Standout Designs picture thread - Page 8

Originally Posted by hobbes4444

i've had the haven 82" since thanksgiving, and absolutely love it. the standout product is really top notch. from the beautiful finish to the thoughtfully designed back panels, it is really a great cabinet (although the plug/cable pass through cutout, while a great feature and accomodates my av gear, could be a little bigger). customer service was extremely helpful. they shipped out wood samples quickly and were very knowledgable about the product. i think the stains on the wood samples were a little darker than the final product (we did espresso on maple). but definitely gave us a good idea of the color and grain. even the freight company they work with was very helpful. they actually called to let me know the unit was in transit to them in order to set up a timeframe. i didn't have to chase after them which was nice!

the only minor glitch was the delivery itself. this is a really large piece of furniture. the mid level delivery option was for a driver to deliver and bring the haven into the house, including moving it up a few outdoor steps. well, this was way too big for a handtruck of any sort, so the driver and i had to carry it in. not a big deal but i had paid a little extra for delivery so i didn't have to deal with that. i called standout to let them know the midlevel delivery by driver was really not feasible with the haven unit. they said it was a relatively new model and they didn't think that would be an issue. they apologized for the inconvenience and credited me for the extra shipping cost. they also added this info to their website to alert customers to the potential issue. on top of the sale price and discounted shipping, it really made this a great deal. cheaper than the salamander unit i was designing, and much nicer quality to boot.

i'll post some pics in the coming days. but can't speak highly enough of the product quality and customer service of this company. highly recommend!!

Originally Posted by korn646

Well looks like no stand for the Super Bowl. They are running at least a week behind with my order, and haven't provided an estimated shipping date. If anyone is ordering I would suggest calling to get up to date information on when they will be able to ship.

Originally Posted by WindyCityGuy

I am considering the Majestic Grand but holding off till there is some kind of deal posted. When is the last time you guys have seen a deal of some kind offered?

Originally Posted by Tank_PD

You are going to save at most $100 - $200 during the sales unless it is a clearance item. Usually $100 off the stand, and another $100 in shipping.

Originally Posted by WindyCityGuy

I am considering the Majestic Grand but holding off till there is some kind of deal posted. When is the last time you guys have seen a deal of some kind offered?

Originally Posted by wilbur_the_goose

BTW - How does the cabling work with these? One pic showed the back "sealed". How would one run speaker cables or cables between your AVR and DVD (for example)?

Originally Posted by Thksnow

I'm trying to decide between the Majestic Grand and the BDI Casata 8629-2. I've seen the BDI finishes, etc., at some local stores here in Northern Virginia) but of course haven't seen the Standout at all. It may sound like a strange request, but if there's anyone in the Northern Virginia area that has a Majestic Grand that wouldn't mind showing it to a fellow AVS Forum member, please PM me. I'd especially like to see one in Black on Oak, although just seeing one in any finish in person would be great before spending this kind of money.

Originally Posted by Kolenka

If you are considering the Casata, I might consider the Horizon as well. The Horizon matches the Casata's dimensions a bit more closely, and is a bit cheaper than the Majestic Grand. Although if you prefer the look of the Majestic Grand, that's another story.

I'd recommend having them send out the samples to you. If you PM me, I can probably mail out the samples they gave me as well. That would give you a rough idea of the finishes available for the standard wood. I wasn't looking at the premium woods, so I didn't get those samples.

The black on Oak is definitely black on Oak. If you've ever seen Polk RTi4s (or similar), the black stain on Oak is identical. I went with espresso instead because a piece of furniture that big in black was just a little too black for me, and the espresso sample fades into a dark room just as well.

Originally Posted by Kolenka

Yup, you are in the same boat I'm in. I wanted something that would last a while, but also had the space for the speakers/TV I am using. I either had to go fairly wide (70+" wide) or something in the 50" range with an integrated mount. There really aren't too many options in this area beyond something custom. BDI, Salamander, and Standout Designs being the biggest names for non-custom pieces. I looked mostly at BDI and Standout (I didn't like the look of the Salamander stuff), and felt torn for the same reasons you describe.

While I do like the minimalist designs from BDI, they just don't offer the exact stuff I want that compares to the features of the Standout Designs kit. I've got the black puck Apple TV and a Logitech IR->PS3 adapter. These look kinda goofy no matter where you put them. So my plan is to use the center speaker grill kit to not only hide my 20" wide center speaker, but these two things as well where IR can still reach them. I fully expect to be able to stream something via the Apple TV from my desktop and have someone ask where the heck it is.

Standout offers a different form of minimalism I've grown to like more: That all someone sees is my TV, the stand, and the two bookshelf speakers. Everything else is hidden from view. Remotes, game controllers, etc all have a spot that is accessible but out of the way. No center speaker poking out from the middle of the stand either.

The solid wood also has one possibly important benefit over MDF: it is lighter. A similar BDI piece is a good 27+lbs heavier than the solid wood version (187 lbs vs <159 lbs for the Horizon). I don't mind the MDF, but I'm willing to pay a bit more for a piece that I can move a little more easily. And Standout Designs produces matching shelving which I am considering later this year.

The two companies have two fairly different approaches. BDI has a wider array of unflexible designs in the hope that one is close enough to what you want. Standout is more about offering a couple designs with enough flexibility that you can make those designs work for you. It means you are more likely to find the non-mainstream stuff like ventilation fans and more ways to hide center speakers.

Originally Posted by Kolenka

There is a column of buttons on the right side of each model's page. Click on "Specifications" and it brings up all sorts of useful measurements of the unit. Including height/width of the shelving spaces to make sure everything fits, and the weight of the unit itself. The BDI unit you are looking at is actually one of the BDI units I was considering, and I had done some work with the measurements earlier on that model before I settled on the Horizon instead.

FYI: Horizon is 24" high, Majestic is 22". I had to double-check myself, since I knew the Majestic was shorter than the Horizon, but I thought the Horizon was 22". Whoops. Either way, the Horizon is as tall as my current stand.

And yup, I still understand your position. If we all liked the same thing or had the same priorities, competition between products would be pretty meaningless.

Originally Posted by Kolenka

The stand arrived today. The delivery folks even commented that it was the second stand they were delivering from Standout Designs today. It came right out of manufacturing, so there was some dust and the like to clean out, and the smell of the stain is still quite strong.

But other than that, it is a very good piece of furniture. I'm glad I got it.

Originally Posted by RaggedEdge

Is that the Horizon or the Majestic?

Originally Posted by Kolenka

The stand arrived today. The delivery folks even commented that it was the second stand they were delivering from Standout Designs today. It came right out of manufacturing, so there was some dust and the like to clean out, and the smell of the stain is still quite strong.

But other than that, it is a very good piece of furniture. I'm glad I got it.