{"id":4611,"date":"2014-04-24T14:27:43","date_gmt":"2014-04-24T12:27:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/?p=4611"},"modified":"2023-08-29T12:50:02","modified_gmt":"2023-08-29T10:50:02","slug":"artesania-exoteryc-audiorack","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.hifi-advice.com\/blog\/review\/accessories-reviews\/racks-stands-feet-reviews\/artesania-exoteryc-audiorack\/","title":{"rendered":"Artesania Exoteryc Audiorack"},"content":{"rendered":"

The most stunning audio rack I have ever seen, and my new reference<\/h2>\n

There are only a handful of brands that make ultra high-end audioracks. There’s Harmonic Resolution Systems (HRS), Copulare, Finite Elemente, Grand Prix and Symposium. And then there’s Artesania. The latter is something special. It is a rack with a classical appearance that hides its high-tech nature in plain sight. I had never seen one in person but the photos looked so very promising and the idea behind it so interesting that I became massively intrigued.<\/p>\n

Review samples supplied by: Artesania Audio<\/a><\/h4>\n

Retail prices:<\/strong><\/h4>\n

– 3 shelf 5075 euro
\n– 4 shelf 6171 euro
\n– 6 shelf tandem 8357 euro
\n– optional turntable platform in glass\/steel 1556 euro
\n– optional turntable platform in glass\/Inox 2285 euro<\/h4>\n

\"Esoteric_4_shelf_unit<\/p>\n

Intro<\/strong><\/p>\n

Over the coarse of the last 10 years I have heard and compared various audioracks and have always found the Finite Element Spider to be the clear winner in terms of neutrality, unrestricted dynamics, low level resolution and lack of coloration. And of course the modular system is ideal for persons who often change their system configuration. Sonically there wasn’t much that the Spider detracted: a slightly thinner sound was its only vice. Still, as my system evolved I have been entertaining the idea of moving to a more upscale audiorack for quite some time.<\/p>\n

Now that my system was almost exclusively silver-colored, my aim was to get a more classical, dark-colored rack. The Spider was just getting a bit too Fischer-Price and too aluminum-esque for me after all these years. Also: the modular nature of the rack, although fabulous in idea, also meant that elements bought over time were never 100% fitting. I would always struggle to get all pillars exactly level. I’m a perfectionist that way.<\/p>\n

But the new rack would have to be at least as good sonically and as versatile as the Spider. After all: my setup changes a lot and a rack with fixed shelves wouldn’t work. Quite soon I stumbled on the world’s most esoteric racks but was baffled at their prices. PARTicular, Harmonic Resolution Systems, Rethm and finally Artesania. The latter really took my fancy! Viewed from a distance it seems as simple as a regular rack but from the sides and upon close inspection its high-tech nature is revealed. The Artesania Esoteric rack is basically a frame suspended from the top within another frame. Theoretically this would mean that the bottom level should sound as good as the top level, or maybe, even better. What’s even better is that there are no shelves but only frames with integrated feet to rest the component’s belly’s on, much like with Spider. But this time the levels are infinitely adjustable in height.<\/p>\n

Even though a Spider isn’t exactly cheap, I think that its quality more than justifies its price. And after having compared it to various other racks I just accepted that quality has its price. Recently, the idea of spending a lot more than Spider’s entry price on a rack was starting to sound ever more reasonable. Non-audiophiles may struggle to understand that spending many thousands on a piece of audio furniture can seem like a good investment to anyone but it is quite simply just a gradual process. While getting better and better equipment at ever steeper prices, one get accustomed to the principle. So it became to be that I was ready for a super-high end rack. Surely it wouldn’t be out of place as long as it costs less than any one component that it housed? I took the plunge and ordered an Artesania Exoteryc audiorack.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Above: Spider rack and Artesania rack side by side test setup, enabling comfortable one on one comparisons<\/p>\n

About the name<\/strong><\/p>\n

While searching the internet, I found two different spellings for the name of the rack: Esoteric and Exoteryc. It made me wonder which was correct. I asked mr Cayetano Castellano who handles international press matters for mr Jose Luis Lafarga, the designer of the rack. The reason is simple: originally the rack was called Esoteric but because a Japanese company had registered this as a brand name, Artesania changed the name to Exoteryc.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Above:\u00a0The Mark Levinson no. 390S CD player is the first component to test-drive the rack<\/p>\n

