Hi Tony, many thanks for this. But im looking for something more budget friendly. Maybe theres nothing really cheaper than $599 out there but who knows what ideas the forum may throw up.

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-28 01:10 Old thread, new query.

Im interested in any thoughts on value hifi racks that wont break the bank. Those described here sound great but way out of my league, in money and my setup.

At present Ive a very basic Ikea TV table set up which is cheap but very cheerful ro my ears.

Also, having had to move my system yet again, the floor is a tad too bouncy and i have to tiptoe about so as not to needle jump. Pah!

I would rather not go for a wall rack so what standalone rack do folks rate for their LP12 or given my floor is a wall rack the only sensible option.

Cheers

I'm using Quadraspire. I recently bought a 5 shelf rack on eBay for £150.

I started with a mix of glass and maple shelves but discovered that all maple sounds significantly better, so would avoid glass.

Pay close attention to levelling, use spikes and maybe Linn Skeets. I've been v impressed by the effect of Skeets on my speakers

springwood64 wrote: ↑2021-03-28 08:46

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-28 01:10 Old thread, new query.

Im interested in any thoughts on value hifi racks that wont break the bank. Those described here sound great but way out of my league, in money and my setup.

At present Ive a very basic Ikea TV table set up which is cheap but very cheerful ro my ears.

Also, having had to move my system yet again, the floor is a tad too bouncy and i have to tiptoe about so as not to needle jump. Pah!

I would rather not go for a wall rack so what standalone rack do folks rate for their LP12 or given my floor is a wall rack the only sensible option.

Cheers

I'm using Quadraspire. I recently bought a 5 shelf rack on eBay for £150.

I started with a mix of glass and maple shelves but discovered that all maple sounds significantly better, so would avoid glass.

Pay close attention to levelling, use spikes and maybe Linn Skeets. I've been v impressed by the effect of Skeets on my speakers

Now thats what Im talking about! Will research. I too have the Majik stands on skeets. Nice. Cheers.

If you are prepared to give glass a try then I recommend the Stands Unique products. No longer available new but very good value on eBay. They lend themselves to experimentation as the uprights are very solid. The also benefit from being levelled and the spikes placed on skeets. I use them with the equipment either directly onto glass or with a bamboo platform (in my case the Ikea Aptitlig) between the equipment an the glass. You can also try the Idea Gunstig mats (some king of silicone polymer I think). I find it much easier to experiment by placing other materials onto glass than by placing glass onto other materials.

The glass Srtands Unique TT isolation shelf also works well but this is very sensitive to placement and needs close attention paying to levelling and seating of the spikes. Again you can then experiment by placing other materials on the glass. Some people don't like the LP12 onto the bamboo platform, but I find that the Aptitlig onto glass works really well. It is quite possible that bamboo platforms are inmacted by the base on which they sit.

Finally, the SU stands come in two thicknesses of both glass and upright. The more common is 6mm glass and regular uprights but there are also 10mm glass options (better) and 'chunky' uprights (better still). 'Chunky uprights are easy to spot as the leg is the same width as the top cap (the regular is about 15-20mm thinner than the top cap). Combinations (10mm and regular uprights) are also found. Most common is regular upright with 6mm glass, best compromise is 10mm and regular upright, Chunky upright with 10mm glass is rare. I recommend the "Sound Tower" if you can find one.

Wow, really appreciate the detailed response! I will certainly have a look. All for the future atm but i like to have my ducks in a row. Then pick them off one by one:)

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-28 07:14 Hi Tony, many thanks for this. But im looking for something more budget friendly. Maybe theres nothing really cheaper than $599 out there but who knows what ideas the forum may throw up.

I understand Discodave, and no doubt there are cheaper turntable stands than $599.00. The reason I purchased the NOKTable was because everyone said it sounded better than other stands (regardless of price). And fortunately, it really was an improvement over the Quadraspire rack and The Sound Organization stand.

Cheers

Is that the one Tom OK is associated with? If so I have no doubt I would think the same way.

Maybe one day. :)

Was there talk of an Ikea small table doing a decent job of keeping the Lp12 from misbehaving?

Also any experience of the Sounds unique glass wall shelf specifically? One going relatively cheap on uk Ebay.

Have you Dasher?

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-29 21:17 Is that the one Tom OK is associated with? If so I have no doubt I would think the same way.

Maybe one day. :)

It is the turntable stand that Thomas O'Keefe designed, and had manufactured. In addition to sounding great, it's built better than all the turntable stands I've ever seen!

Haha brilliant - Eeek US shipping and taxes for me. Any UK dealers?

springwood64 wrote: ↑2021-03-28 08:46

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-28 01:10 Old thread, new query.

Im interested in any thoughts on value hifi racks that wont break the bank. Those described here sound great but way out of my league, in money and my setup.

At present Ive a very basic Ikea TV table set up which is cheap but very cheerful ro my ears.

Also, having had to move my system yet again, the floor is a tad too bouncy and i have to tiptoe about so as not to needle jump. Pah!

I would rather not go for a wall rack so what standalone rack do folks rate for their LP12 or given my floor is a wall rack the only sensible option.

Cheers

I'm using Quadraspire. I recently bought a 5 shelf rack on eBay for £150.

