Massif Audio Design racks incoming, and......

[Mike Lavigne]

when you have as much gear as i have it's daunting to consider (the $$$'s for) beautiful high end audio racks. for over a decade i've been very satisfied with my cost effective and solid performing Adona Zero GXT racks; i have 4 of them. and this past year i added a used Finite Element Pagoda rack for my Ampex MR-70 tape preamps.

i'm excited to say i've found a rack builder in Canada who has completed and should ship to me in about a week, a set of three racks for me to replace all my current racks. while not exactly cheap, it's not too crazy after i sell my still current model Adona Zero GXT racks. i'm getting one four shelf single (22" x 19") rack for my MR-70 tape pre's, and twin three shelf double (42" x 19") racks for the rest of my source gear. these racks are solid hardwood and absolutely beautiful. i think in my all-hardwood maple paneled listening room the look should be stunning.

the racks are from Massif Audio Design in Ontario, Canada. i'm also auditioning one of their record weights, this one is solid Lignum. i've been using it now for over a month and love it everywhere i try it. more on that later.

the solid hardwood shelves are about 1.75 inches thick maple, and the 3" thick legs are solid Bubinga. all clear stained. footers will be Nordost Sort Fut w/Sort locks. 3 sets of 4 of these gems (not cheap...ouch!!!). with the (1) high mass and (2) solid build, along with (3) the Nordost footer system, i expect my rack performance to improve, and the aesthetics to be much more enjoyable to live with.

so far i only have pictures of the single rack assembled.......i choose the clear maple stain to allow my gear which is mostly dark or black to stand out on the shelves. right now with my black granite shelving the gear blends in and you hardly see some of it.

 

[Ron Resnick]

It looks beautiful, Mike! I'm sure you will enjoy having a full set of matching stands -- which also match your beautiful wood walls!

Congratulations!

Will you be getting matching amp stands, as well?

 

[djsina2]

Very nice. I inquired about one recently and he was backed up (I guess with your order).

 

[Mike Lavigne]

It looks beautiful, Mike! I'm sure you will enjoy having a full set of matching stands -- which also match your beautiful wood walls!

Congratulations!

thank you Ron.

Will you be getting matching amp stands, as well?

nope. never. my active Tana systems sitting on my concrete floor are the last word in amp stands.

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Very nice.

thanks Derek.

I inquired about one recently and he was backed up (I guess with your order).

maybe. i ordered and paid in August, so it does take some time, but considering it's completely custom and first rate quality it's a pretty reasonable time frame in my opinion.

 

[bazelio]

Very nice, Mike. They'll look great in your room for sure.

@djsina2 perhaps look at Timbernation. I've seen very similar designs from them. https://www.timbernation.com/highendaudio-shop/racks

 

[djsina2]

Very nice, Mike. They'll look great in your room for sure.

@djsina2 perhaps look at Timbernation. I've seen very similar designs from them. https://www.timbernation.com/highendaudio-shop/racks

I’ve used them twice in the past for small pieces and both times ended up in the garbage due to warping and glue joint break.

For this project I went to an old local mill and had the shelves made.

Massif would have been nice since I could have driven there for pick up but the timeline didn’t work out.

 

[djsina2]

Hmmm I don’t recall telling you or anyone I was overly backed up. What did you email about? A rack? A weight? Take care

It was a wide 3 tier rack. You mentioned you were backed up and it would be 5 weeks because you were especially busy that month.

 

[bazelio]

I’ve used them twice in the past for small pieces and both times ended up in the garbage due to warping and glue joint break.

For this project I went to an old local mill and had the shelves made.

Massif would have been nice since I could have driven there for pick up but the timeline didn’t work out.

Wow. RIP Timbernation. Good to know.

 

[T Boost]

It was a wide 3 tier rack. You mentioned you were backed up and it would be 5 weeks because you were especially busy that month.

my apologies.

 

[djsina2]

These racks are a good value when you actually price out the raw materials yourself. Wood prices are insane these days.

 

[the sound of Tao]

when you have as much gear as i have it's daunting to consider (the $$$'s for) beautiful high end audio racks. for over a decade i've been very satisfied with my cost effective and solid performing Adona Zero GXT racks; i have 4 of them. and this past year i added a used Finite Element Pagoda rack for my Ampex MR-70 tape preamps.

i'm excited to say i've found a rack builder in Canada who has completed and should ship to me in about a week, a set of three racks for me to replace all my current racks. while not exactly cheap, it's not too crazy after i sell my still current model Adona Zero GXT racks. i'm getting one four shelf single (22" x 19") rack for my MR-70 tape pre's, and twin three shelf double (42" x 19") racks for the rest of my source gear. these racks are solid hardwood and absolutely beautiful. i think in my all-hardwood maple paneled listening room the look should be stunning.

the racks are from Massif Audio Design in Ontario, Canada. i'm also auditioning one of their record weights, this one is solid Lignum. i've been using it now for over a month and love it everywhere i try it. more on that later.

the solid hardwood shelves are about 1.75 inches thick maple, and the 3" thick legs are solid Bubinga. all clear stained. footers will be Nordost Sort Fut w/Sort locks. 3 sets of 4 of these gems (not cheap...ouch!!!). with the (1) high mass and (2) solid build, along with (3) the Nordost footer system, i expect my rack performance to improve, and the aesthetics to be much more enjoyable to live with.

so far i only have pictures of the single rack assembled.......i choose the clear maple stain to allow my gear which is mostly dark or black to stand out on the shelves. right now with my black granite shelving the gear blends in and you hardly see some of it.