Functionality<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Artesania Exoteryc has a very special trick up its sleeve that upon first inspection might not be immediately obvious: it is essentially a rack suspended within another rack, the inner rack being thin and elegant and the outer being solid and heavy. On the detailed photos it is clear to see how this works: four polyamide dampers are screwed to extensions of the four big pillars with a neoprene ring sandwiched tightly in between. The inner rack in turn rests its spikes on top of the polyamide dampers. The whole is surprisingly sturdy: there’s no wiggle, even without optimally aligning the anti-pendular movement screws in the bottom. By the way: the rack is not only super-solid but also acoustically dead: there’s absolutely no ringing anywhere, which goes a long way explaining its weight of more than 60KG (132 Pounds)!<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Within the suspended rack, there are normally 3 levels (60cm version) or 4 levels (90cm version) equipment levels, all infinitely adjustable. For my rack I have ordered on extra level so that all my sources can be housed within the rack, with the top position left vacant for reviewing purposes. The total weight that the suspended cage can carry is 150KG which is more than enough even for me and my heavy Jeff Rowland equipment. If you have a turntable you can also order an optional thick sandwiched glass top level. Besides the 60cm and 90 cm single racks there’s also a Tandem version.<\/p>\n

\"Esoteric_double_tandem<\/p>\n

Each level has two beautifully polished stainless steel bars with pre-drilled thread in them which allow a great deal of flexibility of feet placement in the lateral plane. The two bars are in turn freely positionable in the horizontal plane and can be fixed with two big screws when the perfect position is found.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

The white component feet are placed on top of 4 sharp steel spikes and sit snugly thanks to a soft plastic insert. They work comparable to Finite Elemente Ceraballs that way. The feet themselves come in two flavors: with velvet top layer and with neoprene top layer. The manual states that the velvet ones can be used in circumstances where the listening room is well-treated and some over-damping can take place if the neoprene pads are used. I found the opposite to be true with the velvet ones sounding more “filtered”, softer and lacking some bass articulation compared to the neoprene ones.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Additionally there are also two sets of pads for under the rack’s feet: black neoprene ones and white polyamide ones. I understand from the manual that the white ones are default while the black neoprene ones are to be used in situations where the listening room is under-damped (very lively). For this one I didn’t experiment and chose the harder wite ones for their suspected better articulation. After all, my system had been tuned using a Spider rack: racks do not get any more direct-coupled than that.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Also included are heavy dampers (15cm diagonally) for placement on top of the components. They are covered with soft neoprene on the bottom so that they will never damage the equipment that they sit on.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

All feet are individually adjustable. In fact: the entire rack is so easily adjustable in so many ways that it is simply a joy to use.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Finally, the kit also includes earth wire, spirit level, spanners and various hexagonal wrenches. This is a very, very complete product.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Listening Tests<\/strong><\/p>\n

First thing I wanted to know was how the rack performs from level to level. Some may not be aware of this phenomenon, but all rack I have used, tilt the character of the component from tight to fluid, depending on which level it is placed. The Spider rack for example sounds best when using the top level, no matter whether that is the top level of a 30cm, 60cm or 90cm rack. It is always the toplevel that sounds most free and agile. The Spider’s bottom level by the way makes my equipment sound much too controlled and dry. So big is this effect that I never use the bottom level. Naturally, I was curious to find out how the Artesania would perform from level to level.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Levinson 390S CD player<\/strong><\/p>\n

First guinea pig was the Levinson 390S CD player, which I moved from top position to bottom position and then back down level by level. Sure enough: there were clear differences in sound and funnily enough they were contrary to the effect that the Spider rack has. Of course, this is only logical because the Spider is most tight at the bottom and most free at the top while for the Artesania Exoteryc this is the reverse because of its suspended “pendular” inner cage. But, with the Exoteryc, the sound never becomes overly tight as it does with the Spider.<\/p>\n

