Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Home Theater Help choosing an in-wall component rack/shelf.

Hey guys,

I would like to have a component rack/shelf on the back wall of my entertainment room, just to the right of my laundry room door (essentially where the director's chair is).



Basically what it boils down to is cost because I do have other projects pending (by stairs etc.). So with that in mind, could you guys give me some suggestions on what I can get for a cabinet and how much it would cost.

-I would like something that has a glass door on it, which allows the components to be visible.

-Because the back of the cabinet will just be in the laundry room, I don't care if it's closed off (I'd actually prefer it if it wasn't as it would help with ventilation and ease of access).

-I also don't know what to look for when considering cabinet dimensions. If I look for something to house my components that I have now, how easy is it to expand on them later when adding new electronics? I postulate that it's a good idea to buy a larger cabinet than is currently needed?

Is there anything else that needs to be considered? I do like the manufactured metal component shelving units, as I want it to be a nice clean look, but I only know of two manufacturers. As mentioned, cost is first and foremost, and to throw around a budget I had in mind, I didn't know if it could be done for 300-400 dollars.

Thanks again for any input, it's greatly appreciated.

Cam

Cam have you considered boxing in the area immediately under the low-slung ceiling out to the post? That to me looks as if it may be prime real estate to build a component cabinet, especially if you have back access. I used 3/4" MDF for shelves with heavy duty slide rails but with the rear access I don't see the need for the slider rails in your case. Most all components are 17" wide, looks like you have plenty of room width-wise.

I'm thinking 300-400 bucks will probably fall well within budget.

Here's a couple of pics of our room, I believe you could do darn near the same.

If DIY is not your cup of tea, you can always get a Sanus rack CFA56 or CFR127. Both have adjustable shelves and glass doors.

Also, if I were to build a new home theater, I would probably install one of these bad boys. The swivel-rack looks pretty nice!
http://www.avrak.com/avtrak.html

Rick, thanks for the reply. I've seen pictures of your room before, and really do like that cabinet. Building a cabinet like yours looks like it's the way to go, as racks from Middle Atlantic etc. seem to be quite expensive.

Installing the cabinet below the bulkhead, as you suggested, would work out really well, but I plan on building a bar along that back wall (basically extending from that post to the other side of the room, then curving to meet the wall. The bar would be in an L shape, if that helps.), so the cabinet would be behind it and I wouldn't be able to access it, which is why I want the cabinet right beside the door.

How did you frame the cabinet behind the wall to carry the load? I've read on other forums that a header might be required, but have seen pictures where people have framed DIY cabinets in 2X4. Also, how would the side rails be mounted? I presume that the back of the cabinet would have to have sides to it, thus screwing the side rails to it? Actually, now that I think of it, the cabinet would need a back on it so you can't see straight through into the laundry room.

What did you do for ventilation? I'm thinking that ventilation slots could be cut out of the sides at the back of the cabinet (assuming sides are necessary to hold the side rails), then I could just use a thin black material on the back, thus blocking the view into the laundry room from the front of the cabinet, but allowing for more air flow than a wooden door would.

Any thoughts? I'm not a cabinetmaker or handyperson by any means, so excuse my uneducated questions about framing the back of the cabinet .

Thanks again.

Thanks for the link. I checked those out earlier, and they do look sweet. I would rather have a manufactured cabinet because I like the look, but as aforementioned, I don't think my budget allows for it.

Was just looking through a thread on AVS, and someone else posted about building a cabinet that backs into the furnace room. Something I never thought about, that they mentioned, was the noise from the furnace. My laundry room emits more noise than most because I don't only have my furnace running, but I also have a HRV and whole home HEPA filtration system running. The back of the cabinet will definitely have to be closed off entirely.

Errrrr, now I'm thinking this may not work .

That's beautiful. What is all that nice looking gear you have there? Looks like an HK receiver, are those Sony mega changers down on the bottom shelves, or some honker amps?

Anyway, nice set up.

Cam our cabinet is framed 2x4s with drywall on the exterior and 3/4" MDF for the interior sides, back and shelves. The rear wall of the cabinet is actually what was originally the cinderblock exterior of the house and it doesn't have any openings going into the other room at all, the ventilation consist of a 2" wide slot which runs the width of the upper rear of the cabinet interior that vents into the attic and a couple of PC fans on top of the amp and AVR which works very well.

