Hi all,
I need to buy a rack with three levels.
Prices seem a bit eye-watering.
I am aware of some of the usual names, but I would appreciate some recommendations, and reasons why 
, other than it just sounds better.
Should I be thinking about auditioning?
Thanks,
Tony
I have Quadraspire SVT. I originally used a Target rack. My 78 year old ears arenât so discerning any more, so the main criteria was appearance.
Friend of mine has the same tack as you - look great and sound good. Still relatively expensive but not out of this world price wise as some
Hi,
I have used Quadraspire for many years >25. Reasons - partly the looks, partly the audio performance and the expansion and modification possibilities.
The current website for Quadraspire allows you to âsystem buildâ and visualise and also get the RRP of your build which I have found super helpful when choosing.
Atacama Audio. Priced to sell. Built to last. Very smart.
Iâll be purchasing a 3 level rack when I finally move house. Iâve done some research and the solidsteel s5-3 seems like great vfm. Maybe a bit boring to look at but that seems like the only compromiseâŚ
Check it out.
If anyone has experience of this rack, Iâd love to hear feedback.
I use Simrak racks. Individual stacking shelves, customise wood and dimensions. This is because of limited space, and they sound very good to me.
@stavrose i have the SS Series 5 as well but the five Shelf model. We are adjacent to the Brooklyn Bridge and the subway runs under our complex. Lots of low level vibrations. The rack does a fine job.
Another vote for Atacama. If you have budget limits they sell B grade. I havenât found the irregularities in mine yet.
Good people to deal with. I wanted four levels, they only had three in the colour I wanted, so they sprayed one to match, no extra charge and just a 24 hour delay.
I use Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS) racks and isolation bases.
They are beautifully made. Fit and finish is second to none. They look fantastic, are modifiable (i.e. change shelf height) and expandable (add/subtract shelves), and they come in different sizes, and yes they sound great. They are designed for best isolation and low noise floor.
I have two of their three-shelf 21â x 19â EXR racks. Each is about $6500 retail in the U.S., where they are made to order. These are my racks in the attached photos, and they include two HRS isolation bases, for the turntable and phono-stage. I have another 4â shelf on order, and an extra set of stanchions to convert the shelf with my 252 from a 8â shelf to a 4â shelf.
I had two brain/brawn Fraim racks previously. The HRS EXR racks are substantially better, and I love how they look too.
Hi Isoblue rack is great, it should be one of the few names that on your head.
All my friends love it aesthetically, matching so well with Naim components, looks to me designed with Naim gears in mind. Not as hardcore HiFi looking as most, sitting nicely in the house and my another half loves its looking.
Performance-wise using Fraim chip underneath the spikes, sound got tightened well, and I donât hear much colourations from the wood. They last and age very well, if you are in a similar position highly recommended. (Iâm using 3 levels now and should cost under a grand)
customdesign make the Milan range which I have, and I think that they look very nice indeed. As many or as few levels as needed.
I used invisible brackets and pushed the carefully drilled shelves onto these.
Quadraspire are nice ânâ modular, as far as I can tell âsound goodâ âŚand look good.
How about the Solidsteel S2-3 ?
Very affordable (appr. âŹ350,- ), compared to most (imho way overpriced) HiFi-racks.
Perhaps a bit basic, due to the fact that it only comes in black/no real wood (veneers), which might explain the price.
I use a 3 shelf Quadraspire SVT, with an additional spiked top-shelf (so called bronze upgrade). It sounds excellent and is very easy and simple to assemble and easy to add additional shelves if you want or remove shelves. A few tips. Go for the longer columns (I use the ones just below the longest - canât remember the lengths just now) if you want the height of the rack to be convenient to use and also it gives more vertical spacing between components which is always good. Get the bronze floor spikes. These donât seem to be advertised for sale anywhere but if you or your dealer contact Quadraspire they will sell them to you and they are better than the standard supplied ones. Get the bronze upgrade kit to add a spiked top shelf if you can afford to. You can rest the spikes of the shelf directly into the tops of the support columns but the better option is to have a shelf immediately below and rest the spikes onto the special caps on this. Itâs more stable and sounds better. Also itâs worth getting some Chord Silent Mount spike shoes. We use the Titanium ones and they really made a very profound improvement - not subtle at all.
None of these additional things are really necessary and the rack sounds superb in basic form but I just mention them for information. Depends on how far you want to go and how much you want to spend. You can of course always add them later.
As far as looks go no point in commenting. You can see what it looks like - plenty of pictures on line - and you will know whether you like it or not. The finish is top class on the columns and the bamboo shelves and the whole thing feels very solid and secure.
Whatâs actually wrong with your Quadraspire? There are very good for the money and you can take a level off if you like.
Does it not go with the room decor? If so can you elaborate on the style you are looking for?
FWIW ADK make some racks that are basically the same construction as Quadraspire but shelves are solid ash. They right angle corners so look more conventional. Basically same price as Quadraspire but the subtle shape difference may suit some rooms better.
I find that there are racks at every price point but sadly not the same variety of styles. The price bracket up from what you have as mostly stuff thatâs not as pleasing as the bracket thatâs lower cost or the bracket thatâs higher cost.
I have a Norstone Stäbbl which has four levels, but because of its modular design you can also built as a three level rack. And the brand is very affordable.
Quadraspire for flexibility, looks, SQ and vfm.
Isoblue looks nice but the shelf heights are too low for me.
Fraim or Fraim Lite are optimum with premium pricing. That said, since Christmas there have been some excellent discounts on new, and you can sometimes pick them up second hand or lightly demoed!
I like the looks of Quadraspire, but it seems that theyâre no longer available in my country, and that they were/are much lower priced in the UK. I came across one dealer that still seems to offer them but a 4 shelf Q4 SVT would cost even more than a 4 shelf Fraimlite! 
