Wooden or glass Hi Fi rack?

Dear Dr. Jon Wong,

Just like to get your advice on isolation for my Transport and DAC. I am currently using the Sony CDP-R1 Transport and the Sony DAS R1 DAC. I am putting the players on a glass hi-fi rack.

I would appreciate if you could let me know what effect will it have on the sound should I relocate the transport and DAC onto a wooden rack? I understand that this player was one of the favorites with the Hong Kong Audiophiles so would like to hear your views.

Thank You!

Adrian Wang

Hello Adrian!

Resonance and vibration can seriously affect the sound of any audio equipment, from down to a power plug to a CD transport. Shun Mook and other tuning device make use of this theory to change the sound of any equipment, by the right choice of materials cut to the right dimensions. If you have followed 1388.com, you know that Joe Lee has invented the 5 cent coin magic that can improve the sound of any system. For more on resonance, Please kindly read my article: ‘Creating wonders from nothing’.

If you have always been listening to your Sony babies on a glass rack, I am sure the sound will be towards the cold, hard side, with sharp outlines and definition. They will surely lack some emotion. If you are not changing the rack, then I would highly recommend you to rush to Ikea and buy the very nice and thick Maple wood chopping boards. When you get the boards, stick a Singapore five cent coin right in the middle of the chopping board using thin double sided tape. Remember, only 5 cent coin and nothing else. You will find that wood instruments like cello, violin and even female vocals will all come to life. There will be more meat in the music, and it will help in sound stage. The you should use a 5 cent coin on top of the transport. The airiness and separation will further improve.

However, now you are going to put the equipment on a Wooden rack, this will change the arrangement. My advise is you can still keep the glass racks. I am not sure if you wooden rack is more sturdy than the glass rack. If you REALLY want to buy the wooden rack, my advise is you will have to find some thick glass panels’, (about 2 cm thick) and place your equipment on top of the glass slabs. It is because you equipment might sound too music and loose some definition. I am not sure because I have yet seen the wooden rack. You can continue to use the 5 cent coin on the transport. You can play around with different combinations, like number of coins on different locations, yourself. Also, you can goto some hardware store and buy the metallic cones. Use three cones and stick them to the bottom of you player and DAC, then let the equipment rest on the cones with the sharp ends pointing downwards. That should improve things in a mostly wooden support environment.

Good luck!

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