Hi-Fi supports have to combine good looks with a structure
that performs well acoustically, and as such are unlikely to be stocked by your
favorite furniture supplier. Leicestershire-based Hi-Fi Racks Ltd produces a
range of equipment supports that can be adapted to suit your own requirements.
All of its products are designed and handmade in the UK using high-quality
solid hardwoods.
Hi-Fi Racks Ltd
Adding to its established Podium and Adorner Reference
range, is the recently released Podium Slimline modular rack system that can be
expanded as your system grows. The Slimline shares many features with the
Podium Reference, but in addition to being sold as a standard four-tier rack,
it is also available in the dimensions of your choice.
One size doesn’t fit all
To complement its standard range of supports, Hi-Fi Racks
also produces matching storage systems for CDs, DVDs, Blue-rays and LPs. The
company believes that “one size does not fit all” and, as each unit is handmade
to order, it is possible not only to have any size required, but also a
combination of hi-fi racks and media storage.
I opt for a Podium Slimline rack that also houses part of a
record collection, as well as supporting some heavy valve-based audio
equipment. Alas, nowadays, it is virtually impossible to buy something ‘off the
shelf’ that has both storage for records and shelves for hi-fi in one unit, so
a bespoke design seems to be the answer.
To complement its
standard range of supports, Hi-Fi Racks also produces matching storage systems
for CDs, DVDs, Blue-rays and LPs
Following discussions with the company, a design is put
together that includes space for LPs on the bottom of the unit, shelves above
for valve equipment and an overall width and depth appropriate for placing a
turntable on the top.
The Podium Slimline legs and shelves are secured together
with threaded rods, making it very sturdy and easy to put together. I go for
oak with a satin finish, but black, cherry, mahogany and walnut finishes are
available at extra cost.
The bespoke unit takes a few weeks to manufacture (the
standard four-tier model can be delivered within 48 hours) and the unit arrives
in several flat-packed boxes with plenty of protective packaging and a couple
of photographs showing the finished unit to assist with construction. Assembly
is simply a case of screwing threaded bolts into the metal inserts in the
supports and then threading the bolts through the holes in each shelf. The
correct method is to build the unit upside down. You start by inserting the
bolts into the top shelf, then fitting the supports, then inserting bolts into
the bottom of each support. Next you place the second shelf over the bolts then
screw on the next set of supports. Continue until you have fitted the bottom
shelf and finish off by screwing on the four legs. Turn it upright and it’s
ready to go.
The racks are beautifully made and have a superb finish.
Each vertical support is made from a single piece of oak and the shelves are
manufactured from planks of oak that have been bonded with the grain ‘concave
to convex’ for rigidity and acoustic properties. This construction also
eliminates the risk of warping.
The standard
four-tier model can be delivered within 48 hours
A heavy and sturdy design is an essential requirement for
audio equipment supports in order to eliminate resonances and dampen any
vibrations from the equipment, and here the Podium Slimline scores. Further
upgrades can be retro-fitted, including spare legs (made to any length at no
extra cost), spikes for the legs and floor protectors for the spikes. The
standard four-tier model pictured includes the floor spikes.
Rack’s the way to do it
With my system placed on the rack and listening to my 1979
pressing of Tchaikovsky’s Capriccio Italian, which is on the ‘B’ side of the
legendary Telarc 1812 Overture digital recording by the Cincinnati Symphony
Orchestra DG-10041, the bass kettle drum that resonates through the military
march segments is significantly tighter and each impact of the drum punches you
in the stomach! Another classic LP is Branford Marsalis’ Romances for Saxophone
on CBS M 42122 and listening to his arrangement of Satie’s Gymnopedie No. 3,
the haunting saxophone stands out more clearly from the plucking of the double
basses and everything is more controlled than before.
The Podium Slimline represents excellent value for money. It
can be custom made to your requirements and also upgraded and modified as your
hi-fi system changes. The sonic improvements are likely to be a considerable
plus, too!
Details
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Price: From $556.83
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Website: www.hifiracks.com
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Our verdict: 5/5
