Why Supporting Audio Equipment Is A Three Part Problem

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Most audiophiles, audio dealers and even manufacturers will tell you that the function of a good rack is to isolate the equipment sitting on it – and they’d be wrong. What we actually need to isolate is the signal passing through that equipment. That might seem like splitting hairs, but when it comes to mechanical energy and the damage it does to the signal and the resulting musical performance, it’s a crucial distinction – because the equipment itself generates small but significant levels of mechanical energy, vibration that exists right in the same space as that fragile musical or digital signal. So, a rack that isolates your equipment from the outside world is only doing half the job, while the soft feet used on most equipment actually make matters worse, by trapping that self-generated energy within the chassis.

The Grand Prix Audio Equipment Support Solution

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By recognising the three fundamental functions of any effective equipment support, we are also able to sub-divide the elements that make up your chosen rack(s) by type, allowing you to configure them for optimum value and performance.

• Couplers and their supporting surface
  Equipment couplers and three different, critically damped shelf types to maximize the attenuation of self-generated energy.
  Differing levels of attenuation to suit different applications.

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• Isolation – the floor interface
  An advanced and carefully considered spike solution or two different sizes of APEX conical isolation interface.

• Dissipation – the frame structure
  Three frame designs offering differing performance levels, degrees of isolation and energy dissipation, including the fully suspended Silverstone for critical ultra low-noise applications.
  Five standard heights with custom heights to order.
  Adjustable shelf height and modular construction allows users to alter shelf spacing and upgrade legs and/or frames over time.

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Grand Prix audio’s modular, configurable approach to equipment support allows you to tailor individual equipment support solutions within a rack and within a system, maximizing musical performance where it matters, adapting and upgrading your support solution as your system changes and grows.