Support and accessories

Hi all,

Just finished reading the Firm Foundations section of the latest Hifi+ mag and just got thinking about my own stands and accessories.

My current investment in rack and accessories is a fraction of what my eletronics and music software is worth.

I was wondering at what point do you consider investment in these products that they identified (3000 for power supply and 6500 for a 5 shelves stand). Do you approach this with an arbitrary budget? The system that Hifi+ used is quite modest.

I have to be honest that my purchase of the finite elemente spider rack was borne out of balancing the cost and looks rather than the bringing out the very last ounce of performance from my system.

Cheers
Al

 

My Stillpoints ESS 405 5-shelf equipment rack is not the latest model with upgraded shelves and Stillpoints technology built into the cross members but I was amazed on the improvements it brought to my admittedly substantial investment in a hi-fi system.

My Stillpoints rack was ex-demo and cost me one sixth of the price of the model auditioned in the latest Hi Fi+ but substituting it for my previous HNE granite & sycamore rack has improved stereo imaging, detail resolution, transparency and musicality. I was not surprised as that has been my experience with using Stillpoints+Risers and the component stand to support my CD player, preamp, power amp and mains distribution.

When I home-demoed the Vertex Elbrus PSU early this year, that also brought substantial improvements to my system in terms of lowering the noise floor, enhancing dynamics and delivering a most musical sound. I now use the Elbrus in place of a Nordost Thor mains conditioner and also replaced the Nordost Valhalla power cords for relatively inexpensive products from MusicWorks.

Considering the cost of these products, I would not necessarily advocate allocating a substantial part of a system budget, but I have learbed that to get the best from components costing many thousands of pounds, that they represent value by allowing the user to extract the maximum performance rather than continually spending out to swap boxes in search of a more integrated sound.



http://s3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/crystalref/

 

Hi Snoopdog,

Your system looks great and must sound sensational.

Your rack looks really similar to the new version. Did you audition it before you bought it with your components?

Cheers
Al

 

I would say shortly after you've heard them and are convinced that they offer value for money for your system.

I've played around with Stillpoints and IMHO they are no panacea - good in some circumstances, not good in others. My equipment rack is a home made air isolation rack and I've absolutely no inclination to change that - it does the job it's supposed to do perfectly well. In my system I've found that throwing money at the mains (a dedicated spur, Kemp mains conditioning and Merlin cables) gave a good return on investment initially, but now any further money spent (i.e. more advanced conditioning or shinier sexier cables) doesn't seem to reap worthwhile rewards.

 

I was playing with this subject quieta lot untilabout 6 months ago, when the money dried up for materials (taken by diesels costs mainly) and my Mums poor health dictated (and dictates) that I spent time on my parents small holding.

My experiences indicated that very worth while results can be gained from isoltaion/vib management/microphony etc.

To not overstate the case I often found the sonic benfits astonishing.....imo if course.

Take it as far as you like

 

Al,

I am fortunate to live only 5 miles from my dealer, who is also the UK distributor for Stillpoints. He made the ex-demo equipment rack available to me for long term home demo and I was startled how much better it was when substituted for my previous granite and wood rack which I have had supporting the surce components since 2004. I decided to keep the Stillpoints rack and sold my HNE rack. M CD player and preamp I have owned since 2004.

Steve