Equipment Racks

SCompRacer · February 2018

Clipdat wrote: »

The frame cannot really be rotated permanently as a solution, because there are two unsightly bolt holes on the rear of the frame which are meant to remain out of sight.

Those holes are for securing the optional rear grid panel. It's included on some racks but can be purchased separately.

Clipdat · February 2018

It's fully "modular" so I just tried to go rearrange it and it didn't make a difference. The new frame's alignment is still off.

I really thought that this replacement frame would be the ticket, as the others are lining up nicely.

The only issue with the other frames is that there's one slightly skewed/crooked spike due to another thread bur on that frame, which I could live with since it's one of the rear ones - as long as it doesn't affect the structural integrity.

Viking64 wrote: »

Ah, that makes sense. Front is front. Back is back. And the poles are messed up.

One last suggestion: Would pairing the upper and lower frames in a different order do anything or do they need to be where they currently sit for aesthetics and/or functionality?

Viking64 · February 2018

It is too bad it is being such a pain. It really is a nice-looking rack in SComp's picture.

F1nut · February 2018

If a rack flexes from the weight of gear placed on it, it's not doing the job it was meant to do.

DaveHo · February 2018

Firstly, I agree that you shouldn't have to massage a brand new rack to get it to perform as designed. That said, if you are determined to get it to work out, I'd get a file designed for metal to knock the burr down. Apply heavy tape as needed to prevent scratching the surrounding cap. Any other alignment issues can probably be solved with putting some muscle into it & bending the legs as needed. If that's not appealing, I'd insist that VTI yank the next replacement out of the box and inspect it before shipping. If they won't, time to send the whole shebang back.

verb · February 2018

SCompRacer wrote: »

Clipdat wrote: »

The frame cannot really be rotated permanently as a solution, because there are two unsightly bolt holes on the rear of the frame which are meant to remain out of sight.

Those holes are for securing the optional rear grid panel. It's included on some racks but can be purchased separately.

Hey @SCompRacer what is the tube for? Hmmm.

Clipdat · February 2018

That's his unicorn-fａrt valve exhaust port. That's what makes his system sound so good. I guess the secret is out now.

verb wrote: »

Hey @SCompRacer what is the tube for? Hmmm.

verb · February 2018

Clipdat wrote: »

That's his unicorn-fａrt valve exhaust port. That's what makes his system sound so good. I guess the secret is out now.

verb wrote: »

Hey @SCompRacer what is the tube for? Hmmm.

Thanks goodness. I was thinking catheter.

helipilotdoug · February 2018

We have decided to drop VTI as a manufacturer we represent. After this problem with their racks, it seems the quality is not there any longer. I can understand a problem with one rack, but to have the same problem with the replacement is unacceptable. So, if you are looking for AV racks right now, we won't be able to help you. Would love to hear from you if you have suggestions about a good AV rack and speaker stand manufacturer.

Clipdat · February 2018

Solidsteel might be worthy to look into: http://solidsteel.it/s-series-hi-fi-tv-racks-speaker-stands/

helipilotdoug wrote: »

Would love to hear from you if you have suggestions about a good AV rack and speaker stand manufacturer.

Clipdat · February 2018

Thank you Doug for your support through this ordeal, and for communicating with VTI on my behalf.

As you mentioned, the replacement frame still had alignment issues, as illustrated here with these photos I took of it:

Compared to a section that does line up as it should:

While Doug did his best, and VTI did offer to send out another replacement frame section, I've ultimately decided not to keep trying new frame sections and just move forward with the rack as is.

It was frustrating to have to make this decision, as I feel that for the price, the quality should simply be better. The rack itself has good engineering and design principles, but unfortunately the execution of the design is severely lacking.

The rationale behind my decision to keep it, is that I could be trying a new frame section every week, and I'm guessing that each one would have some issues with it that would need to be addressed. The sad reality is that the product that VTI is pushing out today is simply not the same as what they've put out in the past.

At this point, I'd rather just put what I have to use and get my stereo system back up and running so I can get back to enjoying my gear.

helipilotdoug wrote: »

We have decided to drop VTI as a manufacturer we represent. After this problem with their racks, it seems the quality is not there any longer. I can understand a problem with one rack, but to have the same problem with the replacement is unacceptable.

SCompRacer · February 2018

verb wrote: »

Hey @SCompRacer what is the tube for? Hmmm.

I'm old and need oxygen every now and then? I do part time work for a funeral home? It attaches to a bong?

Skip is right, it's for the air bearing linear arm on the turntable. It starts in basement at compressor, exits through media plate into a filer/expansion tank that smooth's out the air pump pulses, up the back of rack to arm. I have a remote to switch compressor on so I don't have to run downstairs.

Joey_V · February 2018

Sorry to hear, maybe it was a bad batch.

I looked mine over again, everything is aligned.... I have to believe that over time VTI gets better at producing racks rather than worse.

stangman67 · February 2018

Or they sold out and started using cheaper manufacturing to eithere a) raise the profit margin or b) account for inflation without significantly raising their prices. I just looked over my rack again and a few of my spikes are angled as clipdat’s pictures show, just not as bad. Mine lined up fine when I put it all together although. It’s a shame their quality has fallen off so much

Clipdat · March 2018

Finally putting my equipment on the VTI rack tonight, and after I put my turntable on the top shelf, I notice the dust cover is picking up vibrations just from me walking near the rack.

Then I realized the whole rack would undulate and rapidly shimmy back and forth from me just lightly pushing on the top shelf/frame.

I made a video of me just lightly pushing against the shelf and you can see the resulting vibration undulation through the dust cover of the turntable. You can actually see the waves of vibration dissipate slowly.

