Hi-Fi Stands - Solidsteel
Your hi-fi can only perform at its finest on a proper hi-fi stand. A purpose made stand isolates each item to minimise vibrations and interference from power supplies and sensitive components. We sell a broad range of wooden and metal hi-fi racks including latest award winners. Call or e-mail for help finding the best rack for your system.
With many of the best hi-fi stands now designed as a striking furniture piece as well as an effective support for hi-fi separates, can you really justify not giving your hi-fi system what it deserves for best performance? We recommend spending 10% of your overall system on speaker cables or interconnects, and doing the same on your hi-fi and speaker stands.
Solidsteel is a small Italian company, in fact the oldest italian brand in the industry with iover 28 years of brand activity, producing high quality furniture and equipment for audio and visual components.
Along with a strong presence in Italy, Solidsteel now supply five continents represented in more than 30 countries and dedicate their activities to a wide range of AV entertainment passionates.
Solidsteel was founded in the early 1990s thanks to the passion for a musical universe entirely based on a culture for listening and craftsmanship. Founder, Moreno Conti, a great music-lover with extraordinary creative ability gave life to the brand and the origins of the name is deeply rooted in his musical passion and enthusiasm for records and engines. From an early age, he worked for the illustrious family-company “Conti” which was the official supplier of silencers for Ducati motorcycles in Bologna. This gave him the opportunity to learn the most accurate techniques of metal craftsmanship as well as the experience the most sophisticated and accurate open-flame welding techniques which was the first major step towards the creation of electronics furniture destined for the High End Hi-Fi world.
His great love for the audio culture led Moreno to design an audio system that could finely play his favourite music. Between 1988-1989, the first prototypes of Solidsteel furniture were tested and shown to the a select group of acquaintances and local audiophile technicians. The first results were more than encouraging and in a short time he built a strong awareness of a "solid" ground upon which to develop. First models were fully welded by hand according to the most precise and sophisticated techniques for the metal craftsmanship. No welds in sight, quality wooden shelves, clean paints and turned spikes to facilitate the damping of vibrations towards audio components. These elements quickly became essential marks of the working processes distinguishing the stands in the global market.
Solidsteel developed a key partnership with Audiogamma, a main Italian distributor in the audio-field which helped the brand with technical and commercial development for many years that followed and allowed them to become a well-known brand in Italy and throughout the World.
In spring 2013 the company’s project risked a collapse because of the tragic and unexpected death of late Moreno Conti. However, just while everybody was certain of the end of the Solidsteel project, the family discovered the huge work developed in secret by the great Moreno during his last two years of life. This important and innovative project was designed for the permanent abandonment of the welding processes of metal parts. The aim was to make room for a new, more efficient and advanced process of work based on the positive experiences given by the Hyperspike products.
A new generation led by Gaetano and Manfredi Conti took control of the project for the continuation of what was built from more than 25 years of work with the incorporation of the current company-project called “MC Group” with the philosophy “to serve the music and nothing else.” Today the brand is represented in many Countries around the World and also operates in a completely independent way into the Italian market.
The brand is an expression of attention, rigor and dedication to an exciting job that offers a range of products carefully developed for the demands of any enthusiast. Not just a product for the few, but also for anyone who appreciates listening to music in their favourite spaces.
Their task is to research, select and combine with care the best materials for the technical realisation of maximum functionality comprising a coherent design over time. They intend to preserve the artisan characteristics of products as the highest expression of corporate creed, completely based on the “Made in Italy” concept. In an age where everything is created to be consumed, they work to produce items intended to remain in time.
It may not seem like the most obvious upgrade you can buy to improve the performance of your kit, but quality Hi-Fi Stands can in some circumstances provide a substantial improvement to the performance of your equipment. Having all your equipment in one place makes operating your equipment more simple, enables you to use shorter lengths of cable, and also makes cable management much more reasonable.
A key principle in hi-fi is the separation of power supplies from other components. Power supplies produce a range of interference and mechanical noise which can interfere with the delicate and complex circuitry of your hi-fi equipment. It is for this reason that standalone power supplies are particularly popular with enthusiasts, and why separate pre and power amplifiers are considered superior to an integrated solution. This is because by separating the power supplies from one another the interference and negative effects of noise are limited and largely eliminated. A good quality Hi-Fi Stand can have a significant effect in achieving isolation which results in better sound and better performance.
Hi-Fi Stand manufacturers go to great lengths to ensure isolation between shelves and each layer of the stand, and to prevent any mechanical noise or vibrations affecting equipment on each shelf. Some stands use glass mounted on ball bearings to achieve the best possible isolation and decoupling, and ultimately the best performance from your equipment.
Most amplifier topologies and designs, particularly valve and Class A, produce a lot of heat as a by-product of producing great sound. Hi-Fi Stands come with a range of shelf gaps, enabling you to ensure suitable ventilation to make sure your kit is suitable cooled and ventilated to run and operate exactly to specification and ensure the longevity and optimum performance of your equipment.
The range of shelf heights is ideal for accommodating different equipment, and most Hi-Fi Stands will require a variety of heights throughout. An AV Receiver or Power Amplifier is more likely to be taller and require a bigger shelf gap, whereas CD players and most other separates tend to be smaller and easier to accommodate.
Other than their basic functions of holding your equipment in one place, Hi-Fi Stands can be a piece of furniture, with many manufacturers offering attractive products designed and built to a high specification. Many manufacturers use high quality materials and veneers, real hard woods for example, and we offer a range of Hi-Fi Stands to suit any design tastes or specifications. We even offer bespoke sizing should you have particularly awkwardly sized equipment or very specific requirements.
