New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:

Show me your RACK - Page 5

post #121 of 1757
12/31/07 at 6:28pm
This rack does was designed as built-in shelves vs. the more common metal rack. Since it was built into a recess in the wall, the rack pulls out and rotates to access wiring.

Reply
Reply

AVS Top Picks

post #122 of 1757
12/31/07 at 8:13pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by budeone View Post

I have never seen anything like that before in my life.. I want it!

Looks like too much work to me, but nice!
Reply
Reply
post #123 of 1757
1/1/08 at 5:59am


The walnut box is holding the radiator for the htpc's water cooling
Reply
Reply
post #124 of 1757
1/1/08 at 5:29pm
This is how it has been for the last couple of months.

Middle Atlantic BRK16 Rack + Casters + 2 U2 shelves
Furman PL-Plus Series II Power Conditioner
Nintendo Wii
Phillips DVD Player
DirecTiVo DVR
Harman Kardon AVR-247

JBL HT4V (Left & Right) JBL HT4H (Center), and Infinity PS-12 (Subwoofer)
Toshiba 20" CRT

This week:

Oppo Digital DV0-980H
Rear Rack Rails
2 U1 Shelves
1 Glass Door
And a cabling job.

Front:



Back:

Reply
Reply
post #125 of 1757
1/5/08 at 1:53pm
Has anyone heard of a company called Salamander that makes equipment racks? I just left the local HT store and they were telling me to check out their website to compare them against the MA racks but I don't see any comparison. Am i looking at the right site? I told the guy at the store I wanted a rack that could slide out so I would have access to the back and thats when he mentioned the Salamander company. To me, there stuff looks like furniture and not like racks like the MA products do.
Reply
Reply
post #126 of 1757
1/5/08 at 4:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck1906 View Post

I told the guy at the store I wanted a rack that could slide out so I would have access to the back and thats when he mentioned the Salamander company. To me, there stuff looks like furniture and not like racks like the MA products do.

I don't think Salamander does in-wall racks. I think the big feature of their stuff is that it's somewhat modular and you can design a custom layout of shelves, drawers, panels, and so on. And you can conceivably roll the unit around and get to the back of it, which may be what the store guy thought you were talking about. A friend has one of the "Synergy" units and it basically appears to be made of 80/20 plus wooden panels and shelves.
Reply
Reply
post #127 of 1757
1/6/08 at 5:10am
Thought about putting the rack in the closet but it didn't seem right.



....
Reply
Reply
post #128 of 1757
1/6/08 at 8:56am
Quote:
Originally Posted by dreamhost View Post

Ok I'm as dumb as they come... arggghhhh

Finally broke down and purchased 2 of the middle atlantic wrk44-27 self standing racks to put in my 'temp' theater closet.

My problem is the stupid closet door is only 22" and the rack is 26" wide, LOL. Man I can't believe I didn't measure first...

Anyhow, does anyone have any experience with these racks? What I am trying to find out is wether or not they can be disassembled and then reassembled inside the closet.


I bought 2 secondhand Slim5 racks from MidAtlantic and they do bolt together, so you'll have no problem if they're like that. I suppose you'll know in a couple days either way... But since it would have to ship by freight carrier if it wasn't broken down, you might be able to tell from the shipping charges.
Reply
Reply
post #129 of 1757
1/6/08 at 10:53am
Thanks for all the great info (I think my brain is overloaded). I'd like to do something like the setup listed above (post #68)by bmackrell. I think this might be the MA Slim 5, but can't tell for sure. I need to be able have side & rear panels to block out the sound from the furnace sitting behind my HT, but still allow the components to adequately vent. I also need to make sure all the cables fit within the rack with the rear door closed (common sense, right? I noticed that many of these racks don't have rear doors and I just wanted to be completely clear. Do you all think the Slim 5 setup (if that's what it is) would work in this application? If not, what is my best bet? I don't want the sound from the HVAC getting through my rack after I spent all that time and $$$ sound insulating my backwall.
Reply
Reply
post #130 of 1757
1/6/08 at 12:18pm
The slim 5 rack does have an available back door that can be purchased
Reply
Reply
post #131 of 1757
1/6/08 at 2:50pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPDSpappy View Post

I think this might be the MA Slim 5, but can't tell for sure.

