[charlies]

I am just about to finish my theater but I need some help


1) I would like to use a slim 5 middle atlantic rack but my components are only on average 16" wide compared to a width of 19" for the Middle atlantic. Can I still use it? Any other cheap rack solutions?


2) I want to use black Screen wall and grey for the rest. How dark should the grey be without making the room feel depressing.?


3) I want to use 4ft high carpet for the sides of my walls as an acoustic damper. Does carpet as opposed to TheaterShield work ok??


Thanks for your help guys

 

[Shaun Pressley]

I'll take a stab at your questions.....


1) That rack will be fine for your components. They make a great rack and you'll be very happy with it.


2) Many people swear by the 18% grey (Kodak) as the perfect grey. Your milage may vary. Use the grey that seems right for your room. You could just use color. I used purple and beige, along with black everything else. Again, your milage may vary.


3) I'd go with TS+. The cost will be similar to carpet, if not even cheaper. That, and you'll get predictable acoustic absorption with TS+. With carpet, who knows what it will do to the sound. Why not go with something that works that the professionals use, that is available to us? Most carpet places charge additional for vertical runs of carpet.... I'm just not convinced that carpet is the better solution for Home Theater applications, or any theater for that matter. What is the RT60 of your room now, and what do you want it to be when you're done?

 

[woowoo]

About the rack

Use rack trays

they are cheap and work well

 

[Ron Hanson]

about the rack: If you want to have that flush equipment mount look, you'll need to buy rackshelfs with custom cut faceplates. It can get expensive if you have a lot of non-rackmount equipment.

If you're adventurous you can try cutting your own faceplates out of the cheaper blanks.

 

[topaz]

Ron,


Where are some places which sell the blank plates?

 

[Ron Hanson]

topaz: here are a few

hometech.com

smarthome.com

zzsounds.com



zzsounds was the cheapest when I purchased.

 

[Greg099]

OK, I'm totally new to the whole rack thing. I'm moving everything into a closet, so it does not have to be pretty. What I want is functional, sturdy, easy access.


The Slim 5 rack looks good and inexpensive. My question is, will any of the shelves/drawers work on the Slim 5? Are they all standard sizes? I don't even know how these things are attached, but it appears they bolt in up front and hang loose in the back.


Or do they also get anchored to the sides? Since the sides are open on the Slim5, how is this accomplished? If they are supposed to anchor at the rear as well, then do I need to make sure the shelves I buy are deep enough to go all the way back?


All of the sites you list have lots of racks stuff for sale, but absolutely no information about compatability and designing one of these things.


I know at least some of these questions will sound inane, but I assure you I have searched the archive exhaustively on this subject and found very little information.


Thanks,


Greg

 

[jhill32]

Greg099,

I know it seems like a physics nightmare, but most of these rack shelves do indeed mount strictly from the front. That's why the shelves are so expensive. I built my rack into the closet using MDF and shelving standards.

 

[charlies]

check out


http://www.lashen.com/vendors/MAP/Ra...able/slim5.asp



It explains the slim 5 pretty well