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Show me your RACK - Page 53

post #1561 of 1757
1/15/13 at 6:55am
Looks really sharp!

Is that some kind of pullout keyboard and monitor shelf? Model?

Any difficulties with the MA ERK? Would you use it again?
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post #1562 of 1757
1/15/13 at 7:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad View Post

Looks really sharp!

Is that some kind of pullout keyboard and monitor shelf? Model?

Any difficulties with the MA ERK? Would you use it again?

Neurorad, thanks!! smile.gif

I think the MA ERK is a very solid and sturdy rack. I know its the side walls are non-removable, but i dont see any real life value to removable sides, Chris at CustomAVRacks felt the same, in fact i think it gives a very solid strong hold to the entire frame structure. I was able to use velcro and zipties attached to the inner wall for cable management as well, looks really neat. will post pics of cabling as well.
We plan to live in this current house for two more years hence the rack will be sitting in the living room, after that we move to our new home with dedicated theater in the basement, then I will be adding another rack along with this for home automation controllers and holding 5 other amplifiers (Emotiva).

Yes the LCD Monitor is a Belkin Titan 17" Dual-Rail LCD Rack (model no. F1DC101C-US)
It has dual rails, one for the keyboard and another for the lcd, either can be slided in an out as per requirement, one of the pictures show the keyboard and lcd slide out togather, and another shows the keyboard slide in with just only the lcd out, this way i can use an on screen monitoring for security cams, four view in grid works like a charm.
The main intent of this onboard lcd monitor was for controlling the SuperMicro 24Bay 72TB Windows Home Server machine for updates and maintainence of the media server, but now i am making use of it in multiple ways. I think its a must add on.
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post #1563 of 1757
1/16/13 at 10:28am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Mfusick View Post

Looks great !
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad View Post

Looks really sharp!
Sure does!



Quote:
Originally Posted by holyindian View Post

Neurorad thanks again for the tips.

