Speaking to Ivan can be hazardous to your wallet! When I speak to Ivan I get into this "stream of consciencesness" mode and the rest is history! Unlike most others in the business, it's one phone call and Ivan takes care of all the details! Which brings me to the current subject of two HRS Racks that dropped on Wednesday. I regret not thinking to take a picture of the pallet as it sat in my driveway. There were twelve boxes stacked in a pyramid shape weighing in at 835lbs!
Not being nearly as organized and disciplined as most here at AA, I was on my own to install these monsters. Of course if I had called a select few friends to lend a hand they would have responded, but that would have meant waiting hours if not days.
I had no idea what was in store for me. First order of business was to break down the pyramid into it's component parts and carry them to the basement. Luckily no box was more than 100lbs. There was a box marked "Open First" which contained the tools, instructions and shelf feet. The instructions were simple and straight forward. The machining tolerances are simply amazing. If you've ever purchased anything from Ikea you'll have a sense of the task ahead. That's where the comparison to Ikea abruptly ends! In my initial feedback to Ivan I was hard-pressed to find a comparison for build quality. I subsequently compared it to the bespoke Bentley Azure process that takes 10 months from planning to completion (1st class, solid, substantive & beautiful). There were two large bags of bolts included for assembly. The slightly larger bolts were for the frame. Each bolt could be inserted and screwed down to nearly locking with your fingers alone. This was quite helpful because the number of bolts was intimidating. The remaining task ahead involved simply following the easy instructions. After about five hours I had both frames 'square', 'level' and positioned. These are critical to the racks functioning at their best, according to the instructions.
At five hours in, you'd think the hard part was behind me. My next step was to install the shelving feet onto the inside walls of the frame. No big deal for the top and bottom shelves. Based on the height of the racks, 31 inches, I had calculated the amount of equipment that it could hold. No worries. I bought two racks to give me some future expansion flexibility. I placed the middle shelf feet the distance from the top shelf that would accommodate the MEN220, approximately seven inches from the top. The bottom shelf was to hold the C500C/T combo. It was then that I noticed my calculations were off by more than twelve inches, WTF! Although the rack from the floor to the top shelf is 31 inches, interior usable space shrinks quickly to about 18 inches. This is due to the amount of space required for the shelf/shelf feet (4 1/4 inches for each shelf). I was not a happy camper uninstalling the middle shelves (65lbs/each) on both racks. Hey, but it is what it is.
A little note on the shelves (M3X Isolation Base). They're a stand alone product that has been integrated as well into the HRS rack system. They are quite substantive at 1-1/2 inches thick with a 1/2 inch billet aluminum container and a granite slab in it's core. The polished granite serves as the equipment contact surface. They're a little hard to control while placing them into the rack because of the weight. The billet aluminum has edges that will mar/cut the wood if touched even ever so slightly.
Fortunately there's a happy ending to this long story. After more than nine hours getting these racks up, it was finally time to listen to some music. I started with familiar music from my MacPro, first Red Book and then Hirez. My initial impression was that the music was no worse than before. If there was a difference, it was definitely subtle. My next step was to spin some records with my JA Michell Gyro SE turn table. To say that the difference was dramatic would be an understatement! Holy Sh!t Batman! I could not recognize this table. If you had blind folded me, I would have bet it was a much higher grade table. Dynamics were thrilling. I listened to Janos Starker, cellist, play Dvorak and Bach (Mercury Records), Miles, Coltrane, Sinatra, Nat, Monk, Bonnie Raitt, Anita Baker, Aretha, Nora, Tony Bennet, Mahalia (you get the point). I could/would not stop listening for hours. I think the impact was not as much playing digital because I had the benefit of the SRA stands for the C500 prior to this. I'm still in the discovery mode for the racks. I'll take a few weeks to listen for differences. I'll have a completely new vinyl rig by the end of the week to break in as well. Thanks Ivan!
Reg
05-28-2012, 01:55 AM
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