Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Dalton

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Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage.

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Posted by Dalton on February 20, 2001 at 02:34:39

Over the weekend I switched from a short enclosed wooden audio rack with thick wooden shelves (too small to hold all my equipment - and a little ugly) to one of those stylish Italian tall metal racks with glass shelves. The result is a loss of focus and a shallower soundstage using my Sony 777ES SACD player. I may or may not be imagining a certain harshness to the treble and boominess to the low bass that I hadn't noticed before the rack change. I made no cable or connection changes - the system is still configured the same way. I placed the speakers (Vienna Acoustics Beethovens) in exactly the same location.

My questions: Is it the metal composition of the rack that might be affecting the sound quality? If so, how can I correct this? Or would I benefit from some sort of isolation between the SACD player and the glass shelf to dampen vibration? (The new rack is not as stable as the old one.) If so, given that I only have about 6 inches of clearance and need room to reach into the top of this 55lb player, what would you recommend - and how much will it cost?

I'm new to this "audiophile" game, and slowly coming to the conclusion that what at first seemed like insane "tweaks" might not be so unreasonable after all. God help me if I am ever able to hear a difference in power cords or the difference between $2000 and $3000 speaker wire!

Thanks in advance for any help. And please, don't suggest freezing the rack. That would be....insane.

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Topic - Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Dalton 02:34:39 02/20/01 (16)

Sling that ring! - Simon Linton 12:57:44 02/21/01 (1)

Re: Sling that ring! - Dalton 23:25:59 02/21/01 (0)

I very much recommend.... - Steve 05:04:40 02/21/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - timoteus 22:21:21 02/20/01 (4)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Dalton 22:41:41 02/20/01 (3)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - timoteus 00:39:07 02/21/01 (2)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - badman 16:07:05 02/21/01 (1)

Corners - Steve 02:54:37 02/22/01 (0)

Did you make sure all the wires are connected properly? (nt) - jcenter 12:23:31 02/20/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - rhyno 10:18:30 02/20/01 (1)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - jasonz29 11:22:47 02/20/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Roland 09:57:09 02/20/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - geoffkait 08:34:43 02/20/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - badman 06:19:51 02/20/01 (0)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Alan 03:16:10 02/20/01 (1)

Re: Help! Rack change led to poor soundstage. - Dalton 20:19:55 02/20/01 (0)

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