Adona or Salamander Racks

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Christian.....I use the series 5 and 6....I like the 6 better as they use larger materials through out but the series 5 is nice for what it is. I have no issiues with the MDF, they sit atop aluminum cones that fit firmly into the cross members of the rack which couples the MDF to the frames so vibrations can move away from the shelf. In my current listening room I have suspended floors and when I had the Adona racks which weigh twice as much as the Solid Steel I got the same foot fall movement......maybe a bit more with the Adona as it was a heavier rack The Solid Steel is very rigid, built well, accomedates tall amps and price fair.

[o0OBillO0o]

[Whart]

Christian- it will be far easier to isolate your turntable from a springy floor by using a wall mount for your turntable, unless it is so 'massy' that a sheetrock wall won't support it.
I guess I've had a fair amount of experience with different racks and isolation devices over the years, from the early days of Target stands and turntable racks, to a massive, custom built Billy Bags unit in the later 90's, to the big dog finite elemente unit, to Grand Prix using the carbon fiber shelves and apex footers (which I still use for the line stage, its power supply and for amp stands); I also use an HRS platform directly beneath my turntable, which in turn sits on a very heavy, large antique prayer table that must weigh 300 lbs. That, with some judicious use of sorbothane under the prayer table legs, fully isolates my table, which has no suspension, but you are talking about a considerable amount of weight- the TT alone is around 160 lbs, the HRS platform must be another 50 or so and the prayer table is double all of that.
I think part of it depends on what the foundation is that the rack sits on, part of it is exactly what you are trying to achieve with the rack (you could conceivably use the rack as a solid foundation and then add aftermarket decoupling devices) and obviously, there's budget. There's also alot of different theories and some science on coupling vs. decoupling, which I'm not going to pretend expertise in, but there are basic questions about what you are trying to achieve, ie, isolating from footfalls, like a turntable problem is a different issue than trying to deal with component vibration generated by the component itself, e.g. a tube preamp or CD player. There are also issues of damping, by placing weights on top of various components. One trend I've seen is to get away from elaborate stands that perform the isolation or decoupling, use a simpler stand, like the Adona, and have the flexibility to 'tune' the components (not so much turntable but electronics), by using various aftermarket coupling or decoupling devices.
I just had Adona make a small 'amp platform' for the tube power supply to my phono stage. It is very well made, uses their skinny cones to couple with the floor (really more like a spike) and was quite reasonable in price. I am now experimenting with various aftermarket decouplers between the platform top and component, essentially to tune the sound.

[MyPal]

Originally Posted by rnrmf1971

I appreciate the valuable input from everyone. Call me crazy but I think that system looks pretty cool on the masonry blocks! No side sway there!

Jeff, what solid steel rack do you use or like? I recently looked at their website. They seem to be very well priced but I was questioning the turntable worthiness of them. The concept of mdf shelves gives me pause, as well. Having used a modular system (cheap-o VTI), I would avoid it based on how the top shelf would shake when walking nearby. That's what had me considering a solution with more mass...

Thanks,
Christian

I have used SolidSteel 5.5 racks. They have even better models now. They are very rigid & stable. I also liked the shelf cone isolation system. IMO they would work better for a TT than my current Quadraspire Sunoko shelves which uses the opposite principle of using the framework for decoupling & isolation.

You can also fill SolidSteel racks with leadshot or sand.

I still have the Solidsteel racks but they are currently not being used.

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Originally Posted by MyPal

I have used SolidSteel 5.5 racks. They have even better models now. They are very rigid & stable. I also liked the shelf cone isolation system. IMO they would work better for a TT than my current Quadraspire Sunoko shelves which uses the opposite principle of using the framework for decoupling & isolation.

You can also fill SolidSteel racks with leadshot or sand.

I still have the Solidsteel racks but they are currently not being used.

Wouldn't the shelf/cone be more of a coupling system.....

[darkstar]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

.the Salamander isn't very stable IMO it will sway, my Quad 30 was down right scary and not turntable friendly being able to put alot of gear in a small area and having adjustable shelves were Salamander strong points, I would not own one again.

