equipment rack shelf

Discussion in 'DIY Discussion' started by rob, Oct 21, 2004.

  1. rob

    rob SCHMOOOOKIN

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    im in the process of rebuilding my system (sold it ages ago due to moving) and im now starting to think about sometning to put it all on.
    my old system was on a dedicated four shelf , spiked rack but my new flat dosent have to room , well it does but the other half recons a system rack will take up to much room and she thinks they look stupid.when i try to explain about isolation from vibration and microphonics its the old "not now darling", so im looking into dedicated shelving to put my amp , cd player and tuner on.
    beside the chimney breast there is an alcove and its going to go in there.
    only two sides of each shelf will be against a wall , the front and one side wont.
    still not sure as to how im going to do this , i mean isolate the shelving from the shelf brackets and more to the point, will i have to?
    has anyone ever used shelving as a hi fi rack before?

    cheers,

    Rob.
     
    rob, Oct 21, 2004
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  2. rob

    julian2002 Muper Soderator

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    my initial reaction to these situations is 'grow some balls man - it's your house too' but then i'm divorced so taking marital advice from me probably isn't a good idea.
    you could try putting rubber or neoprene washers / gromits between the shelf and bracket to afford some isolation. mana do a wall shelf - normally for turntables but can't see why it wouldn;t work for other kit. there is also the option of air suspension although bulging inner tubes aren;t very lawrence.
    cheers


    julian
     
    julian2002, Oct 21, 2004
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  3. rob

    specialk Luna-tic

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    Two friends each have their turntables mounted on target wall mounted shelves with good effect - one has a Linn Axis, the other a Pink Triangle.

    Finite elemente have announced wall mounted shelves.

    But expect more discussions about cables as these will probably be more visible, unless you hide the whole thing in a cabinet perhaps.
     
    specialk, Oct 22, 2004
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  4. rob

    MartinC Trainee tea boy

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    Well, a spiked rack doesn't isolate from floor vibrations in the first place IMO, so you're no worse off. In fact if you have a suspended wooken floor and you're talking a solid brick wall you'll probably be better off with wall mounting. If you want to go for some sort of isolation, I'd be looking at some sort of air cushion approach, whether between the shelf and it's supports, or between the shelf and the kit. You could for instance build a good, solid shelf, and then get hold of some siesmic sinks, or voodoo air platforms, if you didn't want to DIY something with bike inner tubes or bubble wrap.
     
    MartinC, Oct 22, 2004
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  5. rob

    rob SCHMOOOOKIN

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    im thinking of using the tnt sand box only instead of sand using air , inner tube or similar.
    the box casing would be screwed to shelving brackets with perhaps some thick rubber between the brackets and the wall/ casing.
    the box itself would have to be a lot more shallow than the tnt otherwise it would just look silly.
    ive got a top floor flat with wooden floor and i can really feel it vibrate , although i dont have any speaker stands yet even with them i can still see this as being a problem.


    cheers,


    Rob.
     
    rob, Oct 22, 2004
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  6. rob

    rob SCHMOOOOKIN

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    rob, Oct 22, 2004
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  7. rob

    MartinC Trainee tea boy

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    Sounds like a good plan to me Rob. I have an upstairs flat too, and would be looking into a wall mounting plan if I wasn't renting...
     
    MartinC, Oct 22, 2004
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  8. rob

    maddog 2

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    I have my system mounted in an alcove as you propose. The CDP and pre sit directly on Target wall shelves and the tuner and power amp sit on a solid oak shelve just underneath, as the (somewhat old) photo shows

    [​IMG]

    For me, this is a good solution because:

    a) I don't like the look of racks
    b) I don't like the height of racks (chest height is much better for me)
    c) I have a floating solid oak floor which doesn't help

    What I've found is that the components on the solid oak shelf resonate much more than those on the Target wall shelves. If you decide to use a wooden shelf then be wary of this.
     
    maddog 2, Oct 22, 2004
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  9. rob

    rob SCHMOOOOKIN

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    thanks guys.
    i dont plan on having the shelf any bigger than the size of the amp,cdp etc.
    although the alcove is about 4 feet wide the shelves will occupie just one corner of the alcove.
    i want a nice big plant to occupie the other corner.
     
    rob, Oct 22, 2004
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  10. rob

    maddog 2

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    Have you considered bolting a rack to the wall?

    Okay it might look a bit funny but if you chose a nice looking rack it could work. Then you'd have solid shelving on which to put your hifi with spiked shelves too.
     
    maddog 2, Oct 22, 2004
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  11. rob

    maddog 2

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    ps. I'd stronglt recommend NOT using the corner of the room to locate the hifi as it tends to resonate much more than the corner by the chimney breast.

    I initially tried the CDP in the corner and had to reposition it as it was buzzing like mad
     
    maddog 2, Oct 22, 2004
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  12. rob

    lordsummit moderate mod

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    If you're going to do it between the chimney breast and the wall you could usefully use thick MDF. You'll probably need to batten it all the way round if you want to put anything substantial up or they'll bow. If your significant other says a batten at the back is no good why not suggest a built in cupboard. Use 2x2 to make the frame at the front, and you can probably buy louvre doors or make some out of MDF. Get some fancy beading and a mitre box and the job'll be a good un! Look at some of the designs you find in victorian houses. You could use then store loads of CD's etc in the space not taken up by the hifi.
     
    lordsummit, Oct 22, 2004
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