03 / 05
Rooms and racks
A great system needs a room, and the room needs furniture that keeps vibration out of the electronics. This sheet covers both: listening rooms in real houses, the racks and consoles that carry the system, and where you sit.
- Rooms
- 2
- Racks and consoles
- 17
- Shelving systems
- 5
- Stands and seating
- 15
Listening rooms
A late-1950s hi-fi set up in the Farnsworth House, the glass house Mies van der Rohe built outside Chicago. The numbers mark each piece of the system.
- 01Quad ESL, full-range electrostatic loudspeakers1957
- 02Thorens TD 124, idler-drive turntable1957
- 03McIntosh C22, valve preamplifier1963
- 04McIntosh MC275, stereo valve power amplifier1961
- 05Barcelona chair, Mies van der Rohe and Lilly Reich1929
- Project
- Listening room no. 01
- Site
- Farnsworth House, Plano, Illinois
- Architect
- Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, 1951
- View
- 19 mm equivalent, eye height 1.0 m
- Status
- A study. The house is real and the installation is imagined.
Racks
- 590 x 660 x 500Spain
Artesania AudioExoteryc Rack Pro
A rack suspended inside a second rack: a steel outer frame filled with anti-vibration material carries height-adjustable inner frames on stainless steel bars, with Teflon cylinders as a second decoupling level and an eight-spike floor system.
Price on request
- 600 x 590 x 710Germany
Finite ElementePagode Master Reference MKII (600 series, HD02 MR)
Metal resonator rods, developed with a university professor and tuned to each model, sit in the frame to turn vibration into heat, and the shelves couple to the frame through ceramic-ball tensioning screws.
$7,750
- 690 x 762 x 483USA
Harmonic Resolution SystemsSXR Audio Stand (19 x 21 in, 3-shelf frame)
A modular open aluminium frame in which each level holds an HRS isolation base as its shelf, expandable vertically or horizontally by adding bays.
A$13,600
- USA
ESS Rack
Shelves hang from vertically tensioned cables inside two masts, an open low-mass design, and Stillpoints Ultra isolators attach to the rack. The 20 and 26 in widths carry about 225 lb (102 kg) per shelf assembly and the 40 in width over 450 lb (Mono & Stereo review).
Price on request
- 584 x 1010 x 430Italy
S5-4 Hi-Fi Rack
Two-level decoupled shelves: secondary shelves sit on steel cones in a perforated main shelf with embedded steel reinforcement, and the aluminium tubes are filled with non-granular damping foam.
$1,299
- United Kingdom
QuadraspireSVT Performance HiFi Rack
Curved 32 mm solid aluminium columns carry bamboo ply shelves; the maker cites low-resonance materials and shapes, column heights from 100 to 326 mm and up to 8 tiers.
from £450
- Italy
BassocontinuoGolia (Ultimate Line)
The Ultimate Line flagship combines a mass damper and a floating shelf for the source with elastomer decoupling, weighs about 150 kg in basic form, and was tested with three-dimensional accelerometers.
Price on request
- 610 x 1016 x 699USA
Monaco Classic isolation system
A three-column modular system whose O-ring decoupled conical interfaces form what the maker calls a stepped dissipation cascade, with Sorbothane isolating the columns from the U-tube frames.
Price on request
- Japan
TAOCCSR Series (CSR-3S, 3 tiers)
Each tier uses two shelves in a floating design supported only by the tips of cast-iron spike insulators, with cast-iron powder in the pillars and in the honeycomb core of the upper shelves.
Price on request
- 665 x 824 x 590Poland
Rogoz Audio4SPB3N MKII
Four steel legs take adjustable quartz sand ballast and carry three sandwich shelves on cones and isolation discs, so the maker controls vibration through mass, stiffness and point contact with the floor.
€4,780
- USA
Critical Mass SystemsOlympus-Ultra
A dual-zone, 12-stage constrained-layer damping design: a 6-stage upper zone and a 6-stage lower zone, each a multi-layer sandwich of plate and damping materials, originally developed for turntables.
Price on request
- Poland
Franc Audio AccessoriesWood Block Rack
Each shelf rests on four ceramic-ball feet (three balls inside each Ceramic Disc Tablette) in a C-profile frame, with a thick lower shelf rated over 400 kg in the reviewed 1+3 build.
€8,250
- 1219 x 762 x 559USA
Equipment Rack #1
A made-to-order steel-frame rack with solid hardwood shelves that the maker says isolates components from each other and from room vibration. Fern & Roby lists no console or credenza on its site, so this rack represents the brand in the console group.
Price on request
Consoles
- 1727 x 883 x 483USA
Modern Record Console
A 300 lb walnut and steel console with a hand-built tube amplifier, two 6.5 in full-range drivers, a 300 W subwoofer and a turntable with a carbon fibre tonearm, switching between vinyl and Sonos or Bluetooth streaming.
Price on request
- 1499 x 737 x 483USA
The Standard
A mid-size console with a floating-plinth turntable (Hurst 300 rpm motor, custom aluminum tonearm, frosted acrylic platter), a Class D amplifier rated 200 W per channel and two-way Wrensilva speakers, holding up to 130 albums.
$14,900
- 1504 x 700 x 450Poland
Mo WoodworkTONN 150 Record Player Stand
A cabinet with three compartments behind slatted sliding fronts that let equipment breathe while closed, sized to fit popular turntables with room for an amplifier and up to 200 records.
