Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Audio racks

This is topic Audio racks in forum Film Handlers' Forum at Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE.

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Posted by Michael Schaffer (Member # 1204) on 08-22-2007, 05:07 PM:

Which are your favorite types and brands of audio racks? Open and/or closed? Which ones do you think are crappy, and why?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-22-2007, 06:28 PM:

I prefer Mid Atlantic overall. Always good consistancy and quality, Raxess is also pretty good. The worst.... Home Equipment. They have the louvers punched in upside down so they are not effective in the least.

Mark

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-22-2007, 06:59 PM:

Hammond knock down Racks are my prefference

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 08-22-2007, 08:41 PM:

Preference Mid Atlantic panels and accessories / Raxness racks ( they used to build us a custom 44 space )/ Atlas for knock down UPS able racks and wall mount/ Lowell for rack extensions, beefy open racks and roomy racks as needed for broadcast. Home does suck, Bud racks are gold plated, Equipto hit and miss [Smile]

Posted by Chad M Calpito (Member # 3736) on 08-22-2007, 10:54 PM:

I prefer Big Sky Industries Sound Racks due to the overall construction, design & durability.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-23-2007, 12:41 AM:

You can't beat Middle Atlantic for build quality vs. price. Plus their rack designs offer plenty of flexibility and have a good amount of thought put into them.

Posted by Sam D. Chavez (Member # 1841) on 08-23-2007, 07:29 AM:

Lowell is my favorite. They make a variety of models and also offer six circuit power strips that put power where it needs to be and save a lot of work and eliminate a number of potential problems.

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 08-23-2007, 11:02 AM:

Who is home racks?

Posted by William T. Parr (Member # 677) on 08-23-2007, 11:20 AM:

I prefer closed racks and Mid Atlantic as well. They may be slighty higher in cost, but there miles ahead in quality.

Posted by Tim Reed (Member # 137) on 08-23-2007, 04:46 PM:

Middle Atlantic.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-23-2007, 06:31 PM:

quote: Gordon McLeod
Who is home racks?

They are somewhere in Missouri... My boss loves them in spite of the fact I pointed out to him that the louvers are upside down and provide no ventallation at all [Roll Eyes]

.

Mark

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-25-2007, 07:23 PM:

Note that open racks are illegal in cinemas in most states. Middle Atlantic has a UL rating, required in most states. Louis

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 08-25-2007, 07:24 PM:

Louis, do you have a list?

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-25-2007, 07:53 PM:

They can still be used in Wyoming.. the only State I've worked in that requires Locomotive Cable for the DC Lamphouse connections. Go figure....

Mark

Posted by Frank Angel (Member # 248) on 08-26-2007, 03:41 AM:

Long ago I recall, I think it was at the Sound Factory in NYC, two of the engineers there saying that power amplifiers should never be mounted in metal racks. All their pwr amps in that studio were in racks made out of finished wood, and not even with metal rails, but they were screwed directly into the wood rails. Is there any truth to that or is it rubbish? And I have heard a lot of rubbish in my time -- like this guy who has high-end audio gear and insists that everything sounds better if he puts magazine paper on top of all the interconnecting wires. I kid you not -- his place is covered with paper (and it has to be shiney magazine paper too, not just regular paper). It's over every interconnecting wire in his system. You have no idea how hard I have to bite my tongue to not laugh as he explains the exquisit sound he gets from his paper covered wired system. But I digress....about the amps not mounted in metal -- supposedly isolating them via wood racks stops oscillation and interaction between amps or some such.

Posted by Louis Bornwasser (Member # 3063) on 08-26-2007, 05:44 AM:

Unfortunately I don't have a list. (For sure Kentucky, Connecticut, Washington D.C.) The problem hit me over 20 years ago when we were ordering Kelmar racks and that was the time I went to UL enclosed racks to avoid "enforcement" problems on the job.

Frank; it's hard to say what starts that kind of ignorance. Perhaps the wood rack thing avoided some kind of ground loop. Certainly there are plently of top flight (Dolby screening room, etc) that have all metal racks....and no magazine paper, either. Louis

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 08-26-2007, 07:39 AM:

This may have had more to do with the type of amps they were using at the time. But otherwise untrue with modern day amps.

Mark