[gimmeheadroom]

I have a four shelf stereo shelf unit and I am out of space.

From the bottom up:

integrated amp
SACD player
CD player + minidisk deck stacked (bad, runs hot)
headamps and 27 inch monitor

I have a lot of space on top of the amp and some space on top of the CD player. But they both vent to the top. How are you guys stacking your equipment?

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I have a four shelf stereo shelf unit and I am out of space.

From the bottom up:

integrated amp
SACD player
CD player + minidisk deck stacked (bad, runs hot)
headamps and 27 inch monitor

I have a lot of space on top of the amp and some space on top of the CD player. But they both vent to the top. How are you guys stacking your equipment?

I had something like this before. CDP on top so I don't bend down when switching discs. Tube preamp one tier down, dual mono power amp at the third from bottom, line conditioner at the bottom.

You can just get another rack and set the TV and maybe the integrated amp on that so the speaker cable runs don't have to change then just move your old rack to one side.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

I don't have space for another rack. I'm trying to figure out if there are any options for stacking gear within an existing rack. Usually I just see guys stacking gear on top of gear. It's bad but it seems to work.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

I don't have space for another rack. I'm trying to figure out if there are any options for stacking gear within an existing rack. Usually I just see guys stacking gear on top of gear. It's bad but it seems to work.

When I only had one tier I had the amp on top of my older Onkyo CDP. The front panel on that was a sheet of metal folded over the top. It was cracked there by the amp so watch out for that. If you have a solid billet faceplate then it isn't sticking towards the back of the CDP so it's not a problem.The whole idea here is you get to have something heavy to dampen vibrations on the CDP.

Problem in your case is you have two source units. Usually the TT goes on top of the CDP since there's no other ergonomic way to make that work. You could probably just stack the MD recorder over the CDP.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

There isn't a lot of room for stacking and everything vents to the top. I have three sources actually and planning on buying another shortly. Right now the MD is stacked on the CDP (see above) but the MD runs very hot and it seems like a bad idea.

Good problems to have, I guess...

 

[ProtegeManiac]

Right now the MD is stacked on the CDP (see above) but the MD runs very hot and it seems like a bad idea.

How do you tell it's hot, by touching the top? Touch the bottom. If it's not hot down there then it's not going to cook the CDP. Not that it willat any temp below a point where it's hotter than making med rare sous vide.

There isn't a lot of room for stacking and everything vents to the top.

What exactly does your rack look like? Because if it's anything like what I posted then:

1. ...you can use these for the MD over the CDP to get more space for ventilation and putting it farther from the CDP (and, no, if heat is already a problem, then you don't want them to put that above the amplifier, even if it's Class D), and...

2. ...is it sealed all over all sides and only open at the top? Because if not then the hot air goes out in all those directions if there's a wooden platform above.

There isn't a lot of room for stacking...I have three sources actually and planning on buying another shortly.

I'm not sure what kind of help you really expect with that if you have qualms about stacking the hot MD over the CDP, the amp is a worse choice when heat is a concern, you can't put another rack in there...just get the cones.

 

[gimmeheadroom]

How do you tell it's hot, by touching the top? Touch the bottom. If it's not hot down there then it's not going to cook the CDP. Not that it willat any temp below a point where it's hotter than making med rare sous vide.

That's a good point and it's hard to tell because there is not much room to work. When the minidisc deck is recording the side by the transport is really hot. The MD deck is a rack mount unit with small feet sitting directly on top of the CD player (about half inch clearance) and there are about 3 inches between the top of the MD deck and the shelf above it. I often run them at the same time because I record off the USB DAC in the MD deck and also play through it sometimes.

What exactly does your rack look like? Because if it's anything like what I posted then:

1. ...you can use these for the MD over the CDP to get more space for ventilation and putting it farther from the CDP (and, no, if heat is already a problem, then you don't want them to put that above the amplifier, even if it's Class D), and...

I thought about some kind of spacers or spikes but that won't work well for equipment like disc players since you're gonna be putting some lateral pressure on them.

2. ...is it sealed all over all sides and only open at the top? Because if not then the hot air goes out in all those directions if there's a wooden platform above.

It's a normal open shelving unit similar to what you posted. I'm thinking about maybe running some PC fans during disk burning.

I'm not sure what kind of help you really expect with that if you have qualms about stacking the hot MD over the CDP, the amp is a worse choice when heat is a concern, you can't put another rack in there...just get the cones.

Yeah I know you're a difficult personality Seriously I was wondering if anybody sold shelves or stacking units that are designed to make use of the wasted space in these fancy overpriced "racks." I'll never buy one again after this. Next time I'm going with a standard 19 inch equipment rack since some of my gear is rack mount. It will be much easier to lay stuff out properly with shelves for the equipment that isn't rackable.