Equipment support

All general audio posts go here.
User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

I packed my Linn, Naim and B&W system away in 2012 after my then two year old son smashed the screen of a quite expensive Panasonic TV. As my cartridge was an expensive Lyra Argo I had a fit and it disappeared off to storage at the family farm where I now do all my diy messing about.

None of it has ever gone back. I bought a AP20 in 2017 and put it with a Cambridge Audio CDP and little B&W C1 that my friend gave me. That was it until I bought a JBL charge 5 bluetooth jobbie for streaming to. As my diy system slowly comes together I wonder about equipment stands.

Doc hated stands and from an EMI perspective so do I. It's even worse when you don't have metal cases attached to mains safety earth. And many racks pack things in so closely. Transformers near sensitive circuitry can cause hum but in experiments I did a number of years ago moving the transformer further away from it's load and circuitry above and below brought musical improvements even when there was no audible hum to begin with.

So I am reluctant to go back to a rack. I still have my Quadraspire seven tier Q4 reference stand from when everything got packed away. It has 140mm distance between tiers and is quite a height when put together. This was quite expensive when i bought it new in 2000. It is the bog seat version with hole in the middle of the shelves and is slightly wobbly as the whole thing isn't done up Linn tight or anything like that :grin:

Well I got curious, got it out last night and put it together. It took ages to remember how to do it properly. Here it is with PL-71 perched on the top. I think the Pioneer suits it

Image

Certainly looks better than the monstrosity in the corner that i built out of 3" square fence posts and Ikea chipboard sheets. That was just for the easy access I needed for diy though.

Image

Excuse my grubby finger prints they are everywhere. This shows the bog seat design I mentioned. Supposed to cut down on resonances along with it's wobbliness :think:

Image
These users thanked the author karatestu for the post:
antonio66 (Thu Nov 11, 2021 11:30 pm)
DIY FREE ZONE

Grumpytim
Posts: 527
Joined: Fri May 19, 2017 11:03 am
Has thanked: 354 times
Been thanked: 330 times
Columbia

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by Grumpytim »

Eek that gives me flashbacks to the good old days of the Mana phase wars, and if it doesn't ring like a bell it's not right. I never really went for stands, the one I did buy (Sono something or other??) now does sterling service as an IT rack, I have no doubt the 1's and 0's are happier there. In it's favor it doesn't wobble, it's made out of iron and the shelves are adjustable so I could keep a reasonable degree of spacing between bits.
These users thanked the author Grumpytim for the post:
karatestu (Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:50 pm)

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

This Quadraspire MIGHT end up back home with some electronics sat on it temporarily whilst I get my equipment housing made. I'm thinking Pioneer PL-71, my unmodified Naim CD3.5 that I use to compare my modified one to, NVA Phono1, NVA AP20 and my diy spherical speakers if I get them done in time. If not then I will use either the B&W P4's with tweeters put back in (fero fluid changed ofc) or B&W C1.

Thinking of buying a Bluesound Node3 streamer/dac as well to introduce me to the world of serious streaming.

But the equipment housing that I have had in my head is quite an unorthodox affair and will look more like a large sideboard with no drawers or doors just a single removable front panel and top. It will be 100cm wide, 50cm deep and 80cm tall. All the power supplies are going at floor level remote from their load. I am obsessed with getting the transformers as far away from the circuitry as possible and that means the rectifiers and the bulk of the smoothing caps will have to be with them. A final capacitor will be located at the load.

Then I plan to have one full width shelf for housing LP's so it will be about 33cm deep and tall. That is to use up the space that would otherwise be vacant between the psu's and the next level which will be where the phono boards, power amp boards, source selector and volume controls will be. Wiring from psu's to what ever they power will run in the void at the back of the LP storage cut out - there will be about 14cm void behind the LP's.

On the top of the 100cm x 50cm top panel will be the PL-71 (psu offboarded) or LP12 , modified Naim CD3.5 (psu's off boarded) and Node3 streamer dac if I decide to get it. I am going to put the rca sockets for the sources on the top panel facing up somewhere behind the CDP as there will bea bit of space there.

