Why do hifi racks cost so much?
Posted by: Consciousmess on 23 June 2016
This question puzzles me, because I appreciate the R&D for the first models, but then over time, prices should drop.
And then is the issue of competition. With many companies making hifi racks, surely if your design minimises vibrations as well as the best, you can sweep the market by undercutting them with your price!
(Or do they collectively play on consumer gullibility?)
I do find it slightly ironic when people spend a shed load of money on a rack to ensure the equipment is well isolated from its surroundings and then undo it all by plonking a honking great loudspeaker right next to it.
You can buy a perfectly 'good' hifi rack on eBay for £39.99 with 5 levels, glass shelves and everything... But that's like displaying your prized book collection in a white IKEA billy bookcase.
I agree that quality racks seem very expensive for what they are but until they're mass produced in a Chinese factory for the masses, which seems unlikely anytime soon, it comes down to economics.
Tarquin Maynard-Portly posted:Often the cost is high because people will pay the price.
Guilty
wrc posted:You can buy a perfectly 'good' hifi rack on eBay for £39.99 with 5 levels, glass shelves and everything... But that's like displaying your prized book collection in a white IKEA billy bookcase.
I agree that quality racks seem very expensive for what they are but until they're mass produced in a Chinese factory for the masses, which seems unlikely anytime soon, it comes down to economics.
Not sure I understand the comparison: a prized book collection can be displayed and look good on any shelving.
and if your gear is solidly built and impervious to vibration, any semi-decent support will do - though Naim stuff from all accounts is not i,pervious so needs a solid isolating mount.
@WRV there's nothing wrong with IKEA Billy book-shelves (for books)! We have a very large number of books (wife is an author, it comes with the territory), and in the right setting they're perfectly nice.
Rack prices are much like any other luxury product - they're priced to what the audience will pay. There is really no link to the cost of production, aside from the fact that the price must be higher than the cost. If Naim does pricing well, they should price to maximise overall profit.
At the level of my kit, I'm not convinced more expensive racks will improve the sound substantially. I much prefer built-in racks anyway for aesthetic reasons, so I have very rigid, light bamboo built-in shelves for hi-fi, tv, and (inevitably) books. They're built to my specification, are relatively inexpensive and appear to do the job perfectly well.
Is the main goal of a good rack to not add color to the room's sound by having a minimalist ''aerodynamic'' design, to absorb microphonics from equipment, to decouple microphonics in one component in order to prevent it from contaminating another or to prevent vibrations (sound waves) caused by speakers to enter equipment through the rack?
For mainly aesthetic and space reasons I'm stuck with a very non audiophile solid wood cabinet. The best I could come up with was to cover the underside of each shelf and front doors with Soundcoat damping sheets and also place one under each component on the top of shelves. This is all done in a very stealth fashion. I figure if components are well built to withstand resonance in the first place (like Naim appear to be) then, compared to the rest of the room (floors, windows, drywall, etc), this piece of furniture should cause relatively little damage to the sound vs a costly dedicated rack. Speakers are on stands filled with glass shot and isolated with decoupling pads.
I acted instinctively as I have no technical knowledge whatsoever regarding this matter.