The first thing I noticed after placing the Levinson placed on the Exoteryc top level after listening to it on the Spider’s top level, was this immense authority. The sound was much fuller and more harmonic and seemingly a lot of stress had been shedded. The midrange, that was slightly forward with the Spider, was now simply majestic. In fact, the whole sound has this luxurious feel to it, as if I just switched from a Sony CD player to a Jeff Rowland (if they made a CD player…). For all its gloriousness, the sound is absolutely not dull. In fact it is very rhythmic and highly detailed. Low level resolution increases without introducing thinness or shoutiness. Very impressive. Going back made both mine and my listening pal’s mouths fall open. We hadn’t anticipated such a large difference. I was even scared for a typical case of win some – lose some. Definitely not the case here.<\/p>\n

The top level, as would later turn out, makes the 390S sound most rhythmic and dynamic, with the best bass but also the most accurate\/dry treble of all levels. The bottom level sounds more relaxed and a lot smoother, with very fluid treble. This level is slightly laidback and if I were to use the Levinson on this level then I’d have to do some cable rolling in order to retain the balance. Nothing serious though.<\/p>\n

So, if the top level is slightly too dry for the Levinson and the bottom one is slightly too relaxed, certainly the perfect level should be somewhere in-between, right? Yes indeed. It turned out that the second level from the top offers the best balance for the Levinson. Mind you – mileage will vary depending on chosen component and system synergy. Luckily the rack offers lots of tweaking possibilities. For example, if the Levinson was placed on the mid level (third level from the top), it would also be slightly relaxed but this was easily compensated for by sliding out the feet-supporting bars more toward the sides. Voila: more bass articulation while retaining smoothness.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

More components<\/strong><\/p>\n

Thus far the rack was occupied only by the Levinson CD player. Now it was time to see how placing a heavy component on top (without connecting it) would influence the sound of the Levinson. The latter btw has its final position on the middle level. Again a big surprise: instead of the expected slight thickening, the sound opened up more. Treble is airier and the whole sounds even more luxurious. To substantiate: removing the Meridian 818 made the sound flatter again. This promised something for when all components were positioned in the rack.<\/p>\n

Jeff Rowland Aeris DAC<\/strong><\/p>\n

Reconnecting the Jeff Rowland Aeris<\/a> DAC to the Levinson’s digital output, as I normally do, made the expected improvement. As can be read in the Aeris review, this DAC is one of the very few to actually improve on the 390S’s sound. The Aeris is made of one solid block of aluminum. It is very heavy and one wouldn’t expect that it would be influenced in any way by the way that it is supported. But guess what? Switching the Aeris from the Spider rack to the Artesania again made for a big improvement. On the Artesania rack, the Rowland sounded even more like a Rowland: smooth and glorious and majestic yet highly neutral. I knew enough. I was done with the Spider and all components were to be moved to the Artesania.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Complete implementation<\/strong><\/p>\n

Setting up really isn’t as complex as you’d think it might be. In fact I find it no more complex than setting up a Spider rack. But if you do need help, there’s a video on youtube that very clearly explains it all. So, the time has come to listen to all components, setup in the Artesania Exoteryc rack. I started with the Aeris in top position and built from there. As long as you make sure that the outer structure is 100 level, then make sure the inner structure is also 100% level, you cannot go wrong. Start out with an imperfectly aligned element and you might end up having to do a whole lot of adjustments later on, so I’d advise to take your time doing the initial setup. It’ll save time in the end. The entire setup including some listening tests in between took me half a day. I guess it could have been a lot quicker if I didn’t evaluate all possibilities on a component per component basis but the same has always been true for the times when I “reformatted” the Spider rack.<\/p>\n

One last word on the build quality of the Artesania rack: it is 100% perfect! All elements are manufactured to the highest standards. There is no ringing anywhere, no rough edges and everything is geometrically perfect. The Exoteryc rack is a beautiful object and almost a piece of art and it instills a huge Pride of Ownership. The latter may not come cheap, but you certainly get a massive amount of quality for the outlay.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Listening to the entire setup<\/strong><\/p>\n

Oftentimes I conclude that a certain component has been like a teacher to me. The Wadia 861 was such a machine. It tought me about rhythm and about acoustical, natural sound. Once I had grown to love the Wadia-portrayal of piano and percussion, and voices too, many other CD players sounded synthetic to me. I never before knew that the Sony XA50ES sounded a bit “plasticky”. In the same way, the Artesania has been like a teacher to me.<\/p>\n

