Alphason Studio Mode TV rack

[admin_exported]

The Alphason Studio Mode rack came highly recommended by the WHFSV team in this month's High-End supplement. I am quite keen on one of those but cannot easily get to a dealer that stocks them. My problem is that I need fairly regular access to the back of the Stereo Amp (to switch between direct and integrated mode) and I have no idea how much access there actually is. Has anyone on the forum bought one? Can anyone in the team who reviewed it illustrate what the backend looks like. Ventilation is impoortant too - I suppose - for a large AV amp.

Any advice is much appreciated.

gorge

 

[Steve Reichert PR Manager ArmourHome]

Hello Gorge,

My colleagues at Alphason have asked me to post the following information:

I'm sending pics of the back. The side hide-aways have cut outs for ventilation on each shelf. The middle section doesn't, but it is open. (online pics of the access are here http://www.alphasondesigns.com/airlist.asp or offline http://www.alphasondesigns.com/studio/wheretobuy.html

I hope this is of assistance.

Best regards,

Steve Reichert, PR Manager - Armour Home

 

[Anonymous]

Thank you Steve. I've ordered one from a local dealer.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd like to give some feedback on my experience with the Alphason Design Studio Mode HiFi and TV rack. On paper it appeared to tick all the boxes and looked the part, plus it got a glowing review from the experts at WHSV. It got delivered yesterday and it is a very smart looking piece of furniture. Very solidly built with some clever design features. It has 4 closed but well ventilated compartments with darkened glass doors and two open ones in the centre. At the back and behind the closed compartments there are clever pull-our drawers for CDs and DVDs. Very pleasing all in all.

HOWEVER, when I try to psuh a fairly standard integrated amplifier (Arcam A32) into one of the closed conmpartments it sticks out about 2 inches. Same for the Homce Cinema amp (Denon AVR2310). Naturally, I was astounded. A piece of high-end Hifi furniture with a high-end price tag and it does not fit a standard amp. I was speechless. The nice lady at customer services asked whether I had obtained the correct measurments before ordering it and that I should go back to the dealer! They only make this in one size! After checking their website again today I find that this information is not provided. Although, the company has added more information on dimensions recently. Am I assuming too much? A well established manufacturer of Hifi furniture! Can I not asume that they do their home work? As for the people at WHSV: Did you actually try and use it with some equipment?

Luckily the amps fit into the open shelves, but the purpose of this rather extravagant exercise was to hide all equipment bar the centre speaker, for which there is no room now. My only option, which is still a bad and expensive compromise, is to trade the two amps in for a single one that can be as good with music as the Arcam and also do HC and then I would have only one piece of equipment on show and also room for the centre speaker.

Not a happy bunny!

Gorge

 

[bretty]

I wasn't familiar with the stand so I had a google. £1700! It's very pretty, but, damn that's expensive.

It's a stand that has been designed to house AV equipment. If yours doesn't fit, surely it's not fit for purpose and you should send it back. I wouldn't be considering changing components to accomodate the stand, matey.

You do have to be careful, when looking at stands. I've been tempted by a few AV stands, but, every time without fail, when I look at the specs, the shelving is too shallow to accept my centre speaker.

Good luck mate. I hope you get a good resolution.

 

[Tonestar1]

I know it's not ideal, especially for a rack costing so much, but can you not just cut out the back or even remove the back panel completely on one side? A lot of stands don't seem to be able to accomodate pretty standard kit, which seems insane to me. Wouldn't even consider buying one without checking all of the dimensions first.

I would refuse to change equipment to fit in a rack though, It's supposed to enhance your kit not dictate what kit you buy.

 

[professorhat]

You need to ensure any cabinet you're going to buy fits the equipment you want to place in it before purchasing - this is especially important when buying online since you can't actually see and measure the cabinet yourself.

I spent a number of days looking at different cabinets online before I finally found one that was able to fit all my components within it. In several cases where dimensions were not available, I phoned dealers and manufacturers alike to get these all important facts before I ordered. In most cases, the cabinets would not fit my Onkyo 905 amp and give it the required ventilation space so the problem you have is in no way unusual.

