Glass Shelves for Audio Racks

[Bernard]

I was always under the impression that glass was a no-no when it came to shelves for audio equipment. YBA used to state that their CDPs should not be placed on glass shelves, and there is a guy on Audiogon who is selling a stand with glass shelves because the mfr of his new equipment specifically states that glass should not be used.

That said, I have noticed that a lot of members' systems have glass shelves. Has anyone done a comparison between glass and wood on the same stand ? I'd be interested to know the results, if so, as I have noticed a definite difference in sound quality when it comes to supports, but have not tried glass.

 

[risabet]

I've found that shelves tend to impart whatever characteristics they have to the sound of the components that rest on them. Glass tends to be hard and brittle, granite hard yet warm (I know), woods tend to be warmer and less detailed though more organically balanced than other materials IMO. The best supports I've heard tend to be made of dissimilar materials and can be the most balanced of all. My $.02

 

[treitz3]

As with everything in audio, it is completely subjective and in this case, completely system dependent and floor substrate dependent. Individual cases yield different results.

 

[Bernard]

.............The best supports I've heard tend to be made of dissimilar materials and can be the most balanced of all. My $.02

Along those lines, here is something interesting.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SEGXBLUE

As stated on the link, "HPL Solid shelves in high-pressure laminate, made from several paper layers, saturated with curable synthetic resins and high-pressure laminated at high temperatures, guarantee high stability. "

I love the look of the stand; as well, I'm VERY partial to blue. It's made in Germany, BTW.

 

[risabet]

Along those lines, here is something interesting.

http://www.elusivedisc.com/prodinfo.asp?number=SEGXBLUE

As stated on the link, "HPL Solid shelves in high-pressure laminate, made from several paper layers, saturated with curable synthetic resins and high-pressure laminated at high temperatures, guarantee high stability. "

I love the look of the stand; as well, I'm VERY partial to blue. It's made in Germany, BTW.

That's a lot of dough for paper shelves

 

[rhom]

Sometimes you can stumble upon good things.

A few years ago, I finished construction of my floor to ceiling, 12 foot wide, 32 inch deep entertainment center. It's that deep because I designed it to have pull out drawers riding on file cabinet-type extension glides, these can hold several thousand CDs and video media types. Built it myself because I couldn't afford the estimates from cabinet shops to do a custom unit like this. Installed dedicated power to audio vs. video vs. reg. 110v AC, both audio and video power is filtered through separate lab grade power conditioner/surge suppression units.

Anyway, I originally designed one section of the cabinetry to house audio gear and built the shelving out of 3/4" oak plywood to save weight. The rest of the large pieces of the entertainment center are constructed of furniture grade 3/4" oak veneer MDF. About two years ago, I needed to make a couple of extra shelves and had only MDF remnants to use. MDF weighs a ton vs. plywood or solid oak.

Was I surprised when, for the heck of it, I used the new MDF shelves for my CDP and pre-amp! Significantly more details in the midrange and mid-bass. Switched between old vs. new shelves to confirm the difference.

There may be something to this discussion of using dissimilar materials for shelves. The different material layers must resonate differently, etc.

For what it's worth.

 

[Bernard]

...........

Was I surprised when, for the heck of it, I used the new MDF shelves for my CDP and pre-amp! Significantly more details in the midrange and mid-bass. Switched between old vs. new shelves to confirm the difference..........

I, on the other hand, found that 1/2-inch pressed wood sounds better on my stands than 1-inch MDF.