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article last updated on
3.16.2003 | printer-friendly
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Introduction
Lovan USA makes a variety of audio racks, A/V racks,
speaker stands, and various accessories for the isolation and placement of
components and speakers. Here, we review the Lovan "Sovereign" line of
audio racks, which is near the top of Lovan's wide range of affordable and
high performance audio
racks. Like many other Lovan audio rack products, the Sovereign line
offers the manufacturer's trademark "Trisolation"
patented design which uses a base comprised of three legs for stability and a spike-and-footer system for recursive isolation from vibrations that can degrade
sound
quality. The product line features:
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Two basic shelf heights: 7-inch and 10-inch (internal
height clearance)
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Three audio rack configurations:
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Four 7-inch shelves model ("Hi Fi Rack")
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Four 10-inch shelves (model "T HiFi Rack",
as reviewed here)
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Two 7-inch shelves and two 10-inch shelves (model
"2+2 Rack")
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MDF (medium density fiberboard) shelves,
available four different finishes: black, light wood veneer, dark
wood veneer (as reviewed here), clear glass, or frosted glass. You can
see the various shelf finishes in our photo
gallery.
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An optional amplifier stand (available separately as an
additional shelf for free-standing or stacking as the fifth shelf)
As you can see, there are many options from which to
choose. For our review, we opted for the four 10-inch shelves (i.e.,
"T HiFi rack" model) with dark wood veneer shelves. To see the complete Sovereign line of audio racks, be sure
to visit this page. Additional shelves
may be purchased individually to suit your specific needs. For
internal and external dimensions, check here.
Design & Build
Quality
 The design of the Sovereign audio rack is pretty simple and straightforward.
(Be sure to check out our photo
gallery for pictures of this design.) First, square
cross-section metal tubing is used to form a rectangular frame for the MDF
shelves. Then there are three
metal legs extending down from the front left corner, from the front right
corner, and from the
middle of rear frame, forming a stable tripod configuration, also known as
the patented "Trisolation"
base. The metal frames are welded for strength and are beautifully
finished in what Lovan refers to as a "Durian" powder finish that
promises a certain degree of scratch resistance. Three steel
chrome-plated isolation spikes are
fitted onto the bottom of the "Trisolation" base and sits in a
footer well formed into the top of the lower shelf frame's legs. The
footer well is the center of a series of rising "art deco" style concentric squares that
serves to add style as well as function. For additional damping and
vibration control, the legs of the frame can be filled with sand or lead
shots by the consumer. This frame design is simple,
highly functional, and ultra stable.
The shelves are generous in proportion, 20 inches wide by
18 inches deep, large enough to accommodate most components that you would
ever buy. The front edge of the shelves is gently curved outward with
scallop-cut front corners to accommodate the front legs of the three-legged
"Trisolation" frame. The 12-mm thick boards are made from New
Zealand Lake Pine MDF. In our sample, the shelves are finished with a
rich, dark wood veneer that resembles Mahogany and are hand-painted with a
satin epoxy furniture-grade finish that serves as a layer of protection for
the real-wood veneer. The shelf is nicely finished all around, except
for the bottom surface, which lacks the protective epoxy gloss but still
offers the
wood veneer finish. The wood grain and gloss make this unit looks
sophisticated and rich. Upon closer examination, I did notice that
around some of the shelves' edges, particularly around the scalloped front
left and right corners, there are ever so slight imperfections in the epoxy finish. Except for these few minor imperfections, the construction is
solid and the build quality is top notch.
Ease of Assembly
Assembly of the Lovan audio rack is unlike your typical
"assembly required" furniture. There are no screws to fasten
the different pieces together or dowels to glue together. Instead, you
simply stack the metal frames on top of each other while inserting the wood
shelves between each layer. Before assembly, Lovan advises that you
figure out the final placement of the rack. Once assembled, the rack
should not be moved while stacked. Doing so could cause the shelves to
topple off their spike-and-footer supports and cause serious injury and/or
damage, especially with the sharp spikes. So take your time, pick the spot
where you want to place the rack before starting the assembly process.
Begin by (1) screwing on the spike feet to the bottom of each
frame, then (2) remove the protective plastic wrap around the metal frame. Though each frame seems interchangeable, they are labeled as
"base", "middle", "top" and "upper
top" and they need to be stacked in that order. The spikes and
the matching footers of the frame underneath are designed to match up
when the frame stacking order is observed. Next, (3) place the "base"
frame at the bottom, (4) stick on the self-adhesive pads, (5) put the wood shelf on the "base" frame, then
(6) stack the "middle" frame on top of the "base" frame by
carefully lining up the spikes of the "middle" frame on top of the
footers of the "base" frame. Repeat this process (steps 1
through 6 above) until all
four shelves are complete. It's that simple. Once you're done,
you can place your electronic components on the shelves, starting with the
bottom shelf first and working your way up. Taking extra care to avoid
upsetting the
spike-and-footer structure. Once assembled, the spikes and footers interlock for a
stable structure, but they can still be upset.
Ease of Use
Once the rack was assembled, our audio and video components
are ready to be loaded onto the shelves. With this open design and
only three supports to contend with, it was very easy to place our components on
the racks, even the heavier components like our A/V receiver. Speaking
of weight capacity, Lovan
claims that A/V components of up to 130 pounds can be loaded onto each
shelf! That should accommodate virtually any component, even the
massive expensive high-end components. Once the components are loaded
onto their respective shelves, audio and video connections can be made with
relative ease, again thanks to the open design.