The only cables on show will be the speaker cables and one or two power leads. I am going to star the mains connections in the psu level at the bottom so I need only one power lead. There will be quite a few DC cables but they will run internally up the void behind the LP's and then to the power amp's and phono amp on the next tier. Source (CDP, TT) DC cables will have to exit through a gland at the top of the back panel to get to the source.

Planning to make a wooden frame and cover it with Baltic Birch ply. Two front panels above and below the LP storage cut out will be removable for connecting the wiring and doing maintenance. Similarly with the top panel. I don't think the sides need to be removable. The only things visible on the front will be the TT and CDP on top and the soucre selector and volume control knobs somewhere near the top of the front panel.

This is quite ambitious (as is always the case when I'm involved) and I'm going to need metal tits to pull this off. It will probably take a long time hence the Quadraspire rack coming out to play as a temporary solution so I can finally listen to my LP's at home again after 10 years.

That's the plan anyway.
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

I photographed the bloody thing from the back :roll: and got the top shelf the wrong way around :roll: :roll:
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
CN211276
Posts: 6522
Joined: Tue Aug 09, 2016 9:29 am
Location: Cardiff
Has thanked: 1401 times
Been thanked: 976 times
EUROPEAN_UNION

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by CN211276 »

I bought one of those tall solid wooden Schriber self assembly racks back in 79 and it is still going strong. :grin: Has got a bit crowded more recently with all of my digital source components. So much so that, as I am not playing vinyl, two Sboosters are on top of the TT along with the smaller Cisco 2940 switch which supports the Eno ethernet filter resting on washing machine feet. LPs are stored at the bottom underneath a draw designed for cassette tape storage. The A80s are on the bottom shelf with a wide gap to the middle one which contains the Mscaler, on top of the Phono 1, OpticalRendu and an Sbooster. The P90SA and Qutest are on the highest shelf underneath the top where the TT is. A bit of an antique containing components which were way into the future. :lol: The cassette deck and CD player are long gone.
These users thanked the author CN211276 for the post:
karatestu (Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:05 pm)
Main System
NVA BMU, P90SA/A80s (latest spec), Cube 1s, TIS, TISC(LS7)
Sonore OpticalRendu, Chord Mscaler & Qutest, Sbooster PSs
Network Acoustics Eno, ifi iPurifier3, AQ JB FMJ, Cisco 2940 & 2960
DH Labs ethernet, BNC & USB cables, Farnells cat 8 ethernet cable

Second System
NVA P20/ A20, Cubettes, LS3, SSP, SC
Sonore MicroRendu, Chord Mojo 2 MCRU PSs, AQ Carbon USB cable & JB FMJ

Headphones
Grado SR325e/Chord Mojo, Beyerdynamic Avetho/AQ DF Colbat

RIP Doc

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

Grumpytim wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 5:23 pm Eek that gives me flashbacks to the good old days of the Mana phase wars, and if it doesn't ring like a bell it's not right. I never really went for stands, the one I did buy (Sono something or other??) now does sterling service as an IT rack, I have no doubt the 1's and 0's are happier there. In it's favor it doesn't wobble, it's made out of iron and the shelves are adjustable so I could keep a reasonable degree of spacing between bits.
Oh yeah, the mana wars are legendary :grin: I wish I hadn't gone for a rack either but I fell for the marketing bullshit and I was Linn and Naim worshipper at the time (2000) :naughty: My dealer (not seen a dealer in 17 years) laughed at my home made effort when he visited and I ended up buying the Quadraspire.