I have heard and used many different audio racks. Heavy ones, light ones, solid ones and floppy ones. One conclusion that I made early on was that wood was not my friend. At least, wooden platters weren’t. MDF was the worst. No matter the brand, wooden equipment supports would always sound colored and oftentimes congested. Heavy racks with lots of damping or sandwiched layers would not color as much but in turn rob the music of its free-flowing quality or reduce dynamics. Cabinets invariably sounded boxy and glass\/steel racks would sound too pinched. At one time I actually liked the top levels of a simple steel Target stand, but its other levels very much degraded the sound quality. Which brings me to the other problem that I encountered early on: no matter the brand, every level sounds different depending on the level used. All this brought me to try the Finite Elemente Spider rack. I was immediately smitten for its configurability and uncolored sound. As an added bonus, it increased low level detail, without adding pinch. Or so I thought all of the last 10 years. But I’m getting ahead of myself.<\/p>\n

To me, the Spider was the only rack that didn’t add a boxiness to the sound. Sure it sounded a little leaner than most racks but you get a lot in return. The Spider was no different in variance across its levels, but there were various ways to tweak the sound: using ceraballs or rubber feet made a lot of difference, as did the positioning of the feet. Without exception the sound became looser with the feet positioned more toward the center, and tighter toward the outer sides. For the longest time, the Spider would be my rack of choice. I even compared it to the Pagode at some stage, and found that rack to sound colored and restrained dynamically. Go figure.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Naturally, system synergy is a major factor in any comparison, but that’s another story. The little intro above brings me back to the Artesania rack. For it, too, turns out to be like a teacher to me. It showed in an instant that the Spider rack was pinched and forward in the midrange and that it apparently shifts energy from the lower octaves into the higher octaves. What’s more: compared to the Artesania, much like a Sony to a Wadia, the Spider rack sounds synthetic! The Spider doesn’t begin to touch on the Artesania’s pure, natural, full-color sound. Even if the Spider rack is on balance a little more airy and agile, it just doesn’t move me anymore after having listened to the Artesania. Such is the life of an audiophile. It is so easy to get used to better sound!<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Just look at the pictures below: isn’t the Artesania Exoteryc audio rack a beautiful work of audio-art?<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Final comments<\/strong><\/p>\n

The most important thing in audio is system synergy. Balance between components. No matter which component you buy, you will always have to take some effort bedding it in. It will rarely happen that you take out one component, plunge in another and everything is 100% better. The Artesania Exoteryc is no different. Even though it is better than the Spider rack in 90% of the areas, my system had been balanced with the Spider in place. This means that I have been compensating for its leanness and perhaps unknowingly also compensated for its forward midrange. It comes as no surprise then to find that the sound becomes a little out of balance after a huge change such as an equipment rack.<\/p>\n

During the initial listening tests where the CD player was moved to the Artesania rack and the rest of the system was unchanged, there were only benefits. Adding the DAC also only added to that. But when the preamp was added, the sound tilted a little too much toward the smooth. Apparently, even though the Coherence II weighs 50KG, still it was influenced by the maximum swing effect offered by the Exoteryc’s lowest level. For most music this was beneficial but for more rhythmic-driven music, it was a little too relaxed.<\/p>\n

But this was nothing a little cable-rolling couldn’t fix. After a lot of experimenting, what ultimately did the trick was a combination of mechanical and electrical tweaks. First I moved the feet under the CD player to the most outer position that the player would allow. Second I moved the powercable of the preamp from the Lapp extensionblock to the installationwire extensionblock, where the power amps already were. Lastly, I connected the supplied grounding wire to the top level at the one end and to the ground of the extensionblock at the other end.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Grounding<\/strong><\/p>\n

That last thing really surprised me. I knew from a friend’s ungrounded system, that when we grounded it, we didn’t like the sound. Although it became technically better, we felt that the conveyance of emotion was lessened. Naturally, this is also all about system synergy. His system had been tweaked from the non-grounded starting point. In my case, the situation was different in that the sound was a little off balance at the starting point and grounding the rack made the sound shift right in position. Still, I was surprised by the amount of difference that grounding a rack can make. Perhaps a nice free tip for folks owning metal racks: try grounding it. You may or may not like the results, but I promise you that there will be a difference. How very cool that Artesania included it, too, or I might not even have tried it!<\/p>\n

