Summary:
cardboard placeholders that keep the tubes inline are not reliable if you intend to adding on shelves, the extra shleves I purchased later where not finished as smoothly as the original unit. The add on shelves are a pain to put on, the bars and the nuts supplied do not fit in an easy manner, they have to be played with for a while. The way mine finally ended up was not stable so I had to purchase a new set of bars and cut them myself. Aside from that annoyance they are nice stands and I would purchase mine again if I was given the choice.

Strengths:
Looks good, sturdy, nice shelf spacing

Weaknesses:
adding new shelves is a major pain

Summary:
I picked one up used at a wonderful price ($100 complete). It has four shelves on one side and three on the other, with a bridge shelf between the two. I think the designations are:Two R-30 3-shelf racks, One R-ES/7 expansion shelf and One R-BR bridge shelf. Anyhow, it works fine. I wouldn't put it in the league with Billy Bags, but it costs a whole lot less. The three isolated shelves are a big plus (one per rack plus the expansion shelf). For the regular retail I would give it a 3+, but if you can find one used in good shape a 4 is in order. Don't do what I did during assembly! In my attempt to make the stand a little more rigid and dampen it, I added insulation, teflon tape and neoprene washers. After tightening everything as far as it would go, I realized there wasn't enough threaded rod left to put on the end caps. Oops! Tear it all apart and start over. Give yourself a bit of leeway. Good luck and don't wear white to assemble.

Strengths:
Good looking and it has isolated shelves

Weaknesses:
The cardboard spacers. It is also a pain to assemble with the additions.

Summary:
I really like the rack. It makes the equipment look sharp.I added a low wattage light to accent the components. For what you get,the price could be lower.When it comes time to to move the rack,don't grab by the verticle tubes. Use the shelves themselves. The tubes could loosen and become dislocated.

Strengths:
Rigid design,expansion capibility,nice looking

Weaknesses:
cardboard spacers that keep verticle "tubes" in place,threaded rods need to be longer

Similar Products Used:
one r-30,three r-es/7

Summary:
I purchased the Premier audio rack and speaker stands because that's what my Paradigm speaker dealer recommended. Generally, I think they offer excellent quality and value but must score them lower for the following.
A couple minor issues. The threaded screws for the add on shelves are not long enough. You have to "massage" them to get them to the perfect height to allow the end caps to screw on. Poor design... I almost returned them. Once assembled, I noticed the tubes that go over these long screws were slightly out of alignment. The cardboard centering spacers must have slid or something while I was messing with the other problem. I wasn't about to take it apart again to center them properly because of all the time I spent getting the end caps on. Very annoying.

As far as expanding them three-years from now (Brad Miller)... I wouldn't expect the company to have the same design product available. I think it would have been nice if the company would have turned you down in a professional manner instead of ignoring you.

All-in-all, great price and quality excepting the above caveat. Knowing this going into the purchase probably wouldn't have deterred me (because it looks great) I just would have paid my dealer to assemble it.

Bob Short
rshort@usa.net

Summary:
was torn between this rack and the salamander stuff. they are about equal in price when you start with
basic stuff, but i went with the premier because it
ended up being cheaper for what i wanted. it's very
sturdy with the adjustable spikes (which come with
any of the "base" parts of the system. it wasn't all
that difficult to assemble. you will get your hands
oily from the steel rods but those soon get covered
byour outer tubes which can also be filled with
insulating foam to dampen even more sound. each shelf
is solid. they also have additional spikes for each
shelf. mine came with one set and then one of the
add-on shelves also came with the spikes, so i keep
receiver and dvd on the spikes. premier racks are
also made by paradigm, so they match my paradigm
speaker stands as well. i would recommend this system
to anyone who wants a stable, nice looking rack. i
think i ended up paying around $260 for a 4 shelf and
i also got the wire channel kit which hides all your
unsightly wires and cables. worth the extra $39 if
you have a lot of those things that you want to hide.
these aren't as infinitely adjustable as the
salamander archtypes, but once i have everything
where i want it, why would i need to move everything
again? i mean, it's a pain just to do it once. i
currently have the R-30 and a R-ES/4. if i ever need
to expand, there are plenty of add on possibilities.
they only come in black, but they look oh so nice!