Finally the Rack is fully setup, but the living room is still under construction, i had to remove the foot board trims to do some cabling and few patches to fill on the walls.
``````
The rack is a Middle Atlantic ERK-4425





This is my first attempt with the Racks, until a few weeks back i did not even know the basics, reading this thread, and help from member like Jautor, Neurorad.. made me get this up and running.

I think i did a decent job with cable management as well, will post pictures of the cabling soon.

Congrats on the rack, it's a beaut!
I always thought a SilverStone CW02 HTPC, would look good rack mounted, now I know. wink.gif
List of racked gear, from top to bottom please.smile.gif
Can't wait to see the rear!biggrin.gif
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post #1564 of 1757
1/17/13 at 12:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by OPPIZ View Post


Sure does!
Congrats on the rack, it's a beaut!
I always thought a SilverStone CW02 HTPC, would look good rack mounted, now I know. wink.gif
List of racked gear, from top to bottom please.smile.gif
Can't wait to see the rear!biggrin.gif

Oppiz, thanks for the motivating words.
I learnt a lot from this forum, and the friendly members in here. Sometimes i guess help comes from guys in here better than real life friends. smile.gif

The SilverStone CW02 case is just amazing, it took up everything i threw at it. It even houses the tallest heatsink ever, the ThermalRight Silver Arrow. Plus some really beefy components.
You can see the HTPC's build pics/log here.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/1442960/build-pics-my-i7-2600k-htpc-build-with-silverstone-cw02-case

The rack is mounted with the following equipments below.
(not necessarily in order of appearance) smile.gif
Rack Middle Atlantic ERK-4425
Panamax M5400-PM
Middle Atlantic LT-1RA Rackmount Light
Furman D10-PFP (extender)
Tascam CD-A700 CD Player & Cassette Recorder
Dish VIP722K receiver (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
XBox 360 Slim (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
Coolerguys 1U Bracket with (6) 40mm Med Speed CG fans / Programmable LED Controller
Denon 4311CI AVR
SuperMicro 24 Bay Server Chassis (72 Terabyte)
Belkin Titan 17" Dual-Rail LCD Rack (model no. F1DC101C-US)
HTPC SilverStone CW02 (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
APC SUA1500RMU2 UPS
2U Drawer
Buttkicker BKA-1000-N AMP (with MA Custom RSH faceplate)
Dayton SA-1000 Amp for the THT subwoofer

There is a 1U space between few components that gets hot. The 1u fan is between the xbox and the denon receiver, to blow out hot air from above the denon receiver and below the xbox.
I will post pictures of cable management over the weekend, as i still have to connect a few more extension cables for the IR blaster for Universal remote.

The LCD monitor is dual rail equipped. Both the LCD monitor and the keyboard can be slided out individually, u can have both the montior and keyboard out togather or just the monitor with keyboard slided in. Thus giving options for on-board rack display.
This was an amazing deal i got off ebay, usually this Belkin LCD Rackmount monitor is sold for 1500 bucks, but i got lucky and got it for 175 dollars off a data center liquidation company who was going out of business and wanted to sell off everything and move out. This was an unused box packed model, except they did not know if it will work or not, as they had not tested it. All they mentioned was brand new in box, never opened, but untested. I took a chance and brought it for 175. And viola it hit the bulls eye.





I am considering an Oppo Blu Ray player maybe the BDP-103, but unsure if HTPC negates the use of the dedicated player. Also i dont really know if the PQ and the sound is really better from the oppo player as compared to the HTPC's blu ray disk via the sound card and the avr receiver.
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post #1565 of 1757
1/17/13 at 5:02am
I'm to the painting phase of my home theater project. I wanted to show off my rack when finsished, but my rack is a custom wood/painted rack. It seems this forum has leaned towards prefabricated metal racks. I'm on the fence.
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post #1566 of 1757
1/17/13 at 10:31am
Quote:
Originally Posted by holyindian View Post


The rack is mounted with the following equipments below.
(in order of appearance) smile.gif
Rack Middle Atlantic ERK-4425
Furman D10-PFP (extender)
Middle Atlantic LT-1RA Rackmount Light
Panamax M5400-PM
Dish VIP722K receiver (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
Tascam CD-A700 CD Player & Cassette Recorder
XBox 360 Slim (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
Coolerguys 1U Bracket with (6) 40mm Med Speed CG fans / Programmable LED Controller
Denon 4311CI AVR
HTPC SilverStone CW02 (with MA custom RSH faceplate)
Belkin Titan 17" Dual-Rail LCD Rack (model no. F1DC101C-US)
Buttkicker BKA-1000-N AMP (with MA Custom RSH faceplate)
APC SUA1500RMU2 UPS
SuperMicro 24 Bay Server Chassis (72 Terabyte)
Dayton SA-1000 Amp for the THT subwoofer
2U Drawer


Shuffled the gear listing for you, I think I got it right.smile.gif