With the cabinet I ended up with, I believe the dealer I was using (Stand & Deliver) phoned the manufacturer who then actually found a unit and measured its internals to reassure me that everything would fit - given I had looked at about 20 or so cabinets in this time which hadn't met the grade, I was being especially careful! It's these sort of dealers which go the extra mile that I look out for and was why I immediately purchased the unit from them once I had that reassurance.

If you purchased online, you can take advantage of the 7 day distance selling act and return the cabinet for a full refund. If not, then I'd say it would have been wise to measure up the unit while you were in the shop. I would still hope that the dealer would be happy to replace the unit for a cabinet that does meet your needs though.

 

[professorhat]

bretty:It's a stand that has been designed to house AV equipment. If yours doesn't fit, surely it's not fit for purpose and you should send it back.

Trouble is, I suspect those shelves are perfectly adequate for storing other forms of AV equipment which aren't as deep (Blu-Ray players, PVRs, games consoles, CD players etc. etc.). Amplifiers (especially AV receivers) are a lot deeper than other equipment and I would guess Alphason have designed the middle bottom shelf for the amp (since most people only have one) as indicated in the photos posted by Steve.

So I don't think you can claim "unfit for purpose" here unless the OP specifically detailed his needs and dimensions to the dealer and they still provided that stand. However, the 7 day distance selling regulation should still allow him to return, and failing that, traditional good old customer service will hopefully stand him in good stead!

 

[Tonestar1]

Quote from Alphason website.

Studies into user interaction with AV furniture inspired Mode and its usability. Two easy-touch media wings appear from within revealing your digital library. Long standing experience in the AV industry ensured Mode was designed to accommodate 99% of equipment and provides excellent cable management to enhance your AV set-up.

99% of equipment? Can't fit an amp? Hmmmm

 

[Anonymous]

I thought about cutting out the backs to make it all fit, but this is where the media drawers are, which are handy. And by the way, I ordered this from a local shop cause they have been good with free advice over the years.

I had checked all the dimensions that were available online and I suppose I was just a little too assuming. Truth is, I have been looking at buying a decent stand for ever now and this is the only one that seemed to fiot the spec. "Fits 99% of AV equipment", well in some ways it does, just not the way you would necessarily assume. Also, upset at the ignorant reponse from their Customer servides lady. "Slopy Shoulders" we call this in my industry!

Alphason should be embarassed!

 

[bretty]

professorhat:
bretty:It's a stand that has been designed to house AV equipment. If yours doesn't fit, surely it's not fit for purpose and you should send it back.

Trouble is, I suspect those shelves are perfectly adequate for storing other forms of AV equipment which aren't as deep (Blu-Ray players, PVRs, games consoles, CD players etc. etc.). Amplifiers (especially AV receivers) are a lot deeper than other equipment and I would guess Alphason have designed the middle bottom shelf for the amp (since most people only have one) as indicated in the photos posted by Steve.

So I don't think you can claim "unfit for purpose" here unless the OP specifically detailed his needs and dimensions to the dealer and they still provided that stand. However, the 7 day distance selling regulation should still allow him to return, and failing that, traditional good old customer service will hopefully stand him in good stead!

Yes, true, although I do feel that with how common it now is for a household to have a surround speaker set up with a centre speaker and an amp, that these cabinet/stand designers should take the dimensions of those pieces of kit into account. Gorge's stand cost £1700, so the makers are obviously pitching it at the affluent market, who are more likely to have the equipment that doesn't fit it's product. It's surely got to be time for a change in how these things are being designed.

Gorge's stand in particular, I would say isn't fit for purpose because as well as not fitting the bulky AV amp, it also doesn't fit his standard dimension Hi Fi amp, his Arcam FMJ A32. It's an argument I would try to make with the retailer, if they are hesitant to take it back.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gorge,

I'm Dan Lewis, I'm an Industrial Designer at Alphason and more importantly, I designed Mode. I'm glad that in general you are happy with your stand and like the look of it, that's great.

