Futureglass Equipment Stand

[IanG-UK]

I'm not someone for whom any sound quality attributes of those described as the best equipment stands (eg Finite Elemente) outweight domestic acceptability - but I do like a stand which can be made to measure so that every shelf carries equipment evenly spaced whether that requires a 4.4" gap or a 6.3" gap.

Few stands cater for that - my first customised stand was produced (in black granite) by HNE, from Retford, now sadly out of business.

I then tried Isoblue, customised by spacers made by a local fitted kitchen manufacturer. The drawback with the Isoblue is that, probably by design, it rocks in the horizontal left/right plane.

So I have now finally found a manufacturer called Futureglass (in the UK) who make stands with glass shelves (clear, coloured, black or frosted) and tubular spacers (stainless steel, black or wood) - and they will customise as you wish.

In addition the resulting structure is very rigid and can be fitted with spikes - and yet it is easily dismantled and reconfigured if your kit changes - you might just need to order alternative spacers.

Finish and customer service are first class - albeit the stands are not cheap! About £110 per shelf for non-customised - a bit more if you want customised spacers.

The website is:

http://www.futureglass.com/contemporary_furniture/pages/type_lookup.php?type=Hi-fi%20Stands&section=Home

and the person to contact is Bill Hunt.

Ian

[MCRU]

Ikea make nice stands for about £40, £110 per shelf is too high IMHO, the sonic benefits are not proven either, nice website they have though.

[Beechwoods]

Thanks for the recommendation Ian. I'll add Futureglass to the Links Box :) I guess they're designed to appeal to a similar audience to the Quadraspire type designs. I guess that Futureglass offer demos so prospective buyers can try them in their home environment?

[IanG-UK]

David

Yes £110 per shelf is very expensive - mine is a six shelf one with custom-made spacers so it is a major outlay. Apart from the Ikea offering, the do-it-yourself TNT stand would come in much cheaper but, If I were making it, the final package, unlike that from Futureglass, would probably not be beautiful, rigid and made with great precision.

I don't know about sonics not least because the efforts one needs, whatever the equipment stands, to compare one with another are hardly straightforward, as far as I am concerned.

For what it's worth, the Futureglass stand has a degree of inter-shelf isolation because the supporting columns are isolated from each other and the shelves by rubber o-rings.

However, I don't use a turntable and I take the view that if top-end solid-state equipment manufacturers make kit which is prone to mechanical interference unless it is on a "very special" stand then that's a poor show on their part!

I can't comment about how the Futureglass stand I have would handle turntables - I know they do a separate wall-mounted turntable shelf however.

Nick

I understand Futureglass has dealers, mainly in England, but only as far north as Hull. I didn't have a home trial before purchase, not least because I am sceptical about what one can infer from such demonstrations.

I just want a beautiful, rigid, precisely engineered and custom-made stand. Even though it is a pricey one.

Ian

[Peter Stockwell]

I just want a beautiful, rigid, precisely engineered and custom-made stand. Even though it is a pricey one.



Nice looking stands, remiscent of Ash Designs in some ways.

Hutter make a nice series of customisable racks (Racktime).

I've found that every bit of kit I've ever owned is responsive in some way to the support. The most dramatic effect I ever observed, was sticking shiny paper under a naim CDX's feet, the CDX has metal feet, so the mechanical grounding of the case is important. I think it's true of my Wadia too.

[hifi_dave]

I've stocked Futureglass racks/stand for several years. They are very nicely made and finished and sound good too. When you see and feel them, you can, perhaps, understand where the price comes in.

Superficially, there are similar stands but the Futureglass uprights are stainless steel and the shelves are 12 mm safety glass. At one time, we used to invite prospective customers to stand on top of the rack to demonstrate the robustness. I'm sure that 'elf n safety' wouldn't allow that now.

Becuase of the construction, the shelves are self damping and do not ring as glass often does. Of course, being modular, the number and spacing of the shelves is flexible.

Futureglass also do a small range of similarly constructed furniture.

[Mark Grant]

This one looks good, would be ideal under a large wall mounted TV.

http://www.futureglass.com/contemporary_furniture/pages/hifi_lookup.php?page=&type=AV%20Supports&section=Home&page=GEM%20Cinema

bookmarked :) thanks for the link Ian.