
HiFi Rack Shelf Finish
In the same way as every musical performance needs a stage so a HiFi needs a stage to bring the music to life in your home. In 1995 we set out to develop a modular rack – the Q4 – that could support a variety of Hi Fi systems and deliver acoustic performance with style. This was achieved by combining solid aluminium columns with specially engineered shelves to create a light and rigid construction to deliver a clearer, cleaner musical performance.
It is commonly accepted that every component in a HiFi system from amplifier to source including record decks, cd players and streamers are microphonic and produce resonance that will distort the quality of the music reproduced by a HiFi system. This distortion can be significantly reduced by siting the HiFi system on a purpose built equipment rack designed to deal with the resonance. The design of a HiFi rack and the use of materials in its construction is critical. To develop our HiFi racks we use the tried and tested technique of tuning by ear in the same way as the finest musical instruments are developed. From extensive research we found that the use of non-ferrous metals such as Aluminium and Bronze along with natural materials such as Wood and Bamboo reduce resonance. Furthermore the shape of the shelves and columns used within the rack will determine how resonance is treated. In particular we found that a light but rigid construction delivers a clearer, cleaner musical performance.
Our first HiFi rack – the Q4 – was launched in 1995 and is still one of our most popular HiFi racks throughout the world. Since its launch we have sought to further improve performance most notably with the introduction of engineered channels in the reverse side of the shelves. This evolution led to renaming the HiFi rack “Q4EVO”. Now to celebrate 20th anniversary we have launched the Bronze upgrade that can be easily retro fitted to any Q4 HiFi rack or wall bracket. Bronze has a broader tonal spectrum and greater sustain that opens the soundstage of your system making it more musical and enjoyable without losing detail. More
All of the racks will support a minimum of 80kg per shelf, nearly all large power amplifiers or heavy turntables can be supported.
Theoretically there is no limit, we have found that not exceeding 8 tiers is the maximum recommended for the whole frame in terms of performance and aesthetics.
None of the current range has changed so any of it can be added to. The original Q4 from 1995 is the same today, shelf size and thread size. As systems expand the rack is modular so there should be no problems to add extra equipment like a power supply or DAC.