My thoughts as well. I am very dissapointed with my Salamander and would not recommend it at all.

Rich

[Littlebunny]

Wow, I actually almost went for the newer Salamander Synergy series. Glad to hear first-hand experience about them.

I read that concrete blocks store and release low frequency vibrations. I guess that's not so good for a turntable if that's true. The suspended Michell sounds okay though on the concrete block / pine combination.

[rnrmf1971]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

Christian.....I use the series 5 and 6....I like the 6 better as they use larger materials through out but the series 5 is nice for what it is. I have no issiues with the MDF, they sit atop aluminum cones that fit firmly into the cross members of the rack which couples the MDF to the frames so vibrations can move away from the shelf. In my current listening room I have suspended floors and when I had the Adona racks which weigh twice as much as the Solid Steel I got the same foot fall movement......maybe a bit more with the Adona as it was a heavier rack The Solid Steel is very rigid, built well, accomedates tall amps and price fair.

Jeff, Are you saying the weight of the Adona rack contributed to it being more susceptible to footfall? Hmmm, I would've thought the opposite, although that's based strictly on my VTI being so lightweight and knowing how susceptible it is to any vibration.
I've read elsewhere that some people put their own shelves on the Solidsteel racks in place of the mdf, either wood or heavier mass shelves more like the Adona. While it's nice to have the option I guess, I don't know if it would result in the rack being any less susceptible to vibration.

Originally Posted by Whart

Christian- it will be far easier to isolate your turntable from a springy floor by using a wall mount for your turntable, unless it is so 'massy' that a sheetrock wall won't support it.
I think part of it depends on what the foundation is that the rack sits on, part of it is exactly what you are trying to achieve with the rack (you could conceivably use the rack as a solid foundation and then add aftermarket decoupling devices) and obviously, there's budget. ...but there are basic questions about what you are trying to achieve, ie, isolating from footfalls, like a turntable problem is a different issue than trying to deal with component vibration generated by the component itself...
I just had Adona make a small 'amp platform' for the tube power supply to my phono stage. It is very well made, uses their skinny cones to couple with the floor (really more like a spike) and was quite reasonable in price. I am now experimenting with various aftermarket decouplers between the platform top and component, essentially to tune the sound.

The first priority of any rack I buy is to make the turntable as impervious to vibration as possible. I have a VPI Aries 3 and I used the VPI unipivot tonearm that sits on one pointy spike. It would rock back and forth on that point when vibration, footfall, etc caused my rack to move, however subtly. It mortified me and I'm obsessed with eliminating the vibration as much as possible.
A wall rack is not really an option right now... The wall that my turntable is on is adjacent to another condo unit and whenever my neighbor shuts doors, the wall kind of vibrates, I think.

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Originally Posted by rnrmf1971

Jeff, Are you saying the weight of the Adona rack contributed to it being more susceptible to footfall? Hmmm, I would've thought the opposite, although that's based strictly on my VTI being so lightweight and knowing how susceptible it is to any vibration.
I've read elsewhere that some people put their own shelves on the Solidsteel racks in place of the mdf, either wood or heavier mass shelves more like the Adona. While it's nice to have the option I guess, I don't know if it would result in the rack being any less susceptible to vibration.



The first priority of any rack I buy is to make the turntable as impervious to vibration as possible. I have a VPI Aries 3 and I used the VPI unipivot tonearm that sits on one pointy spike. It would rock back and forth on that point when vibration, footfall, etc caused my rack to move, however subtly. It mortified me and I'm obsessed with eliminating the vibration as much as possible.
A wall rack is not really an option right now... The wall that my turntable is on is adjacent to another condo unit and whenever my neighbor shuts doors, the wall kind of vibrates, I think.

The Adona racks wiegh more than the Salamander and with my suspended floors the added weight made it more springy......its an inertia thing.

[Whart]

Originally Posted by A/V Solutions

The Adona racks wiegh more than the Salamander and with my suspended floors the added weight made it more springy......its an inertia thing.

Right. Wasn't the old way to mount a Linn to put it on a very light table for that reason?