studio gear racks-closed or open back?

Wilburguy · 7th May 2007, 12:43 PM

Hi guys,

Currently shopping for new wooden studio racks for outboard gear. I see nice one like the Argosy stuff but they appear to have closed backs that make me worry about heat buildup and poor wiring accessability. Cheaper racks like Raxxess have open backs. Any opinions?

ps: real heat generators like preamps would have a single empty space above them with a vented "blank" panel

fooman · 7th May 2007, 03:52 PM

I built my own wooden rack. I was gonna put a door on the back, but I decided to leave it open for the heat issues. I haven't had a problem. It's deep enough to hide all the ugliness inside and looks really great.

Middle Atlantice sells rack fans that you can install in the rack.

edwonbass · 7th May 2007, 04:03 PM

For me it would depend on where the rack was going to be. If your desk/rack is pretty much against a wall then the closed back would be fine. If you have a big control room and can walk around you desk you might want to go with a closed back just to hide the wires and such. In that case fans might be a good idea.

666666 · 7th May 2007, 04:34 PM

I see no reason at all for a closed back... unless the rear will face a high traffic area where you are specifically concerned about aesthetics and / or people bumping into / snagging wires, etc. I once had a nice piece of furniture that I used as a rack... it had a "closed back"... I simply cut out the back and made it open... very easy to do if you have the proper power saw.

I soon plan on developing my own "rack" cases / furniture. My idea is to just use adjustable shelves and NO actual rack rails. What I hate so much about traditional rack cases is that when you need to remove one unit from the rack, especially when the unit is in the middle, it's a serious pain, and you wind up scratching the unit, etc. Also, metal rack rails can cause ground loop problems, etc.

Having units sit freely on shelves is way better in my opinion. You can add / remove units very easily at any time, no headaches, zero damage to gear. Plus, all units would be completely isolated from each other, no ground loop issues. It allows for maximum ease and flexibility.

One idea is to have "master clamp rails" on the front, made of wood (one on each side), that would simply "clamp" the rack ears against the frame, keeping the units from sliding around when you go to plug / unplug cables. These wood "clamp rails" would pop right on / off with wing nuts on threaded studs... something like that. This could all be done in a neat clean manner, could be made to look very nice.

Yes, using shelves would eat up some real estate, as you'd have extra "dead space" between units, but that dead space also allows for cooler running. The shelves themselves could be made of some type of mesh, or even wood with a proper amount of cooling holes... to allow for good air flow. Or could even just be a pair of metal rods or L brackets that span across to support the audio units so the units are essentially suspended in mid air. The case could be designed so that you'd have a "shelf" every 4-rack spaces approximately to either support one 4-space unit, or support four 1-space units (sitting on top of each other with rubber feet)... or two 2-space units, etc... because having a "shelf" every one rack space would be wasteful.

So... rack makers out there... you are welcome to steal my idea and make such rack cases so I can buy them and thus not have to build them myself... because I'd rather spend my time making music as opposed to building custom rack units.

If I do wind up making custom "shelf" rack cases, I'll post pics.

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7th May 2007, 12:43 PM	#1
Wilburguy Gear Head Join Date: Jun 2005 Posts: 64	studio gear racks-closed or open back? Hi guys, Currently shopping for new wooden studio racks for outboard gear. I see nice one like the Argosy stuff but they appear to have closed backs that make me worry about heat buildup and poor wiring accessability. Cheaper racks like Raxxess have open backs. Any opinions? ps: real heat generators like preamps would have a single empty space above them with a vented "blank" panel

7th May 2007, 03:52 PM	#2
fooman Lives for gear Join Date: Mar 2007 Location: Ontario, Canada Posts: 743	I built my own wooden rack. I was gonna put a door on the back, but I decided to leave it open for the heat issues. I haven't had a problem. It's deep enough to hide all the ugliness inside and looks really great. Middle Atlantice sells rack fans that you can install in the rack. __________________ XXII-22 Productions

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7th May 2007, 04:03 PM	#3
edwonbass Gear nut Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Columbia, MD Posts: 97	For me it would depend on where the rack was going to be. If your desk/rack is pretty much against a wall then the closed back would be fine. If you have a big control room and can walk around you desk you might want to go with a closed back just to hide the wires and such. In that case fans might be a good idea.

7th May 2007, 04:34 PM	#4
666666 Lives for gear Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: Long Island, NY Posts: 1,000	I see no reason at all for a closed back... unless the rear will face a high traffic area where you are specifically concerned about aesthetics and / or people bumping into / snagging wires, etc. I once had a nice piece of furniture that I used as a rack... it had a "closed back"... I simply cut out the back and made it open... very easy to do if you have the proper power saw. I soon plan on developing my own "rack" cases / furniture. My idea is to just use adjustable shelves and NO actual rack rails. What I hate so much about traditional rack cases is that when you need to remove one unit from the rack, especially when the unit is in the middle, it's a serious pain, and you wind up scratching the unit, etc. Also, metal rack rails can cause ground loop problems, etc. Having units sit freely on shelves is way better in my opinion. You can add / remove units very easily at any time, no headaches, zero damage to gear. Plus, all units would be completely isolated from each other, no ground loop issues. It allows for maximum ease and flexibility. One idea is to have "master clamp rails" on the front, made of wood (one on each side), that would simply "clamp" the rack ears against the frame, keeping the units from sliding around when you go to plug / unplug cables. These wood "clamp rails" would pop right on / off with wing nuts on threaded studs... something like that. This could all be done in a neat clean manner, could be made to look very nice. Yes, using shelves would eat up some real estate, as you'd have extra "dead space" between units, but that dead space also allows for cooler running. The shelves themselves could be made of some type of mesh, or even wood with a proper amount of cooling holes... to allow for good air flow. Or could even just be a pair of metal rods or L brackets that span across to support the audio units so the units are essentially suspended in mid air. The case could be designed so that you'd have a "shelf" every 4-rack spaces approximately to either support one 4-space unit, or support four 1-space units (sitting on top of each other with rubber feet)... or two 2-space units, etc... because having a "shelf" every one rack space would be wasteful. So... rack makers out there... you are welcome to steal my idea and make such rack cases so I can buy them and thus not have to build them myself... because I'd rather spend my time making music as opposed to building custom rack units. If I do wind up making custom "shelf" rack cases, I'll post pics.