It looks like the slim 5 look at the upper left logo.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPDSpappy View Post

I need to be able have side & rear panels to block out the sound from the furnace sitting behind my HT, but still allow the components to adequately vent.

You can see here the side panels for the slim 5 have passive cooling vents. Cover them with dynamat if you need.
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPDSpappy View Post

I also need to make sure all the cables fit within the rack with the rear door closed (common sense, right? I noticed that many of these racks don't have rear doors and I just wanted to be completely clear.

"Requiring less space than a conventional door, our rear access pans feature a unique no-hinge "tip-out" design. The bottom features a convenient laser knock-out for cable pass-through, securing keylock included."
Quote:
Originally Posted by SPDSpappy View Post

Do you all think the Slim 5 setup (if that's what it is) would work in this application? If not, what is my best bet? I don't want the sound from the HVAC getting through my rack after I spent all that time and $$$ sound insulating my backwall.

Well, you can always pack insulation around the thing until your satisfied.
Reply
Reply
post #132 of 1757
1/7/08 at 5:54am
Quote:
Originally Posted by yobo View Post

It looks like the slim 5 look at the upper left logo.

You can see here the side panels for the slim 5 have passive cooling vents. Cover them with dynamat if you need.

"Requiring less space than a conventional door, our rear access pans feature a unique no-hinge "tip-out" design. The bottom features a convenient laser knock-out for cable pass-through, securing keylock included."

Well, you can always pack insulation around the thing until your satisfied.

Thanks for the great info. I PM'd bmackrell and he confirmed it's a slim-5. I hadn't thought about putting insulation around the rack. If sound coming through it ends up being an issue w/ the panels, I'll definitely try that!
Reply
Reply
post #133 of 1757
1/8/08 at 6:12am
Is 6 feet enough cable to use for equipment that is going to be housed in a rack? I could probably go with 3-4 but I figure it would probably be better to have extra then less! I know I am going to need to do a 25-30 foot HDMI run to the projector based on where I am going to put the rack.
Reply
Reply
post #134 of 1757
1/8/08 at 6:24am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Chuck1906 View Post

Is 6 feet enough cable to use for equipment that is going to be housed in a rack? I could probably go with 3-4 but I figure it would probably be better to have extra then less! I know I am going to need to do a 25-30 foot HDMI run to the projector based on where I am going to put the rack.

I make sure to have on hand a variety of lengths of cables, as once you get a rack populated, "too long" is 90% as bad as "too short", unless you've left yourself ample cable management units. (And doing that chews up rack spaces as most theater racks don't have provisions for vertical cable management trays.)

Assuming you have good access to the back of the rack, I'd get 60% 1 meter, 30% 2 meter, 5% each 3 meter and .5 meter for a full height rack.

Disclaimer: I come from an IT background and have seen horrible rack configs as well as working at a place where we literally bought patch cables in 6" increments up to 8' and in 12" increments after that. That said, spending a few hundred bucks on "extra" cables has be something that I have never regretted.

I also make up my own bundles using split-loom tubing. For instance, an SD-DVD player will get a component, a red/white/SPDIF audio, and a Toslink cable all bundled inside a split loom tube with both ends taped and labelled "DVD2". That way, I get less tangling in the vertical cable management hooks that I've retro-fitted to my racks.

That's a real long way of saying "if you can get to the back of it, don't make yourself crazy by buying a whole ton of long spaghetti pieces..."

--Jim
Reply
Reply
post #135 of 1757
1/8/08 at 10:16am
I figured that I would throw a picture of my rack up there since it is 95% done.




Here is a picture with the sliding door closed on the A/V rack and the DVD storage rack closed.




