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Equipment Rack Suggestion

post #1 of 17
6/3/07 at 3:58am
Thread Starter 
I am looking for a recommendation on an amplifier rack. I have been looking at the Lovan Classic I and the VTI BL304. They both are the 3 point isolation/modular racks. I kind of like that look and want easy access to the back of my equipment. 4 or 5 levels would be good too.

I am NOT looking for something crazy that costs over 300 bones. Any tips would be great!
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post #2 of 17
6/3/07 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by M3NTAL View Post
I am looking for a recommendation on an amplifier rack. I have been looking at the Lovan Classic I and the VTI BL304. They both are the 3 point isolation/modular racks. I kind of like that look and want easy access to the back of my equipment. 4 or 5 levels would be good too.

I am NOT looking for something crazy that costs over 300 bones. Any tips would be great!
Can you find 4 levels of Lovan for less than $300.00? The cheapest I've found them is $79.00 per level.
I think they're a decent rack if you can get it in your price range. My only gripe would be the thickness of the shelves. I'd like to see a little more mass, but considering the outlandish cost of a lot of units out there these would be a good bet I think.

Of coarse if you have some tools and a little DIY skill you can exceed the Lovan quality for a fraction of the cost. I have less than $100.00 in my 5 tier rack.

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post #3 of 17
6/3/07 at 2:43pm
Thread Starter 
Yeh Yeh - Rub it in Mr. Wood Worker!

The lovan 4 tier can be had for under 300 for sure.
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post #4 of 17
6/3/07 at 3:25pm
Thread Starter 
Anyone know why the Classic I and the Sovereign HiFi cost fluctuates so much? They both use the same boards, one has round tubing and the other has square. I don't think that would be the 200 dollar difference.
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post #5 of 17
6/3/07 at 3:30pm
Thread Starter 
I looked into it some more - the HiFi weighs 100lbs while the Classic weighs 40.
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post #6 of 17
6/3/07 at 3:41pm
You can buy the cheaper unit and mass load it yourself by placing something heavy on the top. Or go to your nearest granite and marble dealer and ask for cutoffs. Place the cutoffs on top of your components. They're generally very cheap, they may even give you some.
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post #7 of 17
6/4/07 at 8:42pm
I'm in the process of building a similar rack to what swt61 built. It's not quite as beefy, but I have no idea how swt built his for under $100. Maybe plywood costs more around me though... but 1/2" plywood costs over $40 for anything veneer. 3/4" is only about $10 more. oh well... I'll have matching speaker stands when I'm done.
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post #8 of 17
6/5/07 at 11:05am
Quote:
Originally Posted by soloz2 View Post
I'm in the process of building a similar rack to what swt61 built. It's not quite as beefy, but I have no idea how swt built his for under $100. Maybe plywood costs more around me though... but 1/2" plywood costs over $40 for anything veneer. 3/4" is only about $10 more. oh well... I'll have matching speaker stands when I'm done.
Baltic Birch (cabinet grade voidless ply) is $18.00 for a 5' x 5' 1/2" thick sheet in my area. I simply bonded three pieces together to form my 1 1/2" shelves. I used less than two sheets. The edges of the Baltic Birch will look much better than standard hardwood veneered plywood due to the voidless nature of the product. It's also more stable for the same reason.
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post #9 of 17
6/5/07 at 12:36pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by swt61 View Post
Baltic Birch (cabinet grade voidless ply) is $18.00 for a 5' x 5' 1/2" thick sheet in my area. I simply bonded three pieces together to form my 1 1/2" shelves. I used less than two sheets. The edges of the Baltic Birch will look much better than standard hardwood veneered plywood due to the voidless nature of the product. It's also more stable for the same reason.
yeah, they didn't have that. I just got 1 sheet of 3/4" oak and had enough to make 6 shelves, 2 speaker stands with a little left over.
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post #10 of 17
6/5/07 at 3:55pm
Well in your case then I would probably be inclined to use some of that iron on veneer edging in Oak to trim the edges of the plywood.
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post #11 of 17
6/6/07 at 12:14am
Quote:
Originally Posted by swt61 View Post
Well in your case then I would probably be inclined to use some of that iron on veneer edging in Oak to trim the edges of the plywood.
Exactly what I'm going to do! just have to pick it up...
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post #12 of 17
6/6/07 at 6:09am
What did you use for the legs/posts on your rack?
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post #13 of 17
6/6/07 at 6:55am
Not exactly a 'high mass' rack, but I like spider racks.

http://www.finite-elemente.de/en/products/spider
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post #14 of 17
6/6/07 at 9:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Hellacious D View Post
What did you use for the legs/posts on your rack?
Not sure who your asking here, but if it's me I used 1 1/4" poplar dowel that I dyed Black. They set into recessed holes in the bottom of the shelves.

Here's a link to the thread that explains it in better detail.

http://www.head-fi.org/forums/showthread.php?t=239614
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post #15 of 17
6/13/07 at 3:14pm
Just ordered me up the VTI 304 with an extra shelf from www.standsandmounts.com. Came in at $321 shipped to CA. Looks clean enough for me.


DYI would be great but alas I'm an apartment dweller with limited access to the proper tools!
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