VTI rack revisited
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muncybob
Posts: 2,970
After reading a fellow Polkie's bad adventure from several months ago, it was with great trepidation that I bit the bullet and ordered the BL503 from a retailer with what appears to be a decent return policy. I would much rather have one of the better higher end racks but with the expenses we've had recently it would be a while and I've waited long enough.
Upon arrival the FedEx guy promptly "lowered" the box off his shoulder onto the porch with a big thud. I figure par for the course and let him know as much. He somewhat apologized and had treats fro the dogs so I just hoped the merchandise was well packed. First thing I come to in the box is the parts list with the infamous rubber mallet declaration. The rack parts were very well packed and getting the bubble wrap off each leg/run was a PITA. I was able to not scratch anything though.
I had some wrenches with me thinking that the spikes would need to be tightened by them...nope, hand tighten. Not crazy about that and if I decide to fill the uprights with sand I may use some blue Loctite to keep them from working loose. Put the first shelf on the base and everything lined up perfect. The top one not so lucky. The middle spike was off just a tad, so I got the mallet out. It's not perfect but is close and I'm not rapping on it any more. Decided to swap out the the parts so the middle spike being slightly off is not so noticeable.
For what I paid I guess I made out OK. It will serve the purpose for a few years until this too gets an upgrade. It is a nice looking rack and once I get the sand in and put all the gear on I'll post a photo.
Upon arrival the FedEx guy promptly "lowered" the box off his shoulder onto the porch with a big thud. I figure par for the course and let him know as much. He somewhat apologized and had treats fro the dogs so I just hoped the merchandise was well packed. First thing I come to in the box is the parts list with the infamous rubber mallet declaration. The rack parts were very well packed and getting the bubble wrap off each leg/run was a PITA. I was able to not scratch anything though.
I had some wrenches with me thinking that the spikes would need to be tightened by them...nope, hand tighten. Not crazy about that and if I decide to fill the uprights with sand I may use some blue Loctite to keep them from working loose. Put the first shelf on the base and everything lined up perfect. The top one not so lucky. The middle spike was off just a tad, so I got the mallet out. It's not perfect but is close and I'm not rapping on it any more. Decided to swap out the the parts so the middle spike being slightly off is not so noticeable.
For what I paid I guess I made out OK. It will serve the purpose for a few years until this too gets an upgrade. It is a nice looking rack and once I get the sand in and put all the gear on I'll post a photo.
Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub.
Comments
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Looking forward to pics
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I have had great results from Salamander and Bell’o racks and shelves. Good luck. DMIT Magnum MH-750, Monster HTS 5100MKII, Sony 77" Class - A80CJ Series - 4K UHD OLED,PS4, Def Tech 15” sub,LSIM 706c, Sunfire Signature Grand 425 x 4,Parasound hca 120, LSiM 702 x 4, Oppo 103D, SDA SRS 1.2, Pioneer Elite SC63 , Pioneer Elite BDP-05 “Why did you get married if you wanted big speakers?”
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The plan is to fill the channels with sand, re-secure the points and take pics tonight. I'm not sure if the music will sound any better but it will certainly look better
Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
I did the same. Top rack has a nice scrape. It's covered by the TT so I kept it.
I'm still looking at Steelcase or something similar...Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears -
I think I have mentioned this guy before, but he makes some beautiful racks. His shop is just a few miles from where I live. Lots of folks have posted pictures of their gear on his racks over at the Audioshark forum.
http://timbernation.com/Highendaudiorack_PopUp.htmlMcIntosh MA252 Integrated Amp, LUMIN D2 Network Music Player, Yamaha Aventage RX-A840 receiver, Emotiva XPA Gen3 2 channel amp, Polk LSiM 703 speakers. Oppo UDP-203 Blu-Ray player, Polk LSiM 705 speakers. Polk Signature S20 speakers. -
mark090852 wrote: »I think I have mentioned this guy before, but he makes some beautiful racks. His shop is just a few miles from where I live. Lots of folks have posted pictures of their gear on his racks over at the Audioshark forum.
http://timbernation.com/Highendaudiorack_PopUp.html
I've always loved the looks of his but truth be told they definitely flavor the sound. The good thing is you can use this as a bit of a tuning feature, but much like cables, I prefer my rack to have as little impact as possible on the final sound. That's the biggest reason I jumped on the Star Sound bandwagon. My rack would set you back about five figures, but there is a four shelf variant that should fall under $3,000 once it goes into production.