The Sovereign audio rack line does not offer any wire management
features. However, we think the lack thereof is a minor disadvantage,
if even one at all. After
looking at some wire management designs on the market from other
manufacturers, we have concluded that there is no clear wire management design that offers a
clear advantage. Our primary is concern are: (1) running the AC power
cords in parallel or too close to the interconnects (which causes
electromagnetic interference), and (2) the bends into wire management channels may be too
sharp for certain types of interconnects. The latter concern is
particularly problematic if you are using the Toslink optical digital audio
interconnect, which require
gradual bends for optimum performance.
Performance
 While it seems that the primary function of any audio rack is to
simply hold
the A/V components, there are two functions that are even more important,
especially for high performance equipment. First, the audio rack
should offer good isolation from vibrations that can degrade audio
quality. There is where the Sovereign audio rack
excels, with its patented "Trisolation" design and its spike-and-footer
design. Any vibrations are firmly channeled down to the ground through
the series of spikes and footers. Lovan explains this concept with
their analogy of a vibration diode. What this means is that
unwanted vibrations are allowed to propagate one way only, and that is straight into the ground.
For the past six weeks, our home theater viewing and multi-channel music
listening experiences were literally solid. There were no visible signs of
picture degradation and no audible signs of audio degradation even during
the loudest of action movie explosions or ultra-loud crescendos of
multi-channel Super Audio CD music, when unwanted vibrations can cause some
undesirable results.
Second, the audio rack should offer or allow for good
ventilation of heat. This is another place where the Sovereign audio
rack shines, this time with its open design. The open design provides excellent ventilation for
all of your heat-sensitive audio and video components. Excessive heat
build-up or poor ventilation can cause premature failure of your
components. This is particularly true of A/V receivers and power amps
that do not have built-in fans for cooling, and instead rely on
natural convection for ventilation of generated heat. So make sure they get
the necessary clearance above and to each side, as recommended in the
component's user
manual. Having said that,
we recommend the 10-inch (internal vertical clearance) shelves for the extra
ventilation room. Though you could use the extra vertical clearance to
stack multiple components, it is generally not recommended. Not only
will stacking of components risk poor ventilation, but stacking will
partially defeat
the vibration isolation feature of the Sovereign audio rack. The latter
particularly applies to those components that are sensitive to
vibration (e.g., DVD, SACD, or CD player, A/V receivers, preamps, and power
amps).
Conclusion
The Lovan Sovereign audio rack is a modular system that uses Lovan's patented "Trisolation" design for maximum
isolation from vibrations that rob high quality A/V components of their best
performance. Sure, you can buy cheaper audio racks, but if you are a
serious music enthusiast or an audiophile looking to build a high performance
system, the Lovan Sovereign line of audio racks deserves a serious
consideration.
As a final testament, we have purchased this Lovan audio
rack for our reference home theater (and multi-channel audio) system.
You know what they say, "action speaks louder than words."
And that's just about the highest recommendation we can make.
Availability & Price - Where
can I buy this model & for how much?
The audio rack we review here is the "T
HiFi" model of the "Sovereign" line. It lists for $700 and sells at
retail for about $600 to $650. You can buy this rack at your local
upmarket audio/video specialty retailer or from select online
merchants:
> Audio Advisor
for $638.00
Other Information
Summary of Features:
modular audio component rack; four 10" shelves (also available in 7"
shelves); 12-mm think New Zealand Lake Pine MDF shelves available in dark wood (mahogany), light wood,
black finish, clear or frosted glass; hand-painted satin epoxy furniture
grade finish on shelves; high carbon 2-inch square tubing steel tubing;
welded construction; frame coated with powdered scratch-resistant "Durian"
finish; frame legs can be filled with sand or lead shots for additional
damping and vibration control; hardened steel chrome plated isolation cones.
Specifications: each shelf
supports up to 130 pounds; internal shelf
clearance 10.0" (H) x 20.0(W) x 18.0"(D); external dimensions for
each shelf 12.25" (H) x 24.25" (W) x 20.5"(D) overall dimensions when
stacked 49.0 " (H) x 24.25 " (W) x 20.5 "(D); dimensions are
verified to the nearest 0.25 inch; shipped in two box (one for
frames, another for shelves); total gross shipping weight is 71.5 pounds (or
32.4 kg, 12.5 kg for the shelves and 19.9 kg for the frames); net
weight is 54.5 pounds (or 24.7 kg, 9.5 kg for the shelves and 15.2 kg for the frames);
two years limited warrantee; made in Malaysia.
Contact Information:
Lovan USA, 15930 Downey Ave., Paramount, CA 90723, phone (562)
602-2333, fax (562) 602-2999, e-mail info@lovanusa.com. Visit the
Lovan USA web site.
Associated equipment used in evaluation: Sony
DVP-S7700 reference DVD player, Sony ES SCD-C222ES Super Audio CD 5-disc
player, Sony
KP-61V45 61" rear projection TV (4:3 screen aspect ratio), Sony ES STR-V444ES A/V receiver, four B&W CDM 9NTs as left/right main speakers
and left/right surrounds, B&W CDM CNT center channel speaker, Monster Cable M-series S-Video cable MSV-500, Monster
Cable Interlink LightSpeed 100 (Toslink) optical cable, Monster Cable
Interlink 400 MKII interconnects, Monster Cable
Original speaker cables in bi-wire configuration with Monster Cable twist-on gold-plated banana plug
connectors, and Sony MDR-V600 studio monitor headphones. Our home theater equipment was calibrated
with the Video
Essentials DVD.
This review was originally posted on October 16, 2001.
Last updated on March 16, 2003.
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