That's an awesome deal you got on the Belkin Titan. The Middle Atlantic version is between $2000 & $4000.eek.gif
Thanks for the HTPC build link.biggrin.gif
In your case, using a HTPC negates an Oppo BDP & with the right sound card plus a multi-ch amp( Emotiva wink.gif ), could negate your Denon receiver also.


Quote:
Originally Posted by JeffreyJonesBSME View Post

I'm to the painting phase of my home theater project. I wanted to show off my rack when finsished, but my rack is a custom wood/painted rack. It seems this forum has leaned towards prefabricated metal racks. I'm on the fence.

Please don't let that hold you back, from sharing your pics with us. I personally, appreciate racks in all forms.cool.gif
We look forward to seeing them, when you are ready. biggrin.gif
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post #1567 of 1757
1/17/13 at 10:38am
Here is mine been done for a while but recently added to it and re organized!



More details are in my build thread.
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post #1568 of 1757
1/18/13 at 4:34am
The fans are cooling a radiator with water in it. Didn't want to put that above all my expensive toys . The reciver is up top because most of the cables get plugged into it. That way all the cable's don't run the full length of my rack and get in the way.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nebrunner View Post

My rack is going to be similar setup, minus the crazy number of fans! All those fans are pulling cool air in? Would it work better to have them on the back top pushing hot air out?

What kind of thinking did you do when it came to what equipment to put at what levels? Ease of use? Heat concerns? I see your receiver is at the top I figured that should be more mid to lower to make it easier to get too, and also to keep all the heat from passing up through it. My Onkyo gets pretty hot on its own.
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post #1569 of 1757
1/21/13 at 6:57pm
These are all fantastic, but as I see these I keep having a question about light emission into a theater room. I have attached a VERY simple picture showing the layout which will work best in my room. I like how people expose the racks to the front because it looks really cool, but if the rack is say 2 feet away and perpendicular (as the picture shows) to a viewer of the screen won't there a) be too much light in the room and b) directed right at the user in this case which will be distracting. On many cable boxes and amps they use bright blue LEDs which when dark seem really bright. I know you can get smoked glass doors to put on the front but will that cut down enough to not be distracting. A good example of a rack which is awesome is holyindian's shown just a few above here...it seems like in a dark room when watching a movie that is going to be an extreme amount of light.

thoughts?


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post #1570 of 1757
1/21/13 at 7:48pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scgrg View Post

On many cable boxes and amps they use bright blue LEDs which when dark seem really bright. I know you can get smoked glass doors to put on the front but will that cut down enough to not be distracting. A good example of a rack which is awesome is holyindian's shown just a few above here...it seems like in a dark room when watching a movie that is going to be an extreme amount of light.

Better to throw the little bit of light into the room instead of onto the screen. Many components, especially the ones with "impressive" LED displays (such as the Panamax power conditioner and Middle Atlantic Light bar in holyindian's setup) have adjustable LED settings. I have mine all turned to the minimum. If that's still too bright, either cover unnecessary lights with electrical tape or other covering(s) to reduce or eliminate the glow. It is worth a check of the manuals for equipment with lots of lights before purchase to see what options they have.

Jeff
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post #1571 of 1757
1/21/13 at 8:04pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by scgrg View Post

These are all fantastic, but as I see these I keep having a question about light emission into a theater room. I have attached a VERY simple picture showing the layout which will work best in my room. I like how people expose the racks to the front because it looks really cool, but if the rack is say 2 feet away and perpendicular (as the picture shows) to a viewer of the screen won't there a) be too much light in the room and b) directed right at the user in this case which will be distracting. On many cable boxes and amps they use bright blue LEDs which when dark seem really bright. I know you can get smoked glass doors to put on the front but will that cut down enough to not be distracting. A good example of a rack which is awesome is holyindian's shown just a few above here...it seems like in a dark room when watching a movie that is going to be an extreme amount of light.

thoughts?




A smoked glass door or a product like Light Dims( http://www.lightdims.com/ ), would work.
It's never bothered me( guess I'm just used to it ), regardless, I keep all rack emitted lighting to a minimum, when possible.
