Construction is all steel, with the top being made of acoustic steel-exceptionally non resonant material. We strongly recommend the Inert Filler, as it does an excellent job of dampening the pillars. Three pillars and perhaps even more importantly three spikes certainly aides stability. Bass is particularly solid and precise, with excellent timing. Our ATC speakers, which are heavy as standmount models go, benefitted from this most markedly, but smaller, lighter speakers also showed the same effect. Midrange is largely neutral and treble is clean and without smear. Verdict A good all rounder that can safely be recommended for any small speaker. Bass is its strongest suit, but higher frequencies are also clear. Reviewed by Richard Black Hi-Fi Choice October 2009

Simple elegance has long been Custom Design's game, and the LCD 3 continues the trend. The minimalist design is a highly accomplished performance. Audio equipment placed on the rack benefits from added weight, detail and dynamics, with large orchestral pieces being particularly well treated. The Milan is an excellent rack. The fact that it's such a handsome devil doesn't do it any harm, either. What Hi-Fi September 2008 FOR - Great styling, use of solid materials adds dynamism to the music and maintains TV picture quality. VERDICT - A stylish addition to the Custom Design range.

Custom Design's range has expanded recently to include several inventive approaches to the problem of balancing performance with good looks. This one is completely new on us, but we immediately took to it. Solid oak, very neatly sawn, chamfered and finished, with a slot just wide enough to accommodate a glass shelf. Two screws drop down through the wood and glass and when nipped up clamp the whole assembly together. Spikes mount directly under the screws and each assembly is free-standing on the one below, with spikes engaged in screw-heads. Simple, secure, stable and very smart. The 6mm-thick toughened glass should support a healthy weight. Different heights are available, with the maximum number of shelves only limited by the reach of your arm. A narrow, Cyrus-sized, version is also available. We wouldn\'t strongly recommend it for supporting a turntable, but with digital sources and amps we had pretty good results. It very slightly muddies the low midrange while the bass seems a touch less secure than some. On the other hand, higher frequencies are very clear and open. You could always add some 'iRAP' damping plates (£100 each) to cut shelf resonance, but even as it stands this is a decent rack that looks, to our jaded eyes, like one of the most attractive bits of hi-fi furniture out there. Hi-Fi Choice - Jan 2008 Reviewer - Richard Black

I'm getting used to the improvement which your Milan Hi-Fi 5 makes, which has blown me away! Again thanks for the excellent customer support and product, its been a pleasure throughout. Customer review: Hywel in June 2009

The iRAP is sold in Germany as S.I.P. (Sound Improvement Platform) "It is very seldom that I have had a material in my hand that reacts so little when it is knocked as the material that the S.I.P. is made of..........The same positive effect was achieved using the S.I.P. with (£4000) Silvalved valve phono preamplifier and that is very well worth noting as there are very few bases that can achieve positive effect with valve electronics.........The end result is that the enjoyment of the music is increased and is more relaxed. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED". (Hi-Fi and Records – Germany – Highly Recommended Nr 3 2003) Reviewed By Reinhold Martin

I have been using the iRap for a couple of months now as a platform for my Cambridge Audio Azur 640C CD player and have been highly impressed with the results. Separation is vastly improved and the iRap has brought out new levels of detail in recordings I have owned for decades. Highly recommended.

Manufacturers attempt to damp this ringing with, variously, felt, rubber or Acrylic mats, but theres always room for improvement. Custom Designs Turntable Platter mat consists of two aluminum discs of differing thicknesses, with a layer of polymer sandwiched between, which is then powder coated. Its simple to use; you just place the disc on your existing platter; and then put the existing mat on top. Because the disc is only several millimeters thick, it shouldn,t upset the arms Vertical Tracking Angle too much, but if it does, then obviously you,ll have to adjust the arm height slightly. In decks with no mat , Gyro Dec, then the platter mat can go straight on the top. Placing the mat on any decks platter is quite amazing, flick the circumference of the Platter without the Turntable Platter and it tings, especially if it,s metal, or glass rather than Acrylic - but then repeat the exercise and its far more akin to a dull \"thunk\". This shows how the mat takes so much mechanical energy out of the platter, deadening it down more effectively than any rubber, felt, glass, cork or sorbothane mat Ive ever tried...At well under £100, its a bargain. David Price - HiFi World Jan 2006

Impressively dead...killing platter ringing with marked benefits for sonic precision. Its also worth a try on more modern decks, and even liked its effect on a Rega. By replacing the felt mat, the Turntable Platter added to the sounds heft and stability, though imaging both gained and lost, according to programme. (HiFi Choice Essentials Jan 2006 Issue 275)

In HFC 275, we reviewed Custom Designs platter mat lamenting its ferro-magnetic construction. Hardly was the ink dry on the review when we received not only a non-magnetic stainless steel mat but also this revised WRAP sheet, made of the same Acoustic Stainless material. This is still one of our favourite no brain accessories, put it on equipment and kill case work resonances, simple as that. But the lack of magnetic coupling can make it more useful near mains transformers, where there is less tendancy to rattle in the stray field. Hi-Fi Choice, April 2006, audiofile essentials.

We will let the picture tell a thousand words. But, those pillars are solid hardwood and the whole assembly weighs about 33Kg. Glass shelves tend to have their own acoustic signature, but Custom Design has provided an Acoustic Steel Supershelf (an iRAP or Isolation Resonance Absorbing Platform) for each. This stand has very little sound of its own and is a very worthy partner to the finest hi-fi separates. As usual, turntables will benefit from decoupling but the stand is rigid enough for that to work well. Excellent build, performance and value. Hi-Fi Choice - February 2005. Editors Choice, Best Buy.