My choice of expanding draught excluder makes fitting the top panel a bit of a trial, but you are rewarded with a really sand-tight result. Alternatively, just use standard 5mm foam strips. In this case, I left the top-plate unpainted as I was going to be using it with Neodio Origine B2 feet between the ‘sand-box’ and the PowerHAUS and the B2s like a natural wood surface. I also sank the top panel down around a cm in order to compensate for the height of the B2s while still keeping the Chord unit’s feet clear of the surround. Again, the beauty of DIY is that you can adapt the design to circumstances. With supports that includes issues of footprint and available vertical space (within a rack for instance) both of which can present challenges for off the shelf solutions.
If all that sounds horribly fussy and time consuming let me reassure of two things. My DIY skills are strictly basic and the tools I have available are far from extensive. This project involved clamps (which you can easily improvise with weights) and a sander. Other than that, glue, paint and a little patience were the principal ingredients. This really is DIY 101…
Reaping the benefits…
Was the ‘sand-box’ I built for the PowerHAUS worth the effort. Absolutely. It tidied up the cable installation significantly, improving cable dressing, the shorter drop that resulted from lifting the distribution block allowing greater flexibility in routing the power cables – and it did so without me having to move the racks further out into the room/sound field. Compared to standing the distribution block on a pair of B2 feet placed directly on the floor, there was a worthwhile increase in stability of the image, a blacker background and improved dimensionality. However, musically the most important shift was towards a greater sense of calm, a stillness behind the performance that served to reveal the direction and intent in the playing. That’s partly down to improved dynamic discrimination, but there was also a greater sense of order and purpose in the performance, whether we’re talking Americana (like Bill Malonee) or mainstream classical (the remarkable Sayaka Shoji). The old adage of ‘Front End First’ takes on new meaning when you consider that the AC supply really is where it all starts! At around the €50 mark (including filler) this is an upgrade that’s as welcome as it is cost effective.
What I’ve described above is the simplest possible (and cheapest possible) structure. Its one serious shortcoming is a lack of a levelling facility. You can tinker with the top platform and the sand beneath it, but that’s only ever going to be an approximate and pretty hit or miss solution. You could fit levelling feet to the underside of the carcass, but to achieve a really effective result mandates a far thicker base to accommodate the necessary threaded inserts. Bear in mind that the finished article is going to be pretty heavy, so wimpy little M6 or 3/32 threads just ain’t going to cut it – at least, not long term. Generally, where levelling is critical, I will either use a coupler with a levelling capability between the top platform and the unit that’s sitting on it, or the simple expedient of card shims under the felt pads. Somehow, the latter seems more in keeping with the general DIY ethos. If the idea offends you, you can always trim them to match the felt footers precisely.