Update june 2013<\/strong><\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Using the Dampers<\/strong><\/p>\n

The package also includes a special damper for every level. I didn’t try them until later because my components are so solid and heavy already, especially the Rowlands, that I figured it unnecessary. However, as it turned out, the AAZ Ultra Flow music server could do with a little extra weight. Adding the damper on top made for more colour and fulness in the midrange where it was previously slightly thin. Its overall sound became less computer-esque and more like the Levinson CD player. In the process, rhythm is also slightly reduced but the server has plenty of that so as not to tilt the balance too much either side.<\/p>\n

\"Wadia121_750pix<\/p>\n

Various other components also work very\u00a0well with a little extra weight on top: the lightweight Wadia 121 DAC springs to mind particularly. Not only does the weight prevent the unit from tipping over when connecting heavy cables but it also makes it sound fuller and more organic. The super heavy weights in turn work extremely well on top of the wood covers for the Apogee Diva speaker’s crossovers.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Optional Turntable Platform<\/strong><\/p>\n

Initially, I bought the rack without the optional Turntable Platform. I don’t have a turntable and figured that I wouldn’t need the space for anything else. But after some time and after looking at pictures of the complete rack, it started luring me and the thought occurred that it would be very convenient to have a large top shelf to arrange current CD’s on, or to put review components on. What’s more, visually I think the platform is stunning and really adds to the rack’s appeal. While maintaining its beautiful architectural qualities, I think the rack becomes even more majestic when the platform is included.<\/p>\n

Like the rack, the platform isn’t cheap. But also like the rack, you get superb quality. The glass platter consists of three thick layers of glass, bonded by a rubbery substance. The glass platter alone weighs more than 40 kilograms! The steel construction fits perfectly and is fully adjustable: not only in height but also for each of the four cross bars, which are inserted into the standing pillars and fixed by two Allen screws which themselves are hidden from view under the black neoprene pads onto which the glass platter rests.<\/p>\n

Forget mantras about glass being “ringy”, as the glass platter itself is so dense that it will definitely not ring. Slapping it with your knuckles produces only a low-key thud, much like it would if the platter were made from solid aluminum.<\/p>\n

When assembled, the whole is super-sturdy and definitely won’t move from its position. It absolutely cannot accidentally be nudged off the rack.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Listening with the Turntable Platform in place<\/strong><\/p>\n

Seeing as the rack itself has such an elaborate and well-thought-out system to eliminate vibrations and the turntable platform is coupled to the main pillars directly, it had to sound entirely different. And it does. I carried out a range of tests using various pieces of equipment. For this review I will focus on the use of the Meridian 506.24 CD player.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

CD player on top of the Platform<\/strong><\/p>\n

As expected, the platform lends a different character to the sound than the suspended levels below it. On top of the glass platter, the Meridian’s bass is more pronounced and has more power, the midrange is more forward and more “live” and treble is more accentuated and drier. Although this presentation is not unpleasant, and actually welcome with hard-pounding basslines, the sense of richness through the midrange and the colorful, relaxed nature that the other levels of the rack lend to the music are reduced.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

CD player on the smaller optional glass platter<\/strong><\/p>\n

This smaller glass platter is also optionally available and can be useful when you need to place very narrow components on a shelf, or placing two narrow units next to each other. Like the big platform, this platter consists of three layers sandwiched layers of glass albeit much thinner ones. Although lighter in weight, still this platter doesn’t ring when you knock on it. But in use, it does sound a little like what you’d expect a glass platter to sound like: extra articulate in the midbass and extra pronounced in the midrange, while treble is a little harder. But this phenomenon would later turn out to be triggered by standing waves caught between the two glass layer more than by the mechanical coupling of the component sitting on it, but more on that later.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

