I am in the final stages of assembling a new audio system, which will probably be my last. My dealer has recommended the Neo 2 Quattron, or Artesania Audio Prestige Pack or Exoteryc. The two latter are quite a bit more expensive than the Neo, although I quite the look of them. I know I should really listen to them but doing a comparison after offloading a Vivaldi three box stack and other gear and then putting it all back together is a lengthy task making a proper comparison quite hard to do.
I settled on an HRS SXR 6 platform rack for my “final” system and have never regretted the cost. It was a big upgrade to the Finite Pagoda I had prior.
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I’ve gone for the HRS SXR also, after all sorts of transferable armchair research.
They’re pretty. (And really bloody expensive, which I hope I’ll forget about when they arrive and — another dash of hope here — make things sound even better than they do already.)
Racks are a pig to shop for. Testing before the fact is nigh on impossible for most of us.
I’ve settled on Stillpoints ESS. No regrets.
…That is very true which is why I’m done and settles with mine.
There are some things like racks and expensive headphones that it seems virtually impossible to audition before purchase. For me a major issue has been the size of rack needed as most manufacturers make limited sizes. So one consideration has to be knowing exactly what you want to house. My system is large ( 4 box dCS, turntable, multi box tube phono amp, headphone amp and preamps etc) and most of the rated brands do not cater for much aside for a system that can be housed in a single bay four level rack. Very expensive too.
I use a ifve bay ( height) double width “vented” rack from Quadraspire . Has some downsides though but it looks wonderful. Sounds good too ( better then its Townshend predecessor). However as I have remarked regarding other things there is no point in recommending anything that you cannot actually buy and you seem limited to the brands you cite. One other owner here has (or had) the Artesania rack which he seemed happy with ( check archives). However I seem to recall that it has no conventional platforms and requires removal of the components’ feet. For me the inconvenience outweighs any sonic advantage.
One general point. Avoid glass shelves. They can add resonances or glare.
Let us know what you choose.
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Thanks for all of the suggestions and for your detailed response, Pete. I take some comfort in the knowledge that others also have difficulties in auditioning these. I am not limited to the two options in my post, it is simply what my dealer has suggested as two different possibilities. I am in the process of researching racks as far as it possible without A/B comparisons, so all of the suggestions made will be looked at and I am grateful for them all.
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I am late to this party, but I am a fan of Grand Prix Audio isolation goodies. Are they better than HRS, Stillpoints, etc? 
All I know is they made a significant change in sound for the better. I’ll probably stick with them because it is really expensive to switch isolation products!
Italian made modular Solidsteel HY Series used here.
Solidsteel | Hi-Fi Racks, Speaker Stands, AV Furniture
I currently have no-name racks. My dealer is telling me to get these.
Why did you get them and have they proven up to the task?
I was using Solidsteel 5.4 and 5.3 for years.
However, as more components were added to the system, I needed more shelves. In addition due to their placement, the new racks should not be significantly wider than the older ones. And they should still be to some extent affordable.
My components are too large or too high to be placed on S-5 Series racks. The three legged HJ Series would have obstructed some of the connections at the back of the components.
So I went for the HY Series (introduced only in 2018).
They are pretty heavy and therefore give a solid base to the system.
They can carry up to 70 kg per shelf; enough for a heavy power amp.
They are modular so they can be taylored to the height of the components leaving enough space (about 50 mm) for airflow (e.g. leg size 205 mm for Vivaldi DAC (height 151 mm)).
(Leg sizes are 165/185/205/225/245/265/285/305 mm.)
Tip: order the number of shelves with the heights you need (e.g. HY-5 Custom: 5 shelves 285/205/205/205; price about 3k).
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The NEO racks are nice looking and very reasonably priced but according to a local dealer here who sells them they are more “lifestyle” products than serious isolation equipment. I have no insights into the other two.
For capacity reasons (purchase of a Vivaldi short stack) I recently changed from a Grand Prix Audio Monaco to HRS EXRD. EXR is the short-pants-new-boy entry level line and the D stands for double width, i.e. two components wide. This is still eye-wateringly expensive stuff but I convinced myself based on the following factors:
- Upgradability. This can be upgraded to SXR spec, although afaik all that is salvaged is the uprights
- Depreciation. Most racks are worth nothing once you get them home. This is hopefully true to a lesser extent with HRS which is quite fashionable atm.
And, after the fact:
- Sound quality. Although I wasn’t able to try it at home beforehand (indeed I bought it sight unseen as my dealer had only just secured the agency, I was his first customer) I was happy to find that it represented a noticeable sonic improvement over the Monaco, which I wasn’t expecting. Everything seemed calmer and the spaces between and around the notes seemed bigger and darker. A little bit strange but quite noticeable.