Pioneer Spec Rack Build

[ChopperChas]

I know this is an old post, but for the gear without rack ears, why not take a piece of 1.25" wide by 1/8" thick bar of aluminum from Home Depot, cut to length, and drill the holes? It won't actually support the weight of the equipment, but it will LOOK like it does. I mean, it's a cheat but it's like $11 instead of $300 per unit, and it should look good if you give the aluminum a nice brushed finish.

Also, I want to see the finished product!

Charles.

 

[M0t0wn]

Hopefully not to much of topic but does anyone know for the original rack the color of the MDF (laminate) and the steel parts?

 

[miklemke]

The laminate is black.

 

[Drinkwater]

Great post!

I love when people post their journey. That first version sucked but it was part of the process.

 

[FireGuruMN]

Never wanting anything to go to waste, here is how the first version ended up:

I've been doing more wood working this winter than amplifying.

These started out as rotted out Polk Monitor 10's I got for free con CL:

 

[doctorolds]

Damn, @FireGuruMN those look great!
I hope they sound as good as they look!

 

[FireGuruMN]

I had to eq down the spike at 15k because it was peeling paint. I kinda like the spike at 100hz. I'll do a writeup of the drama building them some day. I was surprised at the low end from two 5" drivers and a passive radiator. I have an original pair in original cabinets but newer drivers and they sound pretty much the same. The drivers from the free CL post were early in the production line. Masking tape on the backs for QC signoff. Cool.

 

[Magnolia Tom]

So I'm going with this layout (for now):
View attachment 2591810
It puts the preamp up high and that is where most of the user interface is (volume knob). Unless you are the type that maxes out the volume and controls the loudness with your streaming device. No, I do not advocate doing that. Something learned: the screws on rack rails ARE NOT evenly spaced. They are off by just enough to be super annoying. But I found that if I removed the plastic centering spacers I could just barely get the preamp mounted outside the designated rack spots.
I like how having the non-rack mount equipment spread out among the rack mount makes it almost like the pioneer gods intended it that way.

Full mug shot set:
View attachment 2591830
View attachment 2591833
View attachment 2591835
View attachment 2591842
I put in the LED light but I am undecided as to its value. I'm sure it will increase the number of questions like "what's that blue thing on top" since the reverb is hidden otherwise. But if the top shelf did not stick out in front you could see all that stuff more easily without the light. That reminds about why pro bicyclists need padded pants, its because the pro bike seats don't have enough padding. It's funnier when Dilbert tells it.
The polyurethane eventually dried once I got inside the air conditioned house.
I suppose the next step is wiring it all up. I have lots of "vampire wire" cables that will look super nice. Got a whole pile of them included with a stack of that beautiful pioneer elite with the rosewood. The cables are worth more than I paid for the whole stack. But they have clear plastic so the copper shielding is visible. That will look nice. But I will still need some cable management. Does anyone have any suggestions on cable management systems? Pretty pictures are worth 1000 words. . .

Oh, the turntable is PL55DX with a nice grado cartridge and a cracked cover (see rear mug shot). The walnut matches nicely.

On the side shot you can see that my tuner is more grey than black. It was a rust bucket so I sanded it down and sprayed "hammered black" on. Apparently some paint is more black than other paint.

I know this is kinda old but could you explain how to integrate the “secondary” components into the system? Like the processor and reverb amp, etc..
Are they connected to the equalizer or to a tape deck? My current setup is amp, eq, TT, R2R, and Cassette. I’m adding a RG2 processor and don’t know what to hook it into

 

[FireGuruMN]

There are countless examples elsewhere on AK. I liked this one:

Connect EQ Expander Reverb to Preamp

I've been a member of Audiokarma for a few years now and a topic that I see come up fairly often is "How do I connect my EQ, expander, reverb unit and tape machine to my preamp?". As with all things there are different ways to accomplish this. I've created this post in the hopes of trying to...

audiokarma.org

But personally, I'm a purist. No EQ, no processing, no reverb. I have those in my rack just for eye candy. My spec1 is wired directly into the spec2. And all tone controls are bypassed on the spec1. If I do need some EQ or correction for speakers I do it in my DAC/Computer which is the source of all my music. It is also possible (and arguable better) to connect your source directly to the spec2 amplifier. You lose lots of gain but there is tons of power in these spec amps to make up for it. I have a second spec2 now that my tech did a complete restoration on (caps, transistors, everything. He says he cannot hear any noise out of it at all. I have not hooked it up yet since I just had a shoulder replaced and my arm would fall off if I lifted it. or something else bad.

 

[Magnolia Tom]

There are countless examples elsewhere on AK. I liked this one:

Connect EQ Expander Reverb to Preamp

I've been a member of Audiokarma for a few years now and a topic that I see come up fairly often is "How do I connect my EQ, expander, reverb unit and tape machine to my preamp?". As with all things there are different ways to accomplish this. I've created this post in the hopes of trying to...

audiokarma.org

But personally, I'm a purist. No EQ, no processing, no reverb. I have those in my rack just for eye candy. My spec1 is wired directly into the spec2. And all tone controls are bypassed on the spec1. If I do need some EQ or correction for speakers I do it in my DAC/Computer which is the source of all my music. It is also possible (and arguable better) to connect your source directly to the spec2 amplifier. You lose lots of gain but there is tons of power in these spec amps to make up for it. I have a second spec2 now that my tech did a complete restoration on (caps, transistors, everything. He says he cannot hear any noise out of it at all. I have not hooked it up yet since I just had a shoulder replaced and my arm would fall off if I lifted it. or something else bad.

Thank you!