Summary:
Having spent a considerable sum of money on a hi-fi upgrage in 1994, I still had the stuff parked on some horrible, cheap hi-fi cabinet sourced from a local department store seven years before. I decided, finally, in 1997 to buy a decent (or so I thought) component rack. I decided to buy a Target Delta 5 with MDF shelving.

Quite frankly I wished I hadn't - it was the worst £200 I ever spent. It's obvious that quality control at Target is not what it should be, the build of this rack (despite the welded column supports) leaving a lot to be desired. In just over 2 years, the thing looked like little more than a piece of junk.

This rack was so badly made as shelves lost all their shape - the top shelf had isolation spikes but I removed them after a while because the top shelf itself went out of shape so quickly. It looked awful! I have not subjected the rack to temperature extremes and I even ordered a couple of replacement shelves direct from Target but they arrived scuffed and damaged due to inadequate packaging.

After replacing the wonky shelves, soon they lost their shape again. Unbelievable!!! The front of the unit showed signs of deterioration very early on, with the colour coming off in places and the whole thing felt like it was going to fall apart on me at some stage. Very poor I thought. I even wrote to Target to complain about the problems with the shelves going out of shape but all they could do was offer me a set of 5 glass shelves at a "preferential" price of £65!

I decided to junk the Target in the end. Yes, it was an improvement on the old hi-fi cabinet I'd had since 1987 but it was let down by very poor quality control and the build was really not up to standard. There are other products on the market offering better value. My advice? Steer clear of Target and buy yourself something like a Soundstyle X105 like I did!

Strengths:
Reasonable price, easy to buy via mail-order supplier, big improvement over department store hi-fi cabinet

Weaknesses:
Poorly built, shoddy shelves, welded supports and frame easily scratched, lack of quality control, overpriced for what it is

Similar Products Used:
Cheap department store hi-fi cabinet

Summary:
Mine is with 4 shelves, about 20cm from each other, one glass plate for each shelf, supported on 4 little rubber pieces, one at each corner.

I don't understand how these other guys got their Target racks in miserable states. I've seen even those models which you have to put together yourself, and I can tell you, they look and feel fine! But I went for the fully assembled and welded model, which is, of course, more solid.

Right away the sound from my system got much tidier, cleaner, more focused. Bass is much better controlled... the whole lot. You can hear the difference. Use the spikes without the shoes and find other some way to protect your floor (e.g. coins). Fill it with sand (through the holes at the bottom of the "legs" where the spikes are supposed to be screwed in) and the sound got even better! Now my stand is as solid as a rock and that's what my system needs exactly.

I've yet to hear what other more expensive racks can do to a system's sound, but hey, I'm pretty contended with my Target (as least for the moment). As for those few guys who claimed to have had a bad experience (assuming they're honest), beats me...

Strengths:
Rigid, solid, well-built, and I'd say value-for-money.

Weaknesses:
Not the prettiest stand around, not the best welding job, too.

Similar Products Used:
First proper equipment rack I've used, after a wooden sideboard and a flimsy rack on rollers.

Summary:
Bang for the buck.....harder to unwrap then set up and this will look up to date for years to come if you are looking for that

Strengths:
Rigid and to the point////Hey!!! use the 1/4" card board underneath the shelves for more vib attenuation (along with the 4 adjustable spikes) that came with the shipping box////

Weaknesses:
It is not a piece of art to the eye...by hey who is going to look at the rack with a Sonic Frontiers Line 3 Pre starring at you

Similar Products Used:
bricks & pine

Summary:
Piece of junk. On mine (TT 4-shelf), one of corners in the rack did not have the support piece welded on. Therefore, the middle shelf only had support on three corners. Was forced to Jimmy rig a fix to allow components to sit on that shelf. Has Target ever heard of quality control? Made cheap, looks cheap, shelves damage easy. Gave up after about a year and took it to the dumpyard.

If your going to put something that looks bad/cheap in your living room,just go down to home depot and throw something together yourself -- at least it really is cheap, and will probably work better.

Would never buy a product from target again.

Strengths:
Its a rack

Weaknesses:
Quality Control. Looks.

Similar Products Used:
Cinder Blocks, Bookshelf, antique cabinet

Summary:
A Target rack bought in 1992.

It does not have things we do not need: wood side panels, glass front door.
It has just what we need, rigidity.

The height of each of the four spikes can be adjusted individually. So the rack stands firmly even where the floor is not even. It needs some time to adjust, but is rewarding.

The top plate lies on four individually adjustable spikes.

Except the top plate, each wood plate lies on four small vibration absorbing rubber and is designed to move about 1~2 mm in any direction before touching steel.

However, two welding points were too protruding. So two wood plates do not move 1~2 mm in any direction, because they are already touching the protruding welding areas.

Target should improve quality control.

Strengths:
rigid, height-adjustable spikes, cost-performance

Weaknesses:
Quality control: two welding points are not properly done.
Nor suitable for big products like Wadia, etc., but OK for Arcam, etc.

Similar Products Used:
Before buying Target, I used a wood rack that was sold with a mass production maker's audio set. It had wood side panels and glass door on front.