Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Custom Media shelf? Need help please

I have a situation that is quickly becoming a difficult one to solve.

My HT room is 18x14 and because of the TV (a 65" HD SONY) the room is situated length wise. On the wall where the TV sits, there is an outcropping (the hallway to the master bedroom) shortening the width of that wall to ~9 feet.

Now the TV is 5'1" wide, so this means I only have ~2 feet on either side of the TV to play with. This leaves very little room for speakers and a rack.

I calculated the measurements using 24" as the size of the rack, and 10" as the approximate width of each front speaker. This leaves only 4 to 6" of total play (gaps) between all of the components.

Going one step further, it leaves almost nowhere (except for between the couch and love seat, or between the couch and chair) to stick the sub. I'll have to play with sub placement, but the options seem too close to the sitting area...

Now, if you are still with me (I'm barely with me ) I'll throw out my questions.


1. Have any of you built a custom platform for your TV and speakers propping them up, say 24" so that you could stick all of the A/V and other miscellaneous equipment underneath?

2. Is that too high for the TV? (it would only leave ~1'6" between the top of the TV and the ceiling, *before the center is stuck on top of it)

3. Any problems with sound when its that high, or resting on a hallow box?

4. Also, if you have built these structures, what types of materials did you use?

5. Do you have any plans, sketches, or photos of your masterpiece?


I hope this is clear enough... Please help if you can.

Thank you!

ZeN

It may be a good idea to get in touch with a contractor who specializes in home theater built-ins. It sounds like a doable project.

If I were designing a wall unit for yourr TV, I'd consider putting the equipment above the TV instead of below. Another idea would be to put the rack in a separate location altogether. You'll have to spend some money on longer cables to reach your TV, but it may make better use of your space.

If all else fails, you can trade TVs with me. I've got a nice 36" CRT that would fit in your room perfectly!

I really like pmbuko's suggestion about putting the equipment above the TV. My current setup has a custom made furniture bench under the TV (55" Mitsu RP). The bench is 3 bays wide. It looks good, but I practically have to get down on the floor to do anything (like change disks). I'll try to snap a picture later. Ergonomically, it sucks. If you could build or fashion a "bridge" for over your TV (and center) to hold your components, you'd be able to get at them and you wouldn't have to worry about having the center channel at ceiling height. Check with a local furniture builder or cabinet maker. Can you sneak the sub behind one of the mains?

IMHO your TV's height should be just right for viewing and would be too heavy to be propped 2 feet higher. It might be safer to build a bridge on top of the TV for the center speaker and, if properly designed, may also accomodate your electronics.

I had a similar layout. I solved it by getting rid of the TV, rotating the room orientation 90 degrees, and projecting a 106" image onto one of the short walls.

Well, don't even think about building an entertainment center like that one! It will severely hinder the eventual UPGRADE to FRONT PROJECTION in the future. Okay?

Good call

Well, what about his idea... Building a 10 inch shelf for the TV to sit on, keeping all of my videogame systems, and games under the TV, then using a wall mounted rack above the speakers on one side?

Thanks for all of the help so far guys!

ZeN

That sounds like a great alternative.

BTW pmbuko - I thought long and hard about the trade idea... and in the end, it just seemed like I was giving too much up

ZeN