View attachment 119438 View attachment 119439 View attachment 119440 View attachment 119441

Looks fantastic, lovely choice.

 

[Argonaut]

Lovely contrast of timbers there Mike , your electronics will look most cool on there , I actually contacted him a while back regarding a very similar project, however he wouldn’t entertain shipping outside of the continent

 

[Mike Lavigne]

btw, i had heard of Massif before, but not seriously investigated them until this past summer when my local friend and WBF member @jazdoc got a single rack from Trev at Massif. and then i saw what Massif did to take care of jazdoc, and the quality and value, and so i looked into it more, communicated with Trev, and decided to move forward.

Trev has been a pleasure to work with and the communications have been very good.

 

[rad]

when you have as much gear as i have it's daunting to consider (the $$$'s for) beautiful high end audio racks. for over a decade i've been very satisfied with my cost effective and solid performing Adona Zero GXT racks; i have 4 of them. and this past year i added a used Finite Element Pagoda rack for my Ampex MR-70 tape preamps.

i'm excited to say i've found a rack builder in Canada who has completed and should ship to me in about a week, a set of three racks for me to replace all my current racks. while not exactly cheap, it's not too crazy after i sell my still current model Adona Zero GXT racks. i'm getting one four shelf single (22" x 19") rack for my MR-70 tape pre's, and twin three shelf double (42" x 19") racks for the rest of my source gear. these racks are solid hardwood and absolutely beautiful. i think in my all-hardwood maple paneled listening room the look should be stunning.

the racks are from Massif Audio Design in Ontario, Canada. i'm also auditioning one of their record weights, this one is solid Lignum. i've been using it now for over a month and love it everywhere i try it. more on that later.

the solid hardwood shelves are about 1.75 inches thick maple, and the 3" thick legs are solid Bubinga. all clear stained. footers will be Nordost Sort Fut w/Sort locks. 3 sets of 4 of these gems (not cheap...ouch!!!). with the (1) high mass and (2) solid build, along with (3) the Nordost footer system, i expect my rack performance to improve, and the aesthetics to be much more enjoyable to live with.

so far i only have pictures of the single rack assembled.......i choose the clear maple stain to allow my gear which is mostly dark or black to stand out on the shelves. right now with my black granite shelving the gear blends in and you hardly see some of it.

View attachment 119438 View attachment 119439 View attachment 119440 View attachment 119441

Congrats Mike! Trevor makes excellent stands. He has made many of my shelves for my stands. His records weights are a thing of beauty & are awesome sounding!

 

[PeterA]

Mike, that’s a good looking rack. Congratulations. Do you expect to hear a difference between these and your old racks and if so how do you think the sound will change?

What will the Nordost footers bring to the package?

 

[tony22]

I was curious about this too, @Mike Lavigne. I use Adona racks after years of using various wood racks, including Mapleshade among others. While when getting the total synergy right a beautiful sound can be had, in my own personal experience the non-constrained layer wood racks that I’ve used in my own and heard in friends’ systems all sound, well, like wood. Certainly nothing wrong with what that can do with a system that’s tuned for it, of course!

 

[Mike Lavigne]

I was curious about this too, @Mike Lavigne. I use Adona racks after years of using various wood racks, including Mapleshade among others. While when getting the total synergy right a beautiful sound can be had, in my own personal experience the non-constrained layer wood racks that I’ve used in my own and heard in friends’ systems all sound, well, like wood. Certainly nothing wrong with what that can do with a system that’s tuned for it, of course!

Massif racks that use 2 vastly different woods for shelves and legs like maple and bubinga , is a simple and more attractive variation on constrained layer damping. Bubinga happens to be exactly twice as hard as rock maple. And has a totally different density and strength profile . The 2 woods in concert will work in that way.

i think the extra heft of the weight, thickness and solidity of the Massif racks verses other wood racks i've seen takes things to another level of performance too. i've owned Box Furniture amp stands, and years ago owned Zoethecus racks for a decade. so i know what you mean.

reading about the Nordost footers my sense is that they will lower the noise floor of my system compared to the completely solid aluminum legs and spikes of the Adona. the cherry/granite shelving of the Adona and the rack interface will be different.

ultimately until i get them in room and the system set up and playing it's all speculation. i might need to 'tune' individual pieces of gear differently. that's what i do so i'm fine with that.

 

[PeterA]

Mike, are those through bolts putting the shelves in tension between the legs? Is the tensioning designed to be adjustable for fine tuning? Or are they simply wood bolts going into the shelves to attach the post to the shelf? I assume the rack is assembled and shipped in flat packaging, or is it assembled at the factory and shipped in its final configuration? Do you know the total weight of one rack?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Mike, that’s a good looking rack. Congratulations. Do you expect to hear a difference between these and your old racks and if so how do you think the sound will change?

my expectations are i will get an added sense of calm and ease. but that the life and energy will increase. might need to chase things to get there.

What will the Nordost footers bring to the package?

as i wrote above, those should lower the noise floor, allow things to sound less reproduced. i especially look forward to the effect on my tape and vinyl.