Funny story - when I got my Ultrasonic rack and platforms, I was hesitant to get them. They are absolutely gorgeous and being able to tailor the light to your liking really made them unique. Sonically though, I was terrified. I had dialed my system in at the time quite well with the MDF + cheap steel frames of the old racks I had been using and knew that the Ultrasonic rack would add a hardness to the sound that would throw it out of whack. Lo and behold, I was right. I spent a few weeks trying to get everything dialed in again and overcome the sound.
Robert at Star Sound starts his impressions of a system with the rack and works out from there. It makes sense since this is what he does for a living and he has worked with all these materials to understand what artifacts and frequencies they add/detract from the sound. When he first told me that it was a strange statement - maybe just foreign - but it has settled in nicely and I completely get where he is coming from.
One thing he has shared with me is that if you like the look of the Timber Nation stuff, he can work with carpenters to build similarly appealing products AND make them an instrument to ground vibrations as opposed to a tuning device for your system.
Would you feel that this affects tube gear more than solid state? I can understand how it would flavor a tube amp's sound since it is a little more at the will of it's environment and vibrations but I have a hard time wrapping my head around how it could affect a solid state device. Not saying you are wrong at all, just curious on your thoughts.Just a dude doing dude-ly things
"Temptation is the manifestation of desire which equals necessity." - Mikey081057
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"Those that don't know, don't know that they don't know." - heiney9
"Audiophiles are the male equivalent of cat ladies." - Audiokarma Member -
So last night I filled the tall vertical tubes with apprx. 1.5 cups of sand each, the shorter tubes took less than a cup each. Cleaned the threads with a Q-tip and applied blue thread lock to the spikes. Left everything to dry overnight. Just finished relocating everything to the VTI rack and pics attached as evidence that it really did happen. Some cable management is in order but that's for another night.
Tubes are warming up as I type this and then I'll settle into the Analogue Productions release of The Best Of The James Gang that just arrived yesterday...
with a cold one.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
Looking good!
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Looks great sir!! 👍🏻
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Likey!Speakers: Polk Lsim, ATC SCM19 v2, NHT SuperzeroSpeaker Cables: DH Labs, Transparent, Wireworld, Canare, Monster: Beer budget, Bose ears
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I like it a lot more than your older rack also but please reposition the Parasound amp to the left or right please sir.
I forgot to say, I'm a BIG symmetry lover so I know where you went with putting it in the middle. If you like it there, that's fine too of course.
Most people just listen to music and watch movies. I EXPERIENCE them. -
I initially put the amp to the left side. I need something to go along side it though. The Mrs will have my head if I buy anything else anytime soon.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
Skip, no problem. I respect your opinions and knowledge.Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
I initially put the amp to the left side. I need something to go along side it though. The Mrs will have my head if I buy anything else anytime soon.
We understand. That rack has lots of empty space. But you don't have to lie to us...........
Or does your wife read this forum too? -
She doesn't read this but she does notice when a new piece appears. But I think problem solved. I forgot I have an old Parasound amp in storage and that can be used to drive the outdoor speakers. It would probably look better if both amps were the same but it will do for now.
On a side note, the Analogue Productions edition of the James Gang sounds superb!Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
I initially put the amp to the left side. I need something to go along side it though. The Mrs will have my head if I buy anything else anytime soon.
Drop the Panamax down to next to the Parasound, then drop what’s above it down a level, and then center the TT on top OR use it to hold the LP Sleeve your playing on the TT upright
Like this...
https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B075HPR4GZ/ref=sspa_mw_detail_0?ie=UTF8&psc=1
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963) -
That would have worked except I need to keep the pre up top for tube access. The HCA1000 added to the bottom shelf is good enough for now and looks OK. Need another HCA1500 to replace the 1000 for better symmetry Yep, my name really is Bob.
Parasound HCA1500A(indoor sound) and HCA1000(outdoor sound), Dynaco PAS4, Denon DP1200 w/Shure V15 Type V and Jico SAS stylus, Marantz UD7007, Polk L600, Rythmik L12 sub. -
That would have worked except I need to keep the pre up top for tube access. The HCA1000 added to the bottom shelf is good enough for now and looks OK. Need another HCA1500 to replace the 1000 for better symmetry
Ok I’ve got the perfect solution...
Give me the oppo and then your free and clear
"....not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted." William Bruce Cameron, Informal Sociology: A Casual Introduction to Sociological Thinking (1963)