Cheers,
JJ
Reply
Reply
post #136 of 1757
1/8/08 at 10:19am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Glimmie View Post





Latest pic taken today. For more details look at my WEB site. The power amps on the WEB site however are old. The new system is all tube.

Reply
Reply
post #137 of 1757
1/11/08 at 6:45pm
Those slide out racks I see posted on here, about how far out from the wall do they slide? I guess I need to consider in getting longer cables/wires to accomodate this purpose. As I think about it, other than speaker wires being longer, I may not need all my cables to be longer. I am thinking the surge protector that everything is plugged into might need to be long since it will be stretched when you pull the rack out but everything else would be in a vertical set up.
Reply
Reply
post #138 of 1757
1/14/08 at 11:23pm
For those that have slide out racks... what are the reasons that you bought them?

Also, for those that have built your own racks using rails in the front... what did you use for the sides, top and bottom?? 3/4" plywood?
Reply
Reply
post #139 of 1757
1/15/08 at 6:35am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Raystream View Post

For those that have slide out racks... what are the reasons that you bought them?

I bought mine for the simple reason that I cannot get easy access to the back of my equipment to hook up wires and such...my rack is built into a wall with virtually no access behind it.
Reply
Reply
post #140 of 1757
1/15/08 at 9:27am
Ditto What Dark Wizard said. Where my rack is going to go in the room there is no access to get behind it so I would need to slide the whole thing out or get shelves that slide out.
Reply
Reply
post #141 of 1757
1/15/08 at 10:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by bmackrell View Post

Splotto,

I like the custom MA face plates. They are a little expensive but you end up with a nice clean look. I will say that the quality control leaves a little to be desired on newer components but as products have been on the market for a while they tighten or adjust the laser cut. For instance, I ordered an Outlaw 7125, 7 channel amp when they first came out and the first faceplate I received didn't account for the rubber feet so it didn't fit, eventually they got it right. I also pre-ordered a Toshiba XA2 HD-DVD player and the faceplate I received was not cut properly to account for the front control panel door to swing open. My solution was to remove the door. The two triad sub amp faceplates are a little bit off also. My advice would be to wait until a product has been on the market for at least 6 months before purchasing custom face plates from MA.

For more main stream a/v and entertainment components like Xbox, Xbox 360, PS2 they fit and look great.

I'm not sure how the PS3 would fit into a rack mount though. I originally looked at getting one but with the curved design and side ports I didn't think it would be that functional in the rack.

I've bought all my Middle Atlantic custom rack mounted shelves from Chris at StayOnline.com. They've been very responsive each time I purchased and took care of the most of the problems I had. I went with them based on recommendations from others here on AVS.

Contact info:

Chris Knout
Rack/Premise Wiring Sales Mgr.

www.Stayonline.com
8121 Brownleigh Drive
Raleigh, NC
27617
Fax: 919-510-5466
Phone: 1-888-346-4688 ext:118
Chris@stayonline.com
Good Luck,

Regards,

BillMac

BillMac,

This web site is great! Not only can I order from Canada, but I can order all my custom faceplates on-line. What I great tool! I've been looking everywhere for a web site like this. Your help has been invaluable. I can't thank you enough!

Splotto, I also tried your web site and they are very competitive. They don't ship to Canada though. The RSH ordering tool in not developed like the one that BillMac recommended.

BR
Reply
Reply
post #142 of 1757
1/15/08 at 11:06am
Bigrock,

That's actually a new feature on their website. I just tried it myself the other day and it worked out fine. Before that feature was available I would just look up the item on the MA site and order them from Chris.

One update to my quoted comment above was that the fit of the custom faceplates wasn't that great on my Triad subwoofer amps. It turns out that triad used to use the same amp chassis on all three of their subamps but have switched to different sized units. I reordered the correct faceplates and they are perfect.

BillMac
Reply
Reply
post #143 of 1757
1/15/08 at 9:20pm
Billmac,

I'm pretty pumped about getting this rack. I talked to a local MA rep and they were quoting me almost 50% more... Now I get my cake AND get to eat it!

