Vibration Control

Racks & Isolation

HRS — vibration control engineered against measured targets, handbuilt in Buffalo, New York.

A great many rack manufacturers acknowledge vibration. Very few measure it.

HRS designs against measured performance first and listening second. Products are characterised with accelerometers and a seismic exciter to establish transmissibility — whether a given frequency band actually amplifies energy arriving through the floor — and the structure and materials are revised until the numbers are right.

The catalogue divides three ways. Audio stands address the structural path up through the floor and cabinet, isolation bases interrupt energy at the component boundary, and the chassis products control airborne vibration at the component itself. Every base loads into every stand, so the upgrade path is additive rather than replacing what you already own.

A turntable is a seismograph that happens to play music.

How to choose a rack

Racks handle vibration coming up from the floor; isolation bases handle energy arriving through the air, and they work under a good rack rather than instead of one. Turntables benefit most by a wide margin, then valve equipment. Check weight capacity, shelf spacing and ventilation before falling for a design.

HRS VXR Audio Stand

The reference Audio Stand from HRS — a billet-machined heat-treated aluminum frame carrying a ten-part cross brace at each component location.

HRS SXR Signature Audio Stand

The SXR frame with Solid Brace Inserts at every base location — triple the cross braces, four friction and two compression dampers per position.

HRS SXRC Audio Stand

The custom SXR frame for the largest amplifiers — vertical stacking with M3X2 or E1X bases size-matched to the amplifier chassis.

HRS SXR Audio Stand

The modular Audio Stand derived from VXR concepts — a six-strut billet aircraft-aluminum frame, reconfigurable at 6, 8 or 10 inch spacing.

HRS EXRD Audio Stand System

The 42-inch continuous-surface EXR — a five-leg asymmetrical support carrying up to 250 lb per shelf on a 1.5-inch low-profile plinth.

HRS EXR Audio Stand System

The foundation of the EXR family — a patented asymmetrical four-leg support with constrained layer damping on a 1.5-inch plinth, convertible to SXR.

HRS EXR Multi-Wide Audio Stand System

The EXR joined horizontally — two or more bays in tiered or side-by-side frames, in widths from 9.5 to 42 inches and any depth.

HRS EXRH Headphone Stand System

The small-format EXR for headphone amplifiers and compact sources — a 9.5 by 15 inch plinth on the same asymmetrical four-leg support.

HRS M3X2 Isolation Base

The reference Isolation Base — over 70 parts in six materials, a billet aircraft-aluminum housing and a polished black granite contact plate.

HRS S3 Isolation Base

Between M3X2 and R3X — seven materials in a vacuum-pressed plinth of resin, non-magnetic stainless steel and a decoupled mass core, 51 lb at 1921 size.

HRS R3X Isolation Base

The accessible S3 derivative — five materials around a CNC-machined non-resonant core with decoupled high-mass damping inside its pockets.

HRS E1X Isolation Base

The cost-effective foundation. Constrained layer damping + billet-machined aluminum trim. Same footer options as reference-tier.

HRS Vortex Chassis Noise Reduction Couplers

Chassis noise reduction placed on top of a component — the V-150 at fixed height and the V-150R adjustable, in stainless steel, singly or in sets.

HRS DPX Damping Plate

The heavier HRS damping plate at 1.3 inches thick — the same three footprints as the DPII at nearly twice the thickness, black or silver.

HRS DPII Damping Plate

The slimmer of the two HRS damping plates at 0.7 inches thick — three footprints from 5.5 to 14.5 inches long, in black or silver.

Choosing a rack, in detail

Two different problems get solved by this category and they are worth separating. Structure-borne vibration travels up from the floor into the rack and into the chassis. Airborne energy comes off the loudspeakers and excites the components directly. A rack addresses the first. Isolation bases address the second, and they work underneath a good rack rather than instead of one.

The components that care most are the ones with moving parts or very small signals: turntables first by a wide margin, then valve equipment, then disc transports. A solid-state power amplifier sitting on the floor is rarely where the audible gain is. If budget is limited, put the isolation under the analog front end and work outward from there.

Take the practical constraints seriously before falling for a design. Weight capacity per shelf, shelf spacing against the tallest component, ventilation clearance for amplifiers that run hot, and whether the rack can be levelled on the floor you actually have. A beautiful rack that will not take a monoblock is an expensive mistake.

Hear these in Scottsdale and Tempe

Isolation is the easiest thing in audio to demonstrate and the hardest to believe without hearing — put a turntable on an isolation base, take it off, and the difference is not subtle. We keep HRS set up so you can do exactly that. Bring the dimensions and weights of your components and we can specify properly rather than approximately.