![]() The legs would be screwed to the tables in the usual way that Ikea intends using the screws they provide. The legs would be cut to the desired shelf height, with their hollow ends filled with timber. Being a tall and relatively well built person, I scientifically concluded that if the table can hold me, it’s man enough for a hi-fi component. Jumping on the table yielded no movement either. ![]() I put this rating to the test by assembling and standing on a Lack table which didn’t collapse. They weigh in at 3.93 kg in stock form.Įach table is rated for a maximum load of 25 kg, about average for a typical rack shelf. Measuring 555 x 555 mm with roughly 455 mm between the legs, these tables are the perfect size to house a traditional hi-fi component or a large turntable. A quick google later revealed a number of hi-fi racks constructed using these tables, which consist of hollow legs and a hollow framed top filled with a honeycomb paper material. Though every cabinet, shelf and table in the store was either too small, too wide or too enclosed, the £5 Lack coffee table spotted on the way through the collection point offered some much-needed inspiration. It was to Ikea I turned for inspiration, fostering a vague hope that I may have somehow missed a suitable piece of furniture while trawling their website weeks before. Five minutes down the road is an Ikea furniture store, a world of one-way walkways, aisles of flat-packed product and Swedish meatballs. Having been down the DIY route with previous racks I decided to do so again.įriday 24 February saw me visiting the yearly hi-fi trade show in Bristol (an event I don’t frequent). Anywhere from £700-1700, the price of a new component or a huge pile of records. ![]() With all this in mind, I began looking at my options but it soon became clear that if I wanted a rack to meet all of my requirements, I was going to have to shell out for it. I wanted to avoid a high mass design as the rack is placed on a suspended floor, and the components themselves add more than enough mass to the overall structure. My preference to avoid glass has more to do with the chore of daily cleaning than anything else glass is a magnet for dirt. I personally believe that any strong, sturdy hi-fi rack will be ‘good enough’. Some believe that the materials used can have an impact on the performance of a system and thus there are racks made of glass, soft and hard woods, composite materials and even stone, both real and artificial. Some say that rigidity is important, while some will de-couple each shelf for maximum isolation. Some believe that high mass designs are preferred, while some are firmly in the opposite camp. There are also many philosophies governing hi-fi rack design. Never underestimate the weight of your system, and treat safety as a primary consideration. A collapsing rack will destroy a system in a matter of seconds, and could cause serious injury to anyone standing near by. Pushing a rack to its limits is a bad idea. A good rack should be strong enough to support more than the weight of your system. Secondly, the rack should isolate the components from one another as well as from airborne vibrations and vibrations transferred through the floor. This is particularly true for large amplifiers, especially if you frequently push them hard as I do. Stuffing your components into an enclosed cabinet will trap the heat, possibly resulting in premature component failure. Good airflow between components is a must. It also needed to look nice, ideally matching the Ikea Kallax vinyl shelving.Ī good rack should achieve a few things. ![]() I wanted something with 6 shelves, neat cable management and the ability to easily add another shelf if required. The rack should be rigid and strong with the ability to hold deep components. I was recently in a position where I needed to replace my existing rack. Higher end racks can set you back anywhere from £300-£700, while a bespoke rack can run into the thousands. This Norstone Bergen rack is a great option, though the three-legged design can interfere with the connections on deep components. Cheap racks such as this or This offer a good basic support, though they won’t safely support a significant amount of weight, nor will they support large components. Plenty of dedicated furniture exists to house systems of all shapes and sizes, though they vary widely in price, features, style and quality. Even with a small system comprised of one or two units, correct storage of your hi-fi is a must to get the best from your equipment and even to prolong its life. As your hi-fi system grows, proper storage of your components becomes increasingly important.
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