I actually hate lots of equipment on show (willy waving brand worship) with LED's doing your head in and cable spaghetti pissing everybody off including Jammy. Hence why I want it all hidden. The only things I envisage changing once this diy system is complete will be digital sources when they fail or become obsolete. Plus I need them on the top for access.
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

CN211276 wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 6:00 pm I bought one of those tall solid wooden Schriber self assembly racks back in 79 and it is still going strong. :grin: Has got a bit crowded more recently with all of my digital source components. So much so that, as I am not playing vinyl, two Sboosters are on top of the TT along with the smaller Cisco 2940 switch which supports the Eno ethernet filter resting on washing machine feet. LPs are stored at the bottom underneath a draw designed for cassette tape storage. The A80s are on the bottom shelf with a wide gap to the middle one which contains the Mscaler, on top of the Phono 1, OpticalRendu and an Sbooster. The P90SA and Qutest are on the highest shelf underneath the top where the TT is. A bit of an antique containing components which were way into the future. :lol: The cassette deck and CD player are long gone.
Cassette deck :shock: I've got a Yamaha KX580SE but i doubt that will get used again.
DIY FREE ZONE

Vinyl-ant
Posts: 765
Joined: Sat Jul 01, 2017 12:51 pm
Location: South yorkshire
Has thanked: 1 time
Been thanked: 363 times
Contact:
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by Vinyl-ant »

I have the top of a built in cupboard in the large alcove (cd transport, dac, big phono stage, jbe deck) the inside of said built in cupboard (power amp, balanced mains unit and psu for the phono stage),
A shelf, (input switch box and pre).

If i was normal this would be fine.
The record collection passed the thousand mark, so i had to build a bloody great big cabinet for them all to go in. 5 foot long, 18" deep by 3'3" tall. This has three more turntables on the top if it. 2 lencos and the jvc automatic that the wife uses. Plus 2 other phono stages.
And ive just about run out of space for lps...

It looks like the back room of tandys in the living room. Its all abit silly really...

And in a most ocd moment i arranged the decks in height order with the tallest one closest to the corner where the cupboard is, the stuff on the top of the cupboard is also arranged in height order with the tallest going into the same corner, and the same with the stuff on the shelf.

Im not normal.........
These users thanked the author Vinyl-ant for the post (total 2):
karatestu (Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:53 pm) • NSNO2021 (Fri Nov 12, 2021 8:25 am)
Analogue: oracle delphi sme 309, jbe series 3 cx unipivot dv20x2l, roksan xerxes tabriz vm750, jvc ql-y5f rigb at440, jvc ql-y3f vm750, lenco 75, technics sl150

Phono stages: cole lcr, benedict audio hothead

Digital: cyrus cd7, wiim mini x2, topping e30, jds labs el dac 2+

Amplification: nelson pass b1, nelson pass f5

Speakers: 15" fane aperiodic wardrobes

Cans: myryad z40, hifiman sundara + deva, fostex t50rp, sennheiser momentum on ear +over ear, b&w p5 and p7

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

Vinyl-ant wrote: Thu Nov 11, 2021 7:23 pm
It looks like the back room of tandys in the living room. Its all abit silly really...

And in a most ocd moment i arranged the decks in height order with the tallest one closest to the corner where the cupboard is, the stuff on the top of the cupboard is also arranged in height order with the tallest going into the same corner, and the same with the stuff on the shelf.

Im not normal.........
:lol: Back room of Tandy's.

I think anybody who is in to this OCD hobby of ours isn't normal :grin: But that height ordering of turntables certainly gets you an award. :grin:
DIY FREE ZONE

User avatar
karatestu
Posts: 5945
Joined: Sun Jan 08, 2017 4:40 pm
Location: North Yorkshire
Has thanked: 1865 times
Been thanked: 1378 times
Great Britain

Re: Equipment support

Unread post by karatestu »

That Quadraspire rack of mine was designed to be wobbly. I used to look at my LP12 sat teetering on top of that and hope it wasn't going to be windy. Then my son started trashing the house and it was out of there faster than a Tory minister's hands in the till.

Every time I buy an LP my wife has a standing joke about I just need something to play it on :grin: I can't waste my life away not listening to records so I have warned the kids they aren't allowed to even look at it when I bring stuff back into the living room. I used to make a joke about those Marantz imperial 7 heavily steel lined cabs weighing a ton and if my kids ever ran into one it would be like a car crashing in to a tree :lol:
DIY FREE ZONE

Post Reply