Aaron Hoffman has been innovating while I wasn’t looking. His company, Kanso Audio Furniture, makes some of the most thoroughgoing audiophile racks I’ve yet to come across.
There’s a lot going on inside the construction, much of it hidden inside the shelves themselves: “All Kanso shelves, regardless of product, are produced by laminating multiple layers of different materials chosen both for their hardness, density and anti-resonance characteristics. A special elastomeric material is used between the layers.”
“Both the top and underside of the shelf are then clad with a solid anodized aluminum veneer of brushed black, silver, or bronze color. Copper cladding is also an option. The principal reason for the metal cladding on the surface of the shelves is for rapid transfer of vibration from the component chassis into the shelf.”
The shelves typically have a solid hardwood frame, and are finished to an absurd degree of fineness. I’ve seen these shelves in a variety of systems at a variety of shows, but the Kotan are new to me. “The Kotan line is the least expensive of the Kanso stands. It still has all the vibration control and aesthetics of the Kata and Hamoni stands at approximately 60% of the price. The retail price of the 3-shelf unit is $3299, the 2 wide 2 shelf high unit (4 shelves) is $4,459.“
Interesting new product alert — check out the header photo at the top of the post: “That little black stand is a Kotan headphone equipment stand. It’s designed to hold two components like an amp and a DAC. The shelves have my standard laminations to control component vibrations and then the feet have special de-coupling footers to isolate the whole stand from the desktop.”
Pretty slick.