Why is it doing this? I thought the point of an audio rack was to reduce vibration.

stangman67 · March 2018

The spikes are adjustable to make sure there is equal contact on all 4 corners. The spikes will most likely not all be bottomed out in order for the shelves to be solid. It seems you just don’t have contact on all 4 corners of the shelf on all shelf

Clipdat · March 2018

The turntable weighs 30 pounds, and the other shelfs all have gear on them as well. There's absolutely contact on all 4 corners of each shelf section.

It wasn't as dramatic until I put the TT on top. I think what's happening here is that each "spike and cup" section is acting like a mini springboard. When I press against the front of the rack and create lateral vibration energy, it has to dissipate. It dissipates by rapidly going back and forth until the energy is gone.

There's actually movement happening in the rack frame itself that I couldn't easily pick up in a video.

It's basically acting like a car's suspension. The sensation when you're driving and suddenly press and hold on the brake, and keep it held - when you come to a stop, the front end suspension compresses, and then that energy rapidly travels to the rear, and then to the front, and to the rear, and on and on until it fully dissipates. Like a shimmy/undulation effect.

stangman67 wrote: »

The spikes are adjustable to make sure there is equal contact on all 4 corners. The spikes will most likely not all be bottomed out in order for the shelves to be solid. It seems you just don’t have contact on all 4 corners of the shelf on all shelf

Joey_V · March 2018

Are there felt absorbers between the shelf and the frame?

Clipdat · March 2018

Yes

Joey_V wrote: »

Are there felt absorbers between the shelf and the frame?

Clipdat · March 2018

Found someone on another forum describing the exact same thing I'm experiencing:

"The VTI racks are nice looking and very reasonably priced, but I would caution against their use for a high-end setup featuring speakers and/or vinyl. My local dealer has 4 of the short VTI units holding some seriously nice VAC, Esoteric, and Rogue Audio gear, with a turntable on top; this configuration has no lateral rigidity. You push a little against the top shelf, and the whole stack oscillates significantly for quite a while. The worst combination ever is this rack with one of those Clearaudio magnetic-bearing tonearms up top (I hate these arms, btw) -- talk about egregious low-frequency oscillations!"

stangman67 · March 2018

All I can tell you is that mine is solid as a rock. I do have the shorter two wide versio though,

Clipdat · March 2018

Maybe it's because yours is two posts in front and one in the rear, like a tripod style.

stangman67 wrote: »

All I can tell you is that mine is solid as a rock. I do have the shorter two wide versio though,

leftwinger57 · March 2018

Sorry to hear and see that your rack buying journey was/is so painful. To Doug's credit if the VTI stands are not meeting up w/ any standards and can not back them then he has to drop them as a supplier. I will say your photos do not lie, those spikes and end caps are far from plumb vertical and anyone who denies that is nuts... Lew

delkal · March 2018

With a spike design like that you have to exactly adjust each rack so there is perfect contact on all posts. With four posts this can be an exercise in futility.

When I was trying to level my non spiked rack it was almost impossible to do on a hard wood floor (depending on how anal you are). Its easy to get it to within a millimeter, then the fun starts. I had my girlfriend push down on each corner and I checked the fit by sliding a piece of paper under the opposite post. When it was off I would turn everything upside down and adjust.......then keep repeating, adjusting one post would always screw up the post next to it. It didn't take long to realized home floors are not perfectly level. I could move the rack a few inches and it wasn't level again.

After about 30 min I eventually got it so you couldn't slide a piece of paper under any of the foot pads. But even then not the whole pad, just about 1/4 were touching (the pads are not perfectly square either).

I eventually quit and figured the small gaps would fill in with dust / dirt/ and fuzzy stuff. Who new racks have a burn in time too!

Joey_V · March 2018

Just checked mine, they seem very stable there is no rocking motion

verb · March 2018

Viking64 wrote: »

From what I can see, there seems to be a combination of 2 or 3 issues, any or all of which are contributing to the alignment issues. If the spikes can't screw down flush to the caps, that will create one issue. If the caps aren't seated correctly, that will create another issue and/or add to the first issue. Also, based on some of the images, it seems like the frame has some kind of warping/torquing issue.

Have you tried rotating the frame 180 degrees to see if that changes anything? If the frame isn't square, that certainly should have some impact.

Agree with @Viking64 - Based on the pics submitted earlier, each piece seems to have some element of mis-alignment. Either the spikes were crooked, or the legs, or both, etc. As you stack them on top of each other, the mis-alignment is additive from bottom to top. In my world, we call that a geometric tolerance stack up.

The issue is exacerbated by the mass of each component. Especially at the top. Any tall building will have some amount of deflection (swaying back and forth) just due to the weight, especially at the top floors.

Without re-working each piece, as we discussed earlier, straightening out the legs, spikes, removing material to allow the threaded spikes to be fully seated, you may never get it corrected.

If you were closer to me we'd get that thing in the garage and fix it up!

kharp1 · March 2018

Might try taking it apart and reassembling. When you reassemble try putting each section on a flat, level surface and aligning it so it's true. You could also fill the tubes with shot, rice, dried sand, etc.

I bought coated shot to use for the Ushers and some speaker stands.

soundfreak1 · March 2018

One of Murphy's laws " once a job is screwed up, anything done to fix it...... makes it worse! Start over, send bad unit back, get money back, buy something else! Problem solved. NEXT?

Joey_V · March 2018

Send it back

Now you know, it ain’t easy to find a good rack these days

Clipdat · March 2018

This is the wobble/oscillation I'm talking about. I'm lightly pushing on the column.

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