BR
Reply
Reply
post #144 of 1757
1/16/08 at 7:53am
Just a heads up for the Canadian people thinking of ordering MA from the US. Don't bother wasting your time. That is what I did and the order was held in Vancover for weeks until I bought it at the inflated Canadian prices from a local Canadian dealer. It was that or they were shipping it back so save yourself and the US vendors the head ache and just get it locally if your still interested. You'll pay more but you'll at least get the darn thing in a timely fashion with out any regional dispute hassle ( I hope anyways). In my case the US vendor had to refund my $$ and I had to rebuy everything at about 20% more from a dealer in Calgary. I'm sure the vendor in the US got his hand slapped as well I don't know all the details.

So as to not derail the thread to much here a couple shots of my rack in place.








Cheers
Calvin
Reply
Reply
post #145 of 1757
1/16/08 at 4:50pm
I feel for you my Canadian bretheren. I live just across the border, but have no issues. Damn customs!



But here is tha latest on my rack!:
If you have been tuned into this thread since the begining, you saw it in its early form but now....


I give you The Rack



Yep there it is. In all its glory. I have added the Silverstone 7" touch screen PC case which will house the home automation server running ElkRM and possibly the HomeSeer Vista MCE plug-in.

At the bottom you will see the APC H15. This is a great power conditioner. The best there is in its class. I have gotten a 30' shielded powercord and run it through the conduit to the projector on the ceiling so the new Epson Pro UB can be run off the conditioner. With the projector and everything in the rack except the PC's powered by the APC, it is still only at 11% load!

I did have to do some of my own custom work to the MA faceplate for the touchscreen Silverstone. I built a jig and used my Porter-Cable router with a 1/4" aluminium bit to trim 5mm out across the top of the opening. It came out almost perfect.

You will notice I have also mounted the 19" Samsung LCD in front of the lower right part of the rack using a Sanus mount. It worked out perfect. I also added a Middle Atlantic pull-out drawer for the keyboard and mouse. Its comming along nicely. But I still have some room... maybe a PS3...?
Reply
Reply
post #146 of 1757
1/18/08 at 1:55am
Hi,

I would be curious to know the rack depth people are using. It would also be great to know if you wished you would have used a different depth and why.

I've been trying to decide if I should go 20" or 26" in depth so your feedback would be most helpful.

Thanks!
Reply
Reply
post #147 of 1757
1/18/08 at 12:33pm
mine
LL
Reply
Reply
post #148 of 1757
1/18/08 at 2:31pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by LexiconLogan View Post

mine

Simple yet elegant, very nice!!
Reply
Reply
post #149 of 1757
1/20/08 at 8:16am
Quote:
Originally Posted by tlllava View Post

This rack does was designed as built-in shelves vs. the more common metal rack. Since it was built into a recess in the wall, the rack pulls out and rotates to access wiring.


Where did you buy the hardware for the rack cabinet that gives you the pull-out, rotate function.

Thx
Reply
Reply
post #150 of 1757
1/20/08 at 10:03am
Jjcritch,

Which Sanus mount are you using? And how are you feeding video sources to this monitor in the rack? I see two pcs inthe rack along with the XBOX360 (and of course the main video source out of the AVR), and I'm assuming you are splitting/matrixing signals and routing them to this monitor? If so, can you describe that a little more?

I have my equipment rack in a different room than the home theatre, so sometimes working with the HTPC and the NAS server doing troubleshooting or debugging requires me to have a monitor in the rack, and route both PCs video out to this in addition to the main screen. I have a dual output video card on the HTPC, but only a cheap card on my NAS box, so I have been switching the vga cable to the monitor by hand when I need to do this...needless to say, ugh.

I've been thinking of incorporating a KVM and a VGA splitter, to help with this. Any thoughts?
Reply
Reply
New Posts  All Forums:Forum Nav:
  Return Home

AVS Top Picks