CD player on the rack’s own feet<\/strong><\/p>\n

With the platform still in place and the CD player placed on the rack’s own feet, the Meridian sounds best. Quite obviously a lot of thought has gone into the design of the rack and its suspension system and it just shows. Compared to sitting on the top level, the player now sounds a little less dynamic and pace is a little slower but the overall balance is much better. From the lowest bass to the highest treble the sound is just more complete and more harmonically rich. With some CD’s such as those from Groove Armada, the extra propulsion in the bass and lower midrange that the Turntable Platform added were very welcome but with most of my music I preferred the rack’s normal levels and its own feet. The smaller glass platform had a sound signature somewhere in-between. It had extra articulation through the bass and lower midrange but also still portrayed some of the rack’s inherent stability and calmness. Still, with the platter removed I found the balance to be better.<\/p>\n

Glass platforms in place but without using them<\/strong><\/p>\n

As turned out eventually, adding the smaller glass platter to the rack with the Turntable Platter in place altered the sound, even when no component was placed on it. Most of the effects I noted above turned out to be attributable to the mere addition of the small glass platter. Removing it calmed down the forward midrange and hard treble and restored the more musically pleasant flow. Having the small platter in place but placing a component on top of it would dampen the midrange forwardness slightly but maintained the restriction of flow as the soundstage seemed to be compressed or tunneled between the two layers of glass. Out of curiosity I removed the small glass platform and substituted it with a wood panel. Surprisingly, this had almost the same effect as the glass platter, but the added coloration focussed on a lower frequency. It wasn’t better or worse, just different.<\/p>\n

\"Artesania-Exoteryc-550pix<\/p>\n

Removing the Turntable Platform<\/strong><\/p>\n

Now that I knew what the removal of the small glass platform did, I had no choice but to try the same with the big one. indeed again this made a difference and I am sorry to say that I preferred the sound without it. I hadn’t noticed when installing it but upon removing it I noticed how the sound relaxed and the stage breathed more freely. Interestingly missing went a sense of focus in the midrange, with snares now having less attack and bite. But overall I prefer the more natural sound that the rack provides without platters in place.<\/p>\n

After all, it isn’t surprising that the glass platform influences the sound because it bypasses the rack’s inherent design, which is to prevent the use of shelves. I liked the Spider racks for their absence of coloration and the same is true for the Artesania rack. Adding platforms to the design seems to undermine their design. I do think however that the effect I heard was greatly increased by the height of the rack and the fact that it is situated between the speakers. Even if the speakers are setup almost two meters from the rear wall, the fact that they are dipoles probably also has something to do with this.<\/p>\n

Then again, with a lower version of the Exoteryc rack or when the rack was setup next to one of the side walls in the listening room, the addition of either glass platforms probably wouldn’t have the same effects as in my setup. Either way, even though it looks stunning, adding the turntable platform turns out to influence the sound in my particular setup in such a manner that I prefer the rack without it.<\/p>\n

Conclusion<\/h2>\n

The Artesania Exoteryc is quite simply the best audio rack that I have used. Not only is it flawless in design and adjustability; soundwise it is also perfect and a massive improvement over any rack that I have used. It takes the best qualities of Finite Elemente’s Spider Rack and adds tonal richness, better low-level resolution, deeper black, a more solid soundstage with better focus, deeper, more powerful bass and a superbly natural sound. And it does all this while retaining treble fluidity and airiness, overall articulation and dynamic expression.<\/p>\n

The rack doesn’t hide its highly technical nature, but I perceive it as a classic case of “Form Follows Function”. This rack is just really well thought out and I personally think it looks spectacular. But more importantly, the added emotionality that this rack is able to squeeze out of my system is quite simply staggering.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Associated Equipment<\/a><\/p>\n

Read Also<\/h3>\n

Artesania Exoteryc 3-shelf version
\nArtesania Turntable Platforms and Dampers<\/a>
\nArtesania Aire Floor Platform<\/a>
\nVarious Artesania Footers tested with SolidTech Radius racks<\/a>
\nArtesania Modular Floor Platform<\/a>
\nArtesania Modular Rack<\/a><\/p>\n

External Links<\/h3>\n

Manufacturer: Artesania Audio<\/a>
\nBenelux distribution: Aspera Audio<\/a>
\nKrion website: Krion.com\/en<\/a><\/p>\n

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