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post #1572 of 1757
1/22/13 at 6:54am
You could always put some window tinting film on the glass
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post #1573 of 1757
1/22/13 at 9:39am
Quote:
Originally Posted by scgrg View Post

These are all fantastic, but as I see these I keep having a question about light emission into a theater room. I have attached a VERY simple picture showing the layout which will work best in my room. I like how people expose the racks to the front because it looks really cool, but if the rack is say 2 feet away and perpendicular (as the picture shows) to a viewer of the screen won't there a) be too much light in the room and b) directed right at the user in this case which will be distracting. On many cable boxes and amps they use bright blue LEDs which when dark seem really bright. I know you can get smoked glass doors to put on the front but will that cut down enough to not be distracting. A good example of a rack which is awesome is holyindian's shown just a few above here...it seems like in a dark room when watching a movie that is going to be an extreme amount of light.

thoughts?



scgrg,

My setup is almost exactly as your diagram with MLP being closest to the rack and I would agree that the LED's on some of my equipment (DirecTV DVR's and temperature monitor) can be a quite noticable. However, when the movie starts playing, there is so much more light coming off of the projection screen that I rarely notice any light coming from the components.

I think it just depends on your own opinion of what you want to be able to see from your seating position(s). There are many that prefer to keep the components behind them in the back of the room, or hidden from the room all together for that true "Theatre Experience". For me personally I like to easily see my components and I my speakers so everything is out there and nothing is hidden and I built my room with that in mind.

My room is a multi-purpose area and if it were a dedicated theatre only room, then I would consider hiding more of the speakers behind a false wall, but I would still want my rack and components easily visible on the side wall as they are now. I would think that if they were on the screen wall facing me, that it could get too distracting.
Edited by Brent A - 1/22/13 at 9:52am
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post #1574 of 1757
1/22/13 at 9:44am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Brent A View Post

I would agree that the LED's on some of my equipment (DirecTV DVR's and temperature monitor) can be a quite noticeable.

Note that the bright LEDs on the "ring" on DirecTV boxes is adjustable. Pressing the left/right buttons together will cycle through several dimming settings (including off). The other blue lights on the panel, though, will need something else. (OPPIZ - great link for those pre-made sticky covers! Definitely going to get a sheet of those next time I'm at Fry's... )

Jeff
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post #1575 of 1757
1/22/13 at 10:06am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jautor View Post

Note that the bright LEDs on the "ring" on DirecTV boxes is adjustable. Pressing the left/right buttons together will cycle through several dimming settings (including off). The other blue lights on the panel, though, will need something else. (OPPIZ - great link for those pre-made sticky covers! Definitely going to get a sheet of those next time I'm at Fry's... )

Jeff

Thanks for that!
I wasn't aware of that and never even thought to look into it as I wouldn't have even considered that DirecTV was that thoughtful. wink.gif
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post #1576 of 1757
1/22/13 at 11:00pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by americanflannel View Post




First attempt at an av rack. I am going to clean up the wiring some and add another patch panel and power strip.
1. Patch Panel (for cat6 ran everywhere in the basement)
2. 24 port gig switch
3. 4x2 matrix switch (my 4x4 doesn't play nice with the projector not sure why yet)
4. FIOS box
5. Receiver
6. PS3 & AppleTV
7. Xbox 360 and wii

I want to do something similar to this. I have a closet I want to cut into the side of and allow access to the back of the rack from the door way.

Could you please share details on how you went about making the hole and framing it? I'm afraid once I make a hole in the wall I'll be stuck and not know what to do next or how to make it look finished.

Anyone else willing to share details on how to actually make a hole and frame the drywall properly? I would appreciate it. Front and back if possible.

I plan on using a monoprice relay rack or middle Atlantic slim 5



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2
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post #1577 of 1757
1/23/13 at 7:15am
Americanflannel's av rack looks like a 2 post computer style rack, judging by the foot, and the square holes.
I really like the way he recessed it into the drywall. It does make me wonder if a velvet covered wood trough
could hide the foot, and hold remotes?

