Blok

Stax 2G Hi-Fi Rack

USD $1,450 (as tested)

There are two traditional ways of thinking about hi-fi furniture. One is to acknowledge the crucial role it plays in letting your system sound its best while accepting that it's an unpleasant visual distraction from any kind of harmonious interior decor. The other is to try to find something with the least negative visual impact possible, hoping it doesn't spoil the sound too much.

Blok thinks there can be a third way, however. This company reckons it has an offering that performs well without being an eyesore in your listening room. It says its Stax 2G range of modular hi-fi furniture redefines a product category that hasn't much changed since Compact Cassette was a popular source of music. So, can Blok get the business done to an acceptable standard without swatting your listening room with the ugly stick?

UP CLOSE

There's no arguing with how thoughtful and thorough a job this company has done with the Stax 2G. In purely aesthetic terms, it's hard to think of an alternative product with anything like this modular system's decorative potential. It is available in three identically priced finishes. My review sample comes with satin white shelf supports and natural ash plywood shelving, but you can also choose from high-gloss black supports with black glass shelves or natural walnut supports with black ash plywood shelves. The balance between the dimensions of the supports and of the shelves looks nicely judged, and the relative lack of shelf bulk, along with the complete absence of visible steel, puts this, to my eyes at least, ahead of the competition where decorative potential is concerned.

Regardless of the finish you prefer, there are a few different options available where shelf clearances are concerned. A 'Shelf Base' unit, which raises your entire equipment rack off the floor and offers adjustable feet or spikes to ensure everything is level, will set you back $375 USD. A 'Shelf 120' (which, you won't be staggered to learn, offers a shelf height of 120mm) is $325 USD, while 'Shelf 170' (with 170mm of clearance) is $350 USD. 'Shelf 220' (take a wild guess) costs $375 USD, and 'Shelf LP' (with enough headroom to allow you to store vinyl records) will set you back $425 USD. The four-shelf collection I tested (a 'Base', two 'Shelf 170' and a 'Shelf 220') sells for $1,450 USD.

The product arrives as a series of flat-packed boxes that will be familiar to anyone who's ever visited IKEA for anything other than meatballs. Invisible fixings connect the shelves to the shelf supports, and fairly substantial silicone pads on the bottom of each shelf support fit neatly over the top of the fixings of the shelf below it - the look is discreet, and the potential for isolation from external and equipment-derived vibration is obvious.

Further isolation is available by removing the small rubber bungs within the shelf supports - this allows the support to be mass-loaded in the established 'serious hi-fi' manner. The increase in weight of the rack system, the improvements in structural rigidity, and the potential for even more effective rejection of vibrations are clear. Blok is prepared to discuss, at length, the inherent acoustic properties of both multiple layers of plywood and of glass for the shelves and is equally happy to confirm that neither material will sag over time. But surely by now, the broad point is satisfactorily made: the Blok Stax 2G is just as serious about its role in your audio system as any other credible equipment rack. It just doesn't look as 'rustic' while doing so.

THE LISTENING

My current reference system (Naim Uniti Nova Star amplifier/streamer, Rega Apollo CD player, Cambridge Audio Alva TT turntable, Chord Heui phono stage, Bowers & Wilkins 705 S3 loudspeakers, QED cables and Isotek Gemini V5 mains conditioning) has been in my listening space for quite some time. The electronic equipment has been supported by a few different racks manufactured by extremely reputable brands in the time, so I know what this system sounds like.

It is pleasing to report that the Blok Stax 2 G's effect on its performance is entirely positive. The differences between how it sounds when supported this way and how it sounded before the Blok system showed up are hardly night and day. Indeed, in some ways, they're very subtle, yet there are discernible differences—and I find myself drawn to how the Stax 2G allows my system to perform.

The biggest improvement is the way the system creates a soundstage. Even though this is the main difference, I don't want you to imagine it's any kind of radical change. It's just that a vinyl copy of Young Holt Unlimited's Young and Holtful sounds just that little bit more open, that little bit better defined and organised. There's a touch more space on the stage between the competing elements of the recording and a little more elbow room in which each performer can express themselves, but it's not at the expense of the unity or togetherness of the performance. And the question of timing is in no way compromised by the additional spaciousness now available.

There's just a hint of additional clarity at the very top of the frequency range, too. Treble extension doesn't sound like it has increased, yet the kind of enhancement, where both substance and attack are concerned, apparent at the top end during a listen to Arooj Aftab's Vulture Prince, is undeniable. And no matter how much the volume increases, the recording stays calm and composed. There is no sign of edginess, hardness, splashiness or any other undesirable trait to the treble – it simply gets louder, along with the rest of the frequency range.

After that, marginal gains become so small as to be dismissed as auditory hallucinations. The system's tonal balance doesn't shift discernibly, as it remains neutral and natural. And what might be an infinitesimal reduction in low-frequency extension is balanced by an equally minuscule increase in control of the attack of bass sounds. The sonic changes brought about by a switch to the Blok Stax 2G furniture are modest but clear – it contrast to the dramatic aesthetic improvement this system support brings compared to some of its price rivals.

THE VERDICT

If you already possess an effective equipment rack, then the Blok Stax 2G may not justify the expense in terms of sonics—even if it's likely to look a lot better. Yet if your hi-fi system supports are rudimentary and/or cheap and cheerful, then this will deliver a very meaningful improvement in sound quality and look the part. This is a fine-sounding, good-looking, and endlessly modular solution that's well worth auditioning.

Visit Blok for more information