Rack hi-fi, hi-end home theatre in Methacrylate
“A Rack will never improve the sound but will allow it to express itself at its best, isolating the electronics from the vibrations and resonances transmitted by walls and floors”.
The Beautiful and Functional Rack
By
IDEA
Our history
Everything was born from the passion for Hi-Fi and Design by Raoul Invernizzi, owner of INDAT Plastics who, at the end of 2019, decided to renew his own stereo system in the living room. When you have two passions it is difficult for one to dominate the other; therefore it had to be a Hi-End system placed in the right position but which was also beautiful to look at and integrated with the design of the room.
Having found the satisfactory match between Speakers, Electronics and Ambience, it was necessary to find a Rack where to place the electronics; something that would enhance their beauty and at the same time allow them to sound their best, isolating them from harmful resonances and micro-vibrations. The goal was to uncouple the shelves of the Rack and allow you to see the illuminated tubes of the Preamplifier.
After the first experiments, with the realization of several prototypes it was understood that we were going in the right direction but something was missing. The meeting, during an event, at the Temple of Sound with Mauro D’Ambrosio of DAM allowed to combine the experience in the choice and processing of plastic materials with the competence of the realization of decouplers.
At this point there were all the elements to make what was later called the Crystal Rack.
DESIGN
Passion for beauty
Why do Hi-Fi and Rack have to be ugly ?
Do design and functionality have to be in contrast with each other? We say no, indeed they must be in synergy; sight and hearing are connected to each other on a sensory level and when the eye is satisfied, when we are happy to admire our Hi-Fi system, we are more predisposed to listening and … let’s call it Psychoacoustics, hearing benefits.
Methacrylate (Plexiglass) is more transparent than glass and has the reflection of crystal (unlike glass which tends to green); our beloved electronics will seem suspended in the air and can be admired from every angle.
We all also know how much the WAF (Wife Acceptance Factor) depends on design elements and how these increase or decrease the likelihood that she will approve the purchase of expensive consumer electronics products such as an high fidelity or home theater system. The Crystal Rack comes to our aid and allows us to avoid or resolve nerve-wracking discussions and perhaps convince her to listen to good music together.
MATERIALS
High Quality Only
Methacrylate and Stainless Steel
Experience gained with shelving and wine cellars for storing wine (another passion) teaches us that for the shelves of the bottles it is better not to use glass or metal, but instead use wood or methacrylate. This is essential because both Wood and Methacrylate do not transmit the micro-vibrations that have a very negative effect on the effectiveness and duration of the wine’s conservation. All this also applies to our electronics which must be protected from resonances and micro vibrations.
In addition to Methacrylates, at INDAT Plastics we have gained 45 years of experience in the Industrial sector in the production of special parts in Polyurethane Elastomer and in the use of Gaskets and Nitrile Rubber (NBR) plates. These two materials, thanks to their elasticity, are widely used as anti-vibration and elastic joints; they are used to prevent dangerous resonances from occurring that can damage machinery, buildings or infrastructures.
For its part, DAM boasts great experience in the processing of ferrous materials and for the Crystal Rack we used the best: Anodized 304 stainless steel. Beautiful to look at and very functional. Both INDAT Plastics and DAM use highly technological machinery to have minimum tolerances but at the same time maintain that typical Made in Italy craftsmanship.
TECHNOLOGY
The Decoupling
The shelves and legs are in high-thickness methacrylate (the one used in anti-noise barriers), already limiting the transmission of micro vibrations.
The 3mm washers in 90Sh Transparent Polyurethane Elastomer (material used in industrial machinery and overhead cranes) have remarkable properties of absorption of vibrations, converting part of the energy into heat, decoupling the shelves from the feet.
The Spikes, concentrating all the weight in a few points, change the resonance frequencies; and the lower the resonance frequencies, the greater the energy needed to make the structure vibrate.
The final decoupling between the Rack structure and the supporting floor is obtained by means of a NBR 70 sh rubber disc placed under the large final sub-point.
To obtain a further decoupling, instead of the standard sub-centers, you can put the DAM 100, which through their ball and spring technology incredibly improve the decoupling.
The PRO and eXtreme models of the Crystal Rack make abundant use of DAM technology to “raise the bar” to absolute Reference levels in the world of Hi-End Racks.