Here's the framing for my MA Slim5 37U rack going in. There will be a heavy duty steel U channel added,
to support the rear of the Slim5 rack.

recessed MA Slim5 37U framing.JPG 55k .JPG file

jmoakk, Is your wall drywalled on both sides?
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post #1578 of 1757
1/23/13 at 7:53am
Here's my progress for my rack system. Had a long closet at the back of my media room. It had two doors on each side. I framed one door to place the rack. Still in progress. And oh...I'm not pro at all! Learned a lot by doing research on here and other sites. This site has been the most helpful.









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post #1579 of 1757
1/23/13 at 9:17am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmoakk View Post

I want to do something similar to this. I have a closet I want to cut into the side of and allow access to the back of the rack from the door way.

Could you please share details on how you went about making the hole and framing it? I'm afraid once I make a hole in the wall I'll be stuck and not know what to do next or how to make it look finished.

Anyone else willing to share details on how to actually make a hole and frame the drywall properly? I would appreciate it. Front and back if possible.

I plan on using a monoprice relay rack or middle Atlantic slim 5



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2

jmoakk,

Mine was a fresh build while finishing the basement so I didn't have to re-model anything that was already existing. Before you cut any holes in your proposed wall, just make sure it isn't a structurally supporting wall as that will require some extra planning.

Here is the post I made about my recessed rack and finishing it without trimming it out.

http://www.avsforum.com/t/788074/show-me-your-rack/900#post_19105235

I built mine with full access to the rear of it via a standard door from the adjacent room so it is very easy to get to the rear of the components. I didn't post pictures of the back side but with the first pic you can get the idea of the opening.
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post #1580 of 1757
1/23/13 at 5:35pm
Thanks everyone for the replies. Yeah, my wall is drywalled on both sides.

Ill try to get pictures soon.

Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2
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post #1581 of 1757
1/24/13 at 1:42pm
andyboy I like it

What are you going to do in the closet around the base?
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post #1582 of 1757
1/24/13 at 4:28pm
Thanks everyone in refernce to the "light emission of racks" that is exactly why I love AVS forums!!!!
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post #1583 of 1757
1/26/13 at 11:21am
Quote:
Originally Posted by jmoakk View Post

I want to do something similar to this. I have a closet I want to cut into the side of and allow access to the back of the rack from the door way.

Could you please share details on how you went about making the hole and framing it? I'm afraid once I make a hole in the wall I'll be stuck and not know what to do next or how to make it look finished.

Anyone else willing to share details on how to actually make a hole and frame the drywall properly? I would appreciate it. Front and back if possible.

I plan on using a monoprice relay rack or middle Atlantic slim 5



Sent from my SAMSUNG-SGH-T769 using Tapatalk 2
Quote:
Originally Posted by andyboy View Post

Here's my progress for my rack system. Had a long closet at the back of my media room. It had two doors on each side. I framed one door to place the rack. Still in progress. And oh...I'm not pro at all! Learned a lot by doing research on here and other sites. This site has been the most helpful.





Mine is actually constructed exactly like this except in my case it IS a two post relay rack from monoprice as other people guessed.

I put it in when I built the basement so it's a non-bearing wall with the studs just the right distance apart to wedge it in there.
I left room under it to put my sub behind the wall and port it into the theater as well.
I still have to make it "pretty" with some trim and possibly a glass door.
It's "industrial" looking and extremely practical so far and I am loving it!
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post #1584 of 1757
1/26/13 at 12:05pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by andyboy View Post

Here's my progress for my rack system. Had a long closet at the back of my media room. It had two doors on each side. I framed one door to place the rack. Still in progress. And oh...I'm not pro at all! Learned a lot by doing research on here and other sites. This site has been the most helpful.









Since you haven't mudded yet, or even if you have, I'd add an outlet to the wall behind the rack, to avoid the visible power cables, run through the wall. Pretty easy job.

Nice job!
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post #1585 of 1757
1/28/13 at 6:23am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Andrew911tt View Post

andyboy I like it

What are you going to do in the closet around the base?
Thanks! I'm going to to rip out the existing baseboard and get one long one that extends across the wall so there's no visible lines
