Stands and sound quality

[JJack]

Here in the States (or at least with my group of friends) it's common for very high priced amps/preamps/CDPs to be plonked down on whatever furniture is available.

In reading a lot of the threads here it seems taken for granted that stands play a strong role in getting the best out of one's system.

I'm curious as to whether there are any UK listeners who think that an amplifier sounds just as good on a kitchen table as it does on a 500 GBP audio rack.

[Reid Malenfant]

I'm curious as to whether there are any UK listeners who think that an amplifier sounds just as good on a kitchen table as it does on a 500 GBP audio rack.

I should imagine that the only ones who do are the ones that have never tried anything except standard living room furniture to support stuff

But you have aroused my curiousity to....

[bobbasrah]

Here in the States (or at least with my group of friends) it's common for very high priced amps/preamps/CDPs to be plonked down on whatever furniture is available.

In reading a lot of the threads here it seems taken for granted that stands play a strong role in getting the best out of one's system.

I'm curious as to whether there are any UK listeners who think that an amplifier sounds just as good on a kitchen table as it does on a 500 GBP audio rack.

The kitchen table would not suit feng shui at all..... Too close to the sink.... And wouldn't the crystals and magnetic pulse thingummyjig not interrupt dinner?
IMHO there is a lot of claptrap talked about certain stands sounding better, both for equipment and speakers, without much engagement on why that should be the case. Having built many in both timber and steel, and examined the flimsy commercial offerings, perhaps I am too harsh, or pragmatic.
So long as the support is sturdy enough, the equipment is reasonably isolated from structural vibration, and not in an area where pressure waves will coincide, almost anything will do or can be rejigged to suit.
I should be interesting to see what comes out of this thread....

[JJack]

The kitchen table would not suit feng shui at all..... Too close to the sink.... And wouldn't the crystals and magnetic pulse thingummyjig not interrupt dinner?
IMHO there is a lot of claptrap talked about certain stands sounding better, both for equipment and speakers, without much engagement on why that should be the case. Having built many in both timber and steel, and examined the flimsy commercial offerings, perhaps I am too harsh, or pragmatic.
So long as the support is sturdy enough, the equipment is reasonably isolated from structural vibration, and not in an area where pressure waves will coincide, almost anything will do or can be rejigged to suit.
It should be interesting to see what comes out of this thread....

Alas, this isn't one of the more active subforums.

[Marco]

I think that, like anything else in audio, you just have to try things and see what works (or doesn't) in your own environment, and with your own system. Quite simply, in any area of audio, there is no substitute for practical experience.

What I dislike are conclusive (rigid and inflexible) opinions being formed about stands (or anything else, for that matter), which are based merely on idle theory, scientific or otherwise, or plain bias, thorugh ignorance. You have to try things for yourself and listen. Then let your OWN ears be the judge. *That* is the only way which GENUINE learning and discoveries are possible. And if you can't trust your own ears, then take up a different hobby!

As far as my own experience is concerned, I've been experimenting with various specialist equipment stands, which have been designed to optimise the sonic performance of audio equipment, since around 1990, and over that time have learned much in this area; an example of such being that the effects of microphony in audio equipment are very real, and these are not addressed effectively by placing equipment on commercial furniture.

It is based on the considerable knowledge and experience I've gained from this experimentation that is the reason why I place all my equipment on Mana stands, to the substantial benefit of my appreciation of recorded music. Others here, with similar experience, have chosen the same or different paths, in terms of their choice of stands, but which have led to achieving the same result.

I can't put it any better than that

Marco.

[Ammonite Audio]

I wish that equipment supports did not make a difference to musical reproduction, but they do and invariably cost money. Like Marco, I choose to trust my own ears and the best I've found is the Stillpoints ESS rack. Unfortunately it was expensive but I still consider it good value. To my ears, the effect of a good support system is not just the obvious bass/treble/imaging etc stuff: it's just as much to do with an almost indescribable feeling that the music is simply more enjoyable. I find it very difficult to articulate such feelings in words, but I do know when things are right, and often all the equipment needs to perform well is a suitable support system. That may for some people be something from Ikea, but I've not yet identified any such bargains.

[Artifolk]

I to have done the journey through the different makes/types of equipment Stands etc over the years, and have always used my ears as the deciding factor. Hence I'm now using Naim, for me this bettered everything I'd used in the past, Sound Org,Origin Live,Target,Atacama,Mana.
I'm not saying Naim is the be all and end because i know its not, something far superior will inevitably come along. As Marco said...EXPERIMENT.

[Marco]

I think that the key to building the best system is in having an inquisitive mind. And also in always striving for excellence, seeking to get closer to one's idea of 'perfection', whilst simultaneously expanding one's music collection, and so therefore always remaining focussed on what is the means to an end.

It's about dotting the I's and crossing the T's, attending to the (seemingly) small details, which often turn out to have a large sonic influence, adopting lateral thinking in the process and being willing to experiment, using the knowledge gained to form valid opinions, and not simply having the mindset of buying the best equipment one can afford and assuming that this alone will guarantee the best sound, which rarely proves to be the case.

I've always said that I'd rather have a £5000 system, where genuine sonic synergy has been achieved, through judicious equipment selection, and the optimal set-up of the equipment used, via the use of specialist cables (which need not be stupidly expensive), stands and power management (optimisation of how equipment is powered from the wall socket), than a £50,000 'badge-fi' system, simply plugged into a noisy house electrical ring-main (or whatever), connected together with bell-wire and plonked on an old coffee table.

And from experience, I can virtually guarantee that the former will sound much more enjoyable and musically convincing!

Marco.

[YNWaN]

What I dislike are conclusive (rigid and inflexible) opinions being formed about stands (or anything else, for that matter), which are based merely on idle theory, scientific or otherwise, or plain bias, thorugh ignorance. You have to try things for yourself and listen. Then let your OWN ears be the judge. *That* is the only way which GENUINE learning and discoveries are possible. And if you can't trust your own ears, then take up a different hobby!.

Hmm...seems to me you are trying to make some sort of point Marco.

[Marco]

Lol - of course I am. Why else would I write that? It's a poke at the 'measurements first' objectivist brigade, who inhabit (some would say infect) forums elsewhere, but that I also know can't help reading this one

Marco.