$3,311
- 1245 x 737 x 356Switzerland
Symbol Audio x USMUSM Audio Console
A USM Haller-style frame with integrated 2-way coaxial speakers in a 12 L vented cabinet, a record display shelf and a hidden storage compartment, driven by any amplifier or an optional Sonos Amplifier.
from $9,165
Mid-century shelving
- United Kingdom
Vitsœ606 Universal Shelving System
Shelves, cabinets and desk modules hang from extruded aluminium E-profile tracks fixed to the wall, and Rams added LP racks and holders for Braun Audio 2 stereo components to the system.
Price on request
- 1524 x 660 x 391Switzerland
USM Haller Mid-Credenza (D)
Chromed steel tubes join through a patented ball connector to carry powder-coated steel panels, and this credenza has four drop-down doors that lock with the twist of a coin. Design was completed and the connector patented in 1965; commercial production began in 1969 (usm.com).
$4,257
- Sweden
String shelving system
Shelves hang on side hooks between open steel-wire panels, set either on floor ladders or on wall panels at a chosen height, so spacing can be changed at any time; SCP reports the system first made in 1949 and reissued in 2005.
from £111
- 1207 x 826 x 406USA
Eames Storage Unit, 2x2 with doors
A steel-framed modular case with perforated zinc-coated supports, molded plywood shelves and painted hardboard side and back panels, sold in sizes from 1x1 to 4x2 so it can be configured to suit specific rooms.
from $2,680
- Denmark
dk3Royal System
One of the first wall-mounted furniture systems: wall rails carry shelves and cabinets on brass or stainless steel hangers to lift furniture off the floor; designed in 1948 and relaunched by dk3 in 2010.
Price on request
Stands
- GrovemadeWood Headphone StandAmerican walnut, veg-tan leather, 304 stainless steel, cork feet, made in USAHand-molded vegetable-tanned leather forms a bowl that cradles the headphones, and the 2.25 lb weight keeps the stand stable.from $220
- ABYSS HeadphonesThe STANDAluminum frame, steel base, solid hardwood (walnut, cherry, sapele), made in USAA heavy steel base and low center of gravity give a 2.4 kg stand, 31 cm tall, that resists tipping.$499
- Audiophile Headphone StandSingle piece of solid walnut, oak or black ash, made in ItalyMilled from one piece of solid wood, then hand-sanded and finished, with lateral air channels for ventilation.from $299
Woo AudioAdjustable Headphone StandAnodized aluminum, black or silverAll-aluminum stand with an arm adjustable from 11 to 14 inches and a 3/4-inch-thick base.from $180
The room
- Eames Lounge Chair and OttomanSeven-ply veneer shells, die-cast aluminum base, leather, made in USAChair and ottoman are hand-assembled in Michigan, with individually upholstered, replaceable cushions.from $7,745
- Womb ChairFiberglass shell, plywood platform, steel rod base, leather or fabricA reinforced fiberglass shell on a plywood platform, padded with polyester fiber over a foam core, on a steel rod base.from $6,463
- Acoustic Art PanelsAbsorptive core, custom-printed acoustic fabricHand-made absorber panels rated NRC 1.05, printed with your own image or a library artwork, and GREENGUARD certified.from $199
- ArtnovionAtlantis FlowMarine-grade plywood frame, acoustic suede fabric, calibrated-cell acoustic foam; natural wood finishes such as birchA sequence of alternating slats forms a QRD-based diffusing face over the absorbing core.Price on request
- VicousticWavewood Diffuser Ultra MKIIExpanded polystyrene (EPS), high-pressure laminate (HPL), MDF; Brown Oak and Natural Oak finishesUpdated version of the Wavewood Diffuser Ultra, supplied with VicFix Mini fixings.€339
- GAIA-TITAN NeoIsolation feet for heavy loudspeakers and subwoofers, sold as sets of four: Theis Neo to 320 lb (145 kg), Rhea Neo to 420 lb (190 kg), Cronos Neo to 620 lb (280 kg); 8.5 mm integrated height adjustmentOnly the lower isolator touches the floor, and NRC Canada testing of IsoAcoustics isolation showed less cabinet vibration than spikes with consistent response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz.Price on request
- USM x Symbol Vinyl Storage Cabinet x1Powder-coated steel panels (pure white, anthracite grey, golden yellow, steel blue, graphite black), chromed tube frame, made in SwitzerlandThe flip-bin front lets records be browsed like a record-store crate in a 15 inch square footprint.$1,563
- QuadraspireSVT Performance HiFi RacksSolid bamboo ply shelves (cherry, black, dark, natural), solid aluminium columns and feet, made in UKMade in Britain since 1995, now at a factory near Bath.Price on request
- Armchair 41 "Paimio"Form-bent solid birch lamella frame, form-pressed birch plywood seat shell, made in FinlandAalto designed it for the interior of the Paimio tuberculosis sanatorium in 1932.Price on request
- CH445 Wing ChairStainless steel base frame, solid beech frame under the upholstery, leather or fabric upholsteryWegner designed it in 1960 and Carl Hansen & Søn relaunched it in 2006.Price on request
- pp19 Papa Bear ChairSolid wood frame (soap-treated or oiled oak or ash, cherry, walnut), upholstery of cotton, palm leaves, tow plant fibre, horsehair and coil springs, made in DenmarkDanish craftsmen spend a minimum of two weeks hand-building each chair.Price on request