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post #1586 of 1757
1/28/13 at 6:26am
Quote:
Originally Posted by Neurorad View Post

Since you haven't mudded yet, or even if you have, I'd add an outlet to the wall behind the rack, to avoid the visible power cables, run through the wall. Pretty easy job.

Nice job!
Unfortunately I can't do much with the power outlet. There's a support beam on that corner and there's no way I can run the electrical line.
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post #1587 of 1757
1/28/13 at 6:33pm
Just Finished stage 1 or rack building this month.

Samsung monitor
middle atlantic 915r
Custom HTPC (XBMC/Sickbeard/SABNZBD) (with USB IR adapter)
ATT Uverse cable box
Logitec harmony RF extender for my harmony 1100 (controls everything.)
Monoprice 4x4 hdmi matrix
DLink NAS 2 bay
ATT Uverse modem (Back)
PS3 Slim
Panasonic Power conditioner

Monoprice 16 port network switch (not used)
middle atlantic 915r (not used)

Still having problems with 4x4 matrix over monoprice HDMI over cat5e extenders. (connection problems).



Stage 2:
full home audio + a few amps. (havnt chosen brand yet)
Edited by wadepoe - 1/28/13 at 6:39pm
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post #1588 of 1757
1/28/13 at 7:37pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by andyboy View Post

Unfortunately I can't do much with the power outlet. There's a support beam on that corner and there's no way I can run the electrical line.

bathdoorsoffit3.jpg

Channel the beam with a chisel, run the Romex, cover with nail plates, and fix drywall.

Or, easier, drill a hole through the beam.
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post #1589 of 1757
1/31/13 at 5:28pm
Hi Folks,

Previously posted this as a new thread, but realized it might get more traction here since it pulled from this thread originally. So reposting in case that might help spark some thoughts. Thank you in advance!

AV

[begin repost]
Quote:
Originally Posted by avrignaud View Post

Hi Folks,

I'm doing a bit of a living/media room remodel, and am looking to try and get my equipment out of a hulking Salamander rack and into the wall where it belongs. wink.gif However, I'm not very familiar with the racks, and had a few questions to make sure I'm going in the right direction.

First, I'm aiming for something very similar to what Max Lomax did in this post. I'll try to post the picture below:



The key elements I like about this are that the rack is embedded in the wall, "starts" a few feet off the ground, and has a really nice seamless look, with plates to cover all sort of components, including the oddly-shaped ones like the video game consoles. I work as a digital entertainment consultant, and have way too many of these little gaming boxes around, and am hoping to get them all cleaned up into a solution that I can tweak and modify well into the future as needed. smile.gif

The only thing missing from this example picture is a closing door, which is something I might like to have (not 100% decided).

I will be installing this into a wall where I can likely get rear access. So, running power should be relatively easy, and I don't think I need any sort of sliding or pivoting rack.

That leads me to my questions — with thanks in advance to anything any of you can share!

First, based on this article, I'm leaning toward the Sanus Component Series CFR2136 rack. I'm curious if anyone has had any experience with this rack, or can imagine any issues with the way I'd hope to install and use it? Related, would this rack work with and without a door, if I wanted to change my mind and go one way or another?

Second, it is unclear to me what the purpose is of some of the rack mounting kits I see for components, when those components appear to simply sit on a shelf? For example, I have rack mount ears for my ATI 1505 Amp, and may order the same for my soon-to-be-delivered Marantz 8801 Preamp. But considering the weight of some of these devices, I struggle to imagine them "hanging" by just these front ears. So, the question is what exactly are those ears or kits for, and are they applicable to my proposed rack solution?

Finally, I'm confused on how to get the clean, flush look with the faceplates above, especially for oddly-shaped devices like the video game consoles. I found some reference to a Performance Audio, stating they can supply these custom plates for Middle Atlantic racks, but I haven't been able to find a specific source, and am not sure if those would fit this rack as well.

At the end of the day I'm hoping to find a reasonably priced rack that I can use to get a similar look as the picture above. The door isn't critical, so if there's a better solution without (quality/price), I'm very open to hearing about it as well.

Thank you very much for anything you can share — with thanks!

AV
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post #1590 of 1757
1/31/13 at 6:25pm
If you're going for an in-wall rack, you'd buy a rack without sides, and no casters, not a rack like the Sanus you linked to. Take a look at the Middle Atlantic Slim5 series.
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