I have been circling for a while, and my "theater" is so modest compared to those in this board, that I'm almost embarrased to post here.
I have all my equipment in an armoire-style cabinet now out of convenience. However, I am looking at many of these in wall racks, and I have been very impressed with some of the innovation that you guys have come up with. I am looking at a DIY in wall, as I am not yet ready to purchase a Mid Atlantic or something comparable....I like the ease, but all the pieces to get what you want are, not in the budget.
One of the members, I did a search, maybe someone can chime in, did the closeout plates in Plexi. I am thinking of something similar to what he has. I can do the layout, and the build, but I have been baffled since the start, and this has stopped me short from starting the first cut.
The wall I have in mind, is adjacent to my mechanical room, the equipment will actually be in the mechanical room, flush with the wall that is viewed. So the worry is, that opening that up will create undesirable noise from the Heat/Air handler. There are also Pipes with fans that are my "Radon Protection", but I don't hear them, I don't think they will be an issue.
Do I actually make it a cabinet, or do i leave the back open? I do not want to see the Mechanical Room, so I think a cabinet would be in order. But I have not seen any pre-built that would be approx 30 wide, and the height that I need. Heat would be in question as well, Xbox 360, dvd, receiver, decoder, space for remotes/controllers future space?
Soooo if your head ain't spinning with all my questions yet...(mine is)...could ya help a caveman out?
Thanks guys...

You can do it semi-inexpensively with rack rails. The rails are cheap ($50), the shelves will cost you. My old place was ideal, in that I was able to put my rack just outside the entrance of my theater. Then I could close the door and no noise. I had a door, which helped with the noise had it been in the room (and kept little fingers out).

http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/DSC_0921.jpg
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/DSC_0923.jpg

Walk into the mechanical room to access the wires:
http://i167.photobucket.com/albums/u129/dc_pilgrim/DSC_0935.jpg

Assuming you can't put it outside the room, you could try to box it, then add venting and an inline fan to help with the heat. That would at least make a barrier between your mechanicals.

The wall I have in mind, is adjacent to my mechanical room, the equipment will actually be in the mechanical room, flush with the wall that is viewed. So the worry is, that opening that up will create undesirable noise from the Heat/Air handler. There are also Pipes with fans that are my "Radon Protection", but I don't hear them, I don't think they will be an issue.
Do I actually make it a cabinet, or do i leave the back open? I do not want to see the Mechanical Room, so I think a cabinet would be in order. But I have not seen any pre-built that would be approx 30 wide, and the height that I need. Heat would be in question as well, Xbox 360, dvd, receiver, decoder, space for remotes/controllers future space?

You probably need to enclose the components, but there's nothing that says the enclosure has to be a cabinet. You could frame out the enclosure with 2x4s and drywall it. Heck, double drywall + Green Glue on the outside of the enclosure would do a much better job keeping the noise of the air handler out of your theater than would an ordinary wood cabinet. You might have to get creative to come up with a way to access the rear of the components without compromising your soundproofing too much, though.

If it were me, I would plan on using a fan or two to vent the heat out of the component enclosure. I use a couple of these PC fans: http://www.coolerguys.com/noctua120.html. If you go this route, you'll need a 12V power supply for the fans (available at the same site, or you may have a "wall wart" power supply around the house that would work). To vent the enclosure without compromising your soundproofing, the easiest approach would be to draw cool air into the cabinet from the theater and exhaust the hot air back into the theater. If you dump the hot air into the mechanical room, the vent will leak some noise from the air handler into the theater. Also, give some thought to air flow through the cabinet and around the components. Generally, it's best to have cool air enter at the bottom and hot air exit at the top. You may need to put some holes in the shelves to promote good air flow through hot components.

The rails are cheap ($50), the shelves will cost you.

That's exactly where I am at...I have looked at the rails for months, and then started eyeing the shelves needed to do the equipment, as none of my stuff has ears... then got discouraged at the pricing.



but there's nothing that says the enclosure has to be a cabinet. You could frame out the enclosure with 2x4s and drywall it.

That's a great idea, thanks, I will put some thought in to it... as it is, I am not soundproofed, the room is also adjacent to the laundry. But the air handler runs most of the time. I am also dealing with 90's paneling, and drop ceiling, so, FAR from Ideal, but I am at a starting point. (Kid's braces to buy, dance for the girls, one wants to start guitar lessons...and the boy is still in diapers....)

Thanks for the suggestions as always, guys....keep them coming...I like to have options.

Kevin, I in the process of doing the exact same thing. You can see my rack sits right next to the HVAC.
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/341997549.jpg

I went ahead and cut shelves. A rail system would have been much easier, but this gave me control over exact shelf height. You could drywall it but I think MDF is almost easier to mess with, IMO.
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/344022793.jpg

I would highly recommend enclosing the back not only for noise, but also for dust control. I have mine fully enclosed with 2 120 mm fans that will vent out hot air.

Here's a crude pic of my layout.
http://pic50.picturetrail.com/VOL426/2023328/18486887/344022799.jpg

As far as making covers, I would contact a metal shop to have them cut for you. I originally started with plexi but ran into issues. First; the shop that cut them had too much blade runout which prevented the covers from being square, second the blade chipped the edges which didn't do much for the cosmetics. My second choice was having a local metal shop cut 1/16" inch aluminum. Because the plates are press cut, it allowed for perfectly squared pieces. The thin aluminum is also very easy to cut and work with.

I ordered this fan, which is extremely quiet and moves a generous amount of air. I went with the 1600 cfm as I thought they would be noisier than they were. You could step up to the 1900 cfm and still not be bothered. Don't forget the 110 to 12 volt adaptor when using them. They also make temp controllers, I chose to plug mine into the back of my receiver instead. I also picked up a nice temp display module to keep an eye on things. HTH
http://us.st12.yimg.com/us.st.yimg.com/I/yhst-24067115789173_2039_55893896

I cant understand why people pay so much for these rack systems? In all honesty, it really makes me scratch the old noggin.

I would rather build a shelf system in the wall as have to spend hundreds on something that does the same things. BUT I feel most everyone here is out of my league anyways so its probably just me and my poor uneducated upbringing..

Being in residential construction for 14 years and being a penny pincher, I could probably build a theater for a 10th of what you people spend. I just cant believe how in depth some of you go...They look good but at what price?

Dont know where this is going...guess I woke up in a crabby mood...sorry:(