Pangea Vulcan audio rack — anyone gone up to six shelves?

I read that the Pangea Vulcan audio rack can go up to six shelves. My current rack has the standard four shelves, but I just ordered two more. Does anyone have any experience with this unit as a six-shelves piece? Is it still pretty sturdy?

 

They have a beefier version now. You may want to buy those and use the new beefier ones on the lower shelves.

 

Thanks. I thought about it, but it seems you can’t buy extension shelves that have the new cross-brace and have the longer 10” legs. My lowest shelf has my receiver, which needs the extra length for more breathing room.

That said, my receiver only weighs about 18-19 pounds, so it’s not pushing the weight limit on the shelf. Most of my components are fairly lightweight. The overall weight will probably be around 100 pounds, maybe even less.

 

I stand corrected! They do sell the 10” versions with the cross-brace. Ordered. Thanks for the suggestion!

 

Let me know how this works for you. I'm thinking of getting one with LP storage on the bottom, then getting a 10" x-braced shelf next, plus two regular ones on top, for an overall height of about 46-47", and with casters at the bottom, instead of spikes, which should bring the overall height to, say 50". They say that the suggested height should be no more than 42", which makes no sense to me.

 

Who says the suggested height should not be above 42"? Pangea?

 

Didn’t know they had a stiffer version that’s expandable .
Might have to try this over building my own out of ikea tables and rods

 

The description on AudioAdvisor page. They have specs for those racks, and specs say 42".

 

I've only seen it for the new version that has the larger shelf for holding LPs. Maybe it's something about having one shelf that's 13" tall that reduces the overall recommended total height.

 

Please let us know how it works out for you.

 

I have tried both and found the more expensive, but sturdier (thicker shelf panels and cross braces), worth the extra money. It just gets expensive if you gotta swap out one or two shelves and buy the upgrade 10” extension shelving tubes. But yeah it’s sturdy even with the carpet spikes, which I am not a fan of to be honest. I actually am going to just integrate my extra SVS Soundpath Isolation Subwoofer feet and make those the new feet for my Pangea Audio 3 shelf audio rack (i removed a shelf).

 

@Benzion , I wasn’t able to get in touch with Pangea, but I spoke with Audio Advisor. The 42” total height limit applies only to racks that include at least one of the larger 13” shelves for turntables or LPs. The standard Vulcan racks can go up to six shelves, which of course is taller than 42” in any case.

 

Thanks for the info. I'm still going to defy their recommendation and go to about 48". I'm gong to have, in ascending order, the following shelves: 13", 8.5", 10", and 7.25" in one of them, and then 13", 10", and two 7.25" ones in the other.

I'm trying to combine two systems into one, consisting of 2 TT's, 2 CDP's, a tuner, 2 phono's, a line preamp, 2 power amps, and 2 power conditioners. Everything is thought out to the nearest inch to fit into the two racks, that I'm gong to build out three stock ones (one will be cannibalized for extra shelves).

Otherwise their product is just no good to me.

 

I have. I have the original 4 shelf as well as the 2-shelf model with the reinforced lower shelf for LP storage. I had them stacked for a while because of space limitations. It was a little wobbly but wasn’t going to fall over.

 

I have mine up to six shelves. Very sturdy and sharp looking. Pangea makes great stuff. According to the newest Audio Advisor catalog, they now make drawers for the shelves if you want to store cables, parts, or even CD's Pardon the crappy photo, but this is how my setup is. Click the link for the photo, I couldn't get it into the post.

Dropbox - 20190824_131504.jpg - Simplify your life

 

Yep! I ordered a drawer for CDs. We moved into a smaller place a few months ago, and I have no other place to put CDs than my closet. So this is going to be great for SACDs, DCC Gold CDs, and other audiophile stuff.

 

I see. You have it up to about 47" height, if my math is correct. I'm trying to figure out if I can go as high as about 55-56", with the x-brace shelving, including casters below, not spikes. I want to get a 13" LP shelf on the bottom, put a 10" shelf above that for the amp, and then put three regular shelves above that.

 

I built my Vulcan up to six shelves today, and it looks great. The drawer for CDs is pretty nice too, though some of the bolts needed to be tightened upon arrival.

Does anyone know if these Vulcan shelves can be disassembled from above? When I was adding some 10” legs to my bottom shelf (with the new x-braces) I took the old 8” legs (8.5”?) and used them for another shelf instead of the old 7” legs. With my turntable on the top, it’s now just slightly too high for me to use comfortably. I’m short. Even taking off an inch and a half would make it all better. But I really, really don’t want to take my components off, unscrew everything to get at the second from top shelf (because I’m an idiot and of course I put it up there), and then put everything all back together again. Can I just unscrew the top legs somehow and take it apart that way?

 

Sorry I don’t know but did you buy from Audio Advisor? They are pretty helpful and might know. Hope it works out for you!

 

I took it all apart and put it together again. Sigh.

 

I first tried taking it apart from the top. The problem was I ended up loosening the level below the level I was working on, if that makes sense. So I couldn’t just fix the top two shelves in isolation. That’s why I had to tear it down and do it over again. Which involved disconnecting and reconnecting my entire system. Twice. Also, checking my turntable alignment, leveling, tracking force, etc. Twice.

Today has been fun.

 

I have the original non-cross braced unit in Rosenut with five shelves, casters, and I also replaced one set of the shorter tubes with the 10” ones. Overall I’m very happy with it, but it is not rock solid stable and will wobble a bit when pressure is applied.

I keep all my components on the rack except for the turntable which is next to it on a very solid clothes dresser. My heavy 50lb. power amplifier is on the bottom shelf followed by a Furman power conditioner and Pioneer DV-79 avi disc player stacked together, a heavy combo. Higher shelves have the lighter components.

Given the standard Vulcan’s lack of ultimate stability I would never put a turntable on top of it. The cross braced version may very well take care of that problem however.

 

My newly-six-shelf Vulcan is a bit wobbly. But only when pushed.

Would you put a turntable on a lower shelf of your Vulcan (pretending you had to put it on the Vulcan?

 

I agree, it only wobbles if pushed on, otherwise I have no issues. I suppose if I had to, but not without adding some isolation, be it a base or specialty support feet.

 

I was thinking I could put my turntable on a lower shelf if I found that the slight wobbling became an issue. It might be tough to move the dust cover up and down though. I guess I could just remove it before playing a record. I only started using it during playback after one of my cats jumped on top of a spinning record. That was fun.

Any recommendations on a base or support feet?