he was a Muffin..."