Hello dcs family
Looking to buy rack/stand for my equipment, any recommendations. Been looking at solidsteel and bassocontinuo which look nice but all suggestions would be most welcome.
Thanks
Paul, it it can help, I have Solid Steel and Iām very happy with it. Prior to purchasing this rack, I also looked at Basso Continuo, which is nicer in many respects but also way more expensive.
Cheers,
Franco
It may help if you would kindly give us some idea of budget. Stands range from a few hundred units of currency to tens of thousands.
Also , how large does it need to be? My own system requires the equivalent of 2 x 5 level stands. Many manufacturers do not offer stands higher than 4 levels so, in my case, many recommendations would be unable to meet the brief. Similar considerations may apply to you but at the moment we do not know.
With no budget considerations I would go for HRS ( Harmonic Resolution Systems) were I in a position to afford them. Around 22,000 gbp including shelves for my brief using their cheapest range or 99,000 gbp in their Reference VRX level range including the recommended isolation bases.
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I own a basis Debut Standard turntable with its own stand , below that sits my audeze lcd4 headphones on a stand , so looking for 4 shelves for cayin ha 300b headphone amp, bartok, soon to be rossini clock and isotek sigma power conditioner. Budget between Ā£2k/Ā£3k ,so high end but not mega high end 
As you quote your budget in gbp I am assuming that you live in the UK.
If so donāt overlook Quadraspire SVT ( I believe also available in USA). A four level stand with the optional bronze couplers for the top level ( for the Bartok) would be a little under your budget ( subject to size) but will provide an excellent sounding result, superior to some from my comparisons. A different approach to the āmass is allā school of thought although as everything is decoupled from everything else I would not recommend it for a turntable ( though you say you are already catered for in that area).
Otherwise you are hitting a difficult price point that lies in between the best of the more affordable end of things that actually work rather than just look stylish and the ultra costly (in my book anyway).
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I can attest to the fact that the Quadraspire SVT is quite nice! I use 6 Bamboo shelves, the top one equipped with the bronze couplers - onto which Iāve placed my Linn LP12. A little high - but there you are, no space for the double-width version 
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Thanks for your advice and suggestions. Quadraphire looks very interesting especially the top of the range x reference, typically always like the more expensive.
The shelves of the X Reference are exactly the same as the SVT ones, but how you stack them is way more elaborate. EACH shelf uses the bronze couplers, and the whole rack is more or less an exoskeleton holding the shelves. Very cool, expensive, and taking up too much space for me
Over the years I have settled on Stillpoints - ESS rack and lost of āUltraāsā. Mind you, not the cheapest but the best and most flexible Iāve had at home. By flexible I mean you can experiment where to put the Ultras under the equipment and it makes a noticeable difference.
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How the heck would you audition multiple stand options? Has anyone compared stands from a sound quality point of view?
Good question. Itās almost impossible. If I was to start again, Iād get a mid priced well made rack then place Stillpoints between the shelves and equipment. Then you hear exactly if there is an improvement and if you donāt like it, send it back to the dealer and try something else.
if you want to audition. the best way is loan qplus or stillpoint footers and audition it at your home.
quadraspire says qplus footers and their rack are essentially the same thing in terms of function. both are filters.
one good thing about these is, you will notice the change immediately as there there is no settling down /break in /burn in involved.racks ,footers are mostly pure science and not like cables.
I use these Atacama racks, which I consider to be āgood bang for the buckā;
http://www.atacama-audio.co.uk/p/evoque-eco-60-40-se2-natural-bamboo
I put sorbothane pads under the footers (wooden floor), and Iām thinking about adding still points (probably IsoAcoustics) under the dCS components.
Iām very pleased with the Quadraspire SVT racks, they were obliging and made matt black top column ends for the bronze upgrade shelf to sit in, along with black floor protectors it looks the business, I have a pic of it over on the show off your system thread, be worth a gander through that to see what others are using.
I also use Townshend and IsoAcoustic isolation devices to good effect. The other racks I considered were the Quadraspire X-Ref and full Naim Fraim. Once I settle/finish my round of upgrades and can see Iām settled for a few years I may well swap the SVT out for X-Ref.
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I am also quite happy with the Quadraspire and some isoacoustics pucks. I use a combination of 2 selves of the SVT2 version and 2 selves of the SVT over the left side of the SVT2 with the bronze upgrade on the top tier for my well tempered versalex. Very happy with it.
Does anybody in the group use or ever tried the Isoacoustics Gaia to isolate the speakers? I hear that theyāre very good event though a bit expensive. Thank you.
Yes i have on my pmcās, much better than the standard spikes in all areas.
But swapped them out for Townshend podiums, an even better result, but 3 times the cost
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The Isoacoustics products that I have tried have proved excellent. I use IsoPucks ( the pro version) between speaker stand and speaker with my Classic ATC 50 ASLs. Quite a job fitting them as it is really a one shot job to get them all lined up correctly ( it took a team of 4 people) but the sound was transformed for the better.
I have recently bought an Isoacoustics ZaZen platform ( a new product) to support my turntable. Again an easily noticeable gain in sound quality with no downsides.
So if you have floor standing loudspeakers fitted with bushes of the right size to take Gaias just do it. Itās a no brainer. Of course if you have the extra dosh then Duncanās advice is probably worth paying attention to as an alternative.
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Thanks Duncan and Pete.
My Wilson speakers are currently sitting with their spikes over granite slabs, which already create a nice decoupling effect. Based on your recommendations, I will certainly consider giving the Gaiaās a try.
I entirely agree with both of you that Isocoustics are really good products and a good bang for the buck. In fact, I am placing Oreaās under each of my units.
Iām using it with my TAD ME-1 and its a nice improvement over the standard spikes
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