Some of the feedback here is absolutely right, Mode was always designed to fit 6 pieces of equipment, the theory is that a central speaker and amp, which seem to be the largest pieces of kit fit in the central section. This area also has the best ventilation being open and is of course suitable for housing a speaker.

I was always keen on getting the media wings into this unit as I thought they would be a really useful feature. Obviously having these, you do sacrifice some space in the other storage areas. For this reason it was decided the side storage sections would be best suited to games consoles, blu-ray players and smaller AV equipment.

Of course, as always we tested the design before bringing it to market. I would always recommend putting the amp in the central section as this area is the most accessible area. The cable tidy system fits behind this with keyhole fixings meaning that it can be easily attached and detached if you need to access your'e cables etc.

I hope my viewpoint on this helps, I'm sorry the design can't fit all AV equipment in every space but in order to keep Mode's features, functionality and proportions It had to be constrained to this size and shape.

If anyone has any other questions about Mode I'll be happy to answer them.

Thanks, Dan Lewis.

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dan, I do appreciate your considered response. Adding another 2 inches to the overall depth of the unit would not be good either. It is quite chunky as it is. But you are the desinger - for the next model find another way to accomodate a media drawer

! The sides maybe? Although I dont intend to ever buy another TV rack again. This needs to last.

On another note: The little metal feet are causing havoc with my floor boards! Should you not ship little 'shoes' with the rack, like they are common with speaker spikes?

Perhaps changing from 2 amps to 1 (AVR500 perhaps) might produce other benefits, such as a more cohesive sound stage. Am undecided as yet.

Steffen

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Dan (Lewis),

I am considering buying an Arcam AV amp now but find that in the current setup there is very little clearance between the amp and the glass shelf. 2cm perhaps. Considering the heat that can be created this is a little short I think. However, when I move the shelf up to the next level there is not room for the centre speaker in the top shelf. Anything you could recommend? Happy to talk ouside this forum steffeng@betasoft.co.uk.

Gorge

 

[Anonymous]

Hi Gorge/Stefan

Thank you for your replies, I think if you do decide to buy the amp maybe just see exactly how much room there is between it and the shelf and check the recommended space required for the Amp. With the back of the unit having ventilation gaps and the front being open there may be enough room remaining for good ventilation, it's perhaps worth trialling the amp for a short period of time to ensure it doesn't get to warm in the chosen configuration.

The shelf spacing is designed to allow for a number of different configurations but it's difficult to plan for every possibility and we tend to stick to standard hole spacing. I hope you manage to fit all your kit into the stand, it would be great to see a photo of it when you have it all up and running.

Thanks again, Dan Lewis.

 

[Anonymous]

I have the AVR 600 and it gets warm, but not hot - 2 cm should be plenty.

 

[matengawhat]

i always liked those racks but thought them very pricey in comparison to say this for exampe - which to me is a bargain! I have 2 and can't fault them - i actually bought aluminium legs off ebay to raise them to allow cables to go under the unit and also have my centre sat on top and wanted it a little higher as sits in front of a pull down projector screen

http://www.standanddeliver.com/acatalog/Just_Racks_JRA150-WS-SG.html

 

[Anonymous]

Some more feedback. The company still does not advertise the usable depth of the 4 closed cabinets. In my opinion these are to small! I managed to get a smallish Sony Blu-Ray player in one of them. My old Toshiba HD-DVD player will not fit once cables are attached. The new Arcam BluRay player won't fit either. So the whole thing is a bit of a disaster. I eventually upgraded from a Denon 2310+Arcam A32 to a AVR500 and now AVR600, which is great to be honest, so the two open shelves in the centre now accomodate the amp and the centre speaker. The pull-out media storage at the back of the unit is very handy but as a result of it there is not enough space in the closed cabinets for most kit I would like to buy and put in there. Its a nice piece of furtniture, but not for serious hifi/av. I'd happily trade it in with AlphasonDesigns when they bring out a similar but more useful piece. Perhaps then I might stop complaining about it in Forums too