I started with a mix of glass and maple shelves but discovered that all maple sounds significantly better, so would avoid glass.

Pay close attention to levelling, use spikes and maybe Linn Skeets. I've been v impressed by the effect of Skeets on my speakers

A cheap way of improving the Quadraspire racks substantially is putting an additional shelf of airplane grade birch plywood on top of every level. Mine are with 16 x 0,5 mm levels and are 8 mm thick, they cost around € 32,-/50 x 50 cm piece. Here's a picture, I have stained it in walnut colour. I use Oehlbach Mini Spikes in each corner under the additional levels, placing them in the middle sounds worse.

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-29 21:20 Was there talk of an Ikea small table doing a decent job of keeping the Lp12 from misbehaving?

The Lack dates back to the 80s and is still cheap as chips and now available in more finishes, such as oak. If you don't want to visit Ikea then you can buy them delivered on ebay for about 15 quid. If you have a trampolin or Urika then leave it as it is. If not, then there's a small improvement to be made by cutting away the bottom and removing all the packing. One downside is the size which is a lot deeper than a normal rack.

For a rack, I like the Isoblue but they are made from solid ash and still quite expensive second hand. Isoblue HiFi sell a nice wall shelf too but never tried it. Someone on PFM stuck a wanted add in for one of these last week and a member responded with an offer so sometimes you just need to ask.



I seem to recall my LP12 skips less on the Lack than the Isoblue rack. Perhaps it's because the LP12 sits lower on a lack so there's less opportunity for lateral movement, which is what mainly causes skipping. I prefer the sound of a non-tramp LP12 on a Lack to the Isoblue but if the deck's setup right then it's not gonna spoil my fun either way. Can't recall a preference for the Urika deck. I would just get a Lack anyway - they are so cheap and always a handy thing to have in the house - just unscrew the legs and store it under a sofa.

Springwood's £150 for a Quadraspire sounds like a real bargain to me.

Discodave wrote: ↑2021-03-30 11:55 Haha brilliant - Eeek US shipping and taxes for me. Any UK dealers?

I picked-up my NOKTable from Overture Audio, so I'm not really sure what the shipping costs are. However, the tax might actually depend on where it's purchased. You could check with Thomas O'Keefe regarding UK dealers.

Cheers

Many thanks for all the useful info folks.

Charlie, love the photo!

Charlie1 wrote: ↑2021-03-30 12:22 Springwood's £150 for a Quadraspire sounds like a real bargain to me.

Over the years, Quadraspire has been made in many different materials, with two thicknesses of upright, and with differing cutouts or patterning on the underside of the shelves. The latest SVT bamboo shelves are notably better than either the (cheaper) Q4 bamboo, or the solid wood SVT. I've not compared with earlier versions, but there must have been reasons for the evolution?

I used Isoblue for a long time. Possibly as good as any but the best/recent Quadraspire versions for electronics, but I found Ikea Lack much better for my LP12. I tried several stands with the LP12, only the SVT bamboo was decisively better than the Lack.

Very helpful David!

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2021-03-30 12:15 A cheap way of improving the Quadraspire racks substantially is putting an additional shelf of airplane grade birch plywood on top of every level. Mine are with 16 x 0,5 mm levels and are 8 mm thick, they cost around € 32,-/50 x 50 cm piece. Here's a picture, I have stained it in walnut colour. I use Oehlbach Mini Spikes in each corner under the additional levels, placing them in the middle sounds worse.

Where did you source your birch? I can only find plywood with far fewer plys

You can find them here, look for the specs I described, I think you‘ll find them on page 5
https://shop.sperrholzshop.de/cgi-bin/s ... subid=6929

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2022-01-16 22:25 You can find them here, look for the specs I described, I think you‘ll find them on page 5
https://shop.sperrholzshop.de/cgi-bin/s ... subid=6929

Perfect. Thanks!

As the German terms may be difficult for you to understand: they state that non-EU purchasers should inquire about shipping costs first and that orders can be sent by e-mail.

Tendaberry wrote: ↑2022-01-18 12:10 As the German terms may be difficult for you to understand: they state that non-EU purchasers should inquire about shipping costs first and that orders can be sent by e-mail.

That's helpful thanks. Do you use the Oehlbach Mini Spikes pointing upwards? Is there anything securing the spikes to the lower or upper surface?

I have just experimented with the support for my Hakai.

I screwed downward facing steel spikes into a 35cm x 35cm x 8mm birch ply and placed it under Hakai, unsecured on the quadraspire shelf on small pucks. There's nothing to stop the birch shelf from sliding around on the quadraspire shelf, and resistance between the shelf surface and the pucks is pretty small, so it slides easily. I suspect this is bad.

This set up is unequivocally a step backwards. Tonally noticeably harsher and instantly out of tune.

The Oehlbach Mini Spikes are pointing upwards and they aren’t secured to the rack shelves. I guess you could secure the cones by using double-sided tape, but there’s no need, because of the components’ weight. I haven’t tried with tape though…
I suspect the result highly depends on what type of extra shelf you are using and don’t think spikes facing down is a good solution.
I used leftover parts under my Qnap and it was clearly better.