Is it justified? (AV Rack)

[duaplex]

Hi Guys,

I have finally arrived at the point where I can buy my AV rack, or cabinet, and fit all my equipment. Now the budget I have to spend is up to £1200. So looking at the options, I have Hi Fi Racks, Blok and Salamander.

Does anybody have experience with these? Is the price justified when looking at Hi Fi racks? They are on par, pricewise, with a full blown AV cabinet. It just seems too expensive for what it is in comparison to the rest?

I should mention that in all cases my TV will sit on top of the rack or cabinet. This will stand at 1m as I want my center speaker at ear level in the middle shelf.

Which is best to go with in your opinion guys?

Thanks in advance.

 

[bigboss]

Ikea.

 

[duaplex]

Hey Big Boss, I am with you on that one. My biggest problem is this.

I cannot seem to find anthing that can accomodate the LX83 and have my center speaker at ear level. On top of that it needs to be able to support the TV. I have scoured many websites and looked at many catilever stands, normal stands and cabinets. Nothing seems to fit the bill.

I am forced to go down the custom AV route and have it built. I wish Ikea had something, I did look 🙁

 

[BenLaw]

I have hifi racks for my stereo and considered it for my av but felt, as you suggest, that you stop getting enough for your money with the larger racks. Having considered all the traditional AV furniture I was in a price bracket around £2k to fit everything in, which was too much for me. BB has suggested one cheaper alternative. I eventually went for a custom made rack (see the link to my AV kit in signature) from Stump Furniture. Another company making a lot of AV racks is Chunky Monkey, but any local carpenter should be able to do you something. You'd probably be looking at a price of £450-£600 depending on design.

 

[professorhat]

I should mention that in all cases my TV will sit on top of the rack or cabinet. This will stand at 1m as I want my center speaker at ear level in the middle shelf.

But then your TV is going to be quite high surely (given it should really sit at eye level). This has always been one of those paradoxes - personally, I think it's best to have the TV at eye level and the centre either slightly above or slightly below the ideal listening position.

 

[bigboss]

Hey Big Boss, I am with you on that one. My biggest problem is this.

I cannot seem to find anthing that can accomodate the LX83 and have my center speaker at ear level. On top of that it needs to be able to support the TV. I have scoured many websites and looked at many catilever stands, normal stands and cabinets. Nothing seems to fit the bill.

I am forced to go down the custom AV route and have it built. I wish Ikea had something, I did look 🙁

There was a thread in which BBB had suggested building your own AV rack with ikea components. Will post the link to the thread as soon as I find it.

 

[bigboss]

Found it:

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/home-cinema/tv-on-centre-speaker

Google search is better than forum search 🙂

 

[duaplex]

@ Ben, nice setup I shall give those two a call and see what they quote.

@professor - you are correct on the TV, but how on earth are you supposed to get the center to ear level and have all tweeters at the same level (fonts and center)? It forces you to mount the TV higher. Or do you think I am splitting hairs with the center speaker? It would solve many problems If I left it lower.

@BigBoss - thanks I look forward to it.

 

[duaplex]

Great idea BB. I had an idea to build a floating wall using the Ikea range. Check this out below

http://www.floatingwall.co.uk/

I think its time to take a trip down there and see what I can hack together, the site is not really helping as they give no measurements of internal shelves, perhaps I missed something initially.

 

[bigboss]

If you see my setup, my centre speaker is close to the ceiling! But it still sounds perfect. Our brains have a remarkable ability to cancel out any height differences.

 

[duaplex]

Now that is what you call a very good setup and tidy! It's clear I am splitting hairs over this center speaker.

How far are your rear speakers form the front speakers there BB? Mine are about 8ft and I always wonder about it.

I think I will go with Ikea and hack it into something decent and build the floating wall. Oh god its going to be Messy!

 

[simonlewis]

The center speaker is supposed to sound as if it's coming from the telly, so above or below is fine.

 

[bigboss]

Thanks Duaplex! My rear speakers are about 10 feet from the fronts. More importantly, they're near the corners of the room. So the surround effect engulfs the entire room.

Good luck with your DIY!

 

[duaplex]

Very interesting, I would have that exact distance too If I purchased some direct radiators as opposed to the dipoles i currently have.

 

[scene]

I have a salamander geneva. Wide and high job with a place for a centre speaker. I got mine because a lot of cabinets were too shallow for av amps and I wanted something wide and high to protect my kuro from small people. It fits the bill perfectly, but it was pretty expensive. I'd definitely consider the ikea besta route if doing t again, think their range has expanded in the past 18ms / 2yrs. I'm sure I've posted a picture of it here...

 

[Paul.]

Hmm, I just cut a mahoosive hole in the back of my unit :rofl:

Conversely, my Dad went for a Spectral High End. It was expensive, but will be standing long after the house has fallen down... It looks kinda like an Apple store stair case, sturdy.

 

[scene]

In the study I've just put up loads of billy shelving, including the new deep ones. I've been very active with the drill and cowl cutting holes and my a85, dv88, project tt and zp90 look great on them.

 

[michael hoy]

In the study I've just put up loads of billy shelving, including the new deep ones. I've been very active with the drill and cowl cutting holes and my a85, dv88, project tt and zp90 look great on them.

Pictures

 

[Gerrardasnails]

I bought my av podium from HiFi racks before they won all their awards and it cost me just under £500. It's solid walnut, weighs a ton and is a proper piece of furniture. I was able to design the dimensions exactly how I wanted and the customer service was second to none. I would certainly recommend them even though prices seem to have risen since they became famous!

 

[BIGBERNARDBRESSLAW]

This looks good http://www.ikeahackers.net/2011/08/you-got-besta-me.html

Just depends how good you are at DIY.

 

[def lugs]

I eventually went for a custom made rack (see the link to my AV kit in signature) from Stump Furniture. Another company making a lot of AV racks is Chunky Monkey, but any local carpenter should be able to do you something. You'd probably be looking at a price of £450-£600 depending on design.

I really like your set up Ben, I was thinking about something similar. I am interested to know if you have any cooling problems with the amplifiers? The manufacturers recommend that you have a few inches of free space above the amplifiers for ventilation do you have any powred fans on the back of the units?

 

[Diamond Joe]

http://www.floatingwall.co.uk/

Ooo, love those floating walls, shame I'm such a lazy chap or I'd make one myself 😳

 

[BenLaw]

I eventually went for a custom made rack (see the link to my AV kit in signature) from Stump Furniture. Another company making a lot of AV racks is Chunky Monkey, but any local carpenter should be able to do you something. You'd probably be looking at a price of £450-£600 depending on design.

I really like your set up Ben, I was thinking about something similar. I am interested to know if you have any cooling problems with the amplifiers? The manufacturers recommend that you have a few inches of free space above the amplifiers for ventilation do you have any powred fans on the back of the units?

Hi def lugs and thanks 🙂 Fortunately I have no cooling problems. I had been using similar clearance in my hifi setup (where if I'd needed more space I could have bought some longer legs for the rack for not too much money). The Onkyo runs hotter than I had expected for a pre pro but it is open at the back with plenty of space in behind. I could also put the adjustable shelving up if I wanted. If you still had concerns, fans are definitely an option and of course you could simply design in an extra few centimetres of clearance.