The cabinet was actually measured and built for a Middle Atlantic rack and the sliding drawers was originally going to be a temporary solution but almost six years later I still haven't taken the plunge to unload the four grand on the rack and will probably have the temporary shelves in place for a while longer. The slide rails are heavy duty cabinet rails from Home Depot and they have locks that enable you to take the shelves completely out, are easy to install, will hold a boatload of weight and slide very easily. To install the slide rails you just measure and level the two rails for a shelf and screw the rails to the side wall of the cabinet, because of the sliding capability they are not attached to the back wall at all and on my particular application there is about six or seven inches between the back of the shelves and the rear wall of the cabinet for cabling and ventilation.

Can you build a rack into the laundry area with just a nicely trimmed wall opening next to the door Cam or would that intrude too much into the laundry area? If you can, that would be an EZPZ build and having access to the rear of the components like that would be ideal, a first consideration if I were to build another cabinet. Also you can do something as simple as using velro to attach a 1/8" thick smoothed finished wood panel to cover the back of the cabinet going into the laundry area for a quick and easy access to the components.

That Avtrac is another rack I looked at a while back, it's a neat setup.

Thanks 2x6, yep an old H/K with the Sony MegaChangers ... which needs a serious update.

Thanks for all of that info, Rick; it's greatly appreciated.

Regarding the following quote-



Do you mean building a cabinet that would be hidden inside the laundry room, basically framed behind the wall where the director's chair is in the picture? If so, that would work out, as there is enough room in the laundry room. Basically, behind that back wall is my furnace, but it is a good 3-4' from the wall.

That's what I'd do Cam if it didn't interfere with the proposed bar (great idea BTW!), I think Dave (dllewel) has a cabinet similar although I can't find pictures of his HT on his site anywhere and Randy's PorterPlex v1 also incorporates the same type cabinet I'm referring to ... PoterPlex v1. You know if Randy can build one, anybody can.

There's a mod over on the Rotel site who has a nice in-wall cabinet and if I remember it also backs into a laundry area with a lot of room to navigate the cabling and connects. Here's a shot of his cabinet ... The Dude's cabinet. I like the way he did his and I also believe it's a Middle Atlantic rack.

Unless you have support beams embedded in the wall, which I doubt since you have that telepost thing holding up your house, building a cabinet like these would be an easy chore and can probably be accomplished for a lot less then your $400 cap budget.

Oh, I see what you mean. Both Randy's, and the other cabinet that you linked to, is what I originally meant. Having the front of the cabinet flush mounted and trimmed on that back wall, with the sides and back of the cabinet (components etc.) backing into the laundry room. Is that what you mean?

In your previous post, I thought you meant building the entire cabinet in the laundry room behind that wall, and only having access from inside the laundry room, thus not touching the back wall at all.

I'm afraid that noise from my HVAC system will emit into the entertainment room if the front of the cabinet is facing into the room.

I also like the Middle Atlantic cabinet, but I've done some research on their Slim 5 model which would work nicely and isn't too expensive (although still more than my budget), but apparently it's the accessories like shelving etc. that really run the price up.

Sorry for the confusion.

So yeah, I like the cabinet that Randy has built, but I think noise from everything in the laundry room will be an issue. Any thoughts?

If you agree that it will be an issue, the only other option I have is building a cabinet that's completely inside the laundry room.

Thanks again for the help.

Check these guys out, they have a shelving unit that's regular 500$ going for 99$

http://www.soundsaround.com/

Check furniture

Yes, but where's the karaoke machine?

Cam, I would be thinking that a hinged glass door on the front, and some hinged, insulated door on the rear would do OK for keeping noise out.... though I have no idea how loud your mechanics are....

Thank you very much for the link, but unfortunately that unit won't suit my needs.


Mark, when everything aforementioned is running (only in the wintertime consistently), you can hear them in my entertainment room, but only if the volume is really low. Your suggestion would probably be just as good at isolating the noise, if not better, than the single wall of drywall between the two rooms currently.



Although I would much prefer the look of a Middle Atlantic cabinet (or a similar clean look), I just thought that I could use the top two shelving sections (in picture) of the cabinets that used to house my electronics (if the ceiling permits). One cabinet wouldn't be enough room, so I would have to stack one on top of the other.

This is a last resort suggestion of course. More cabinet suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks, guys.

You need to lighten up on the partying Cam. You have stuff falling out of your ceiling.

LOL Fred. It's actually a spot light for the stripper pole :-) .

Cam I was actually thinking about extending out from your wall and boxing in a cabinet in my initial reply but after you mentioned that because of the proposed bar that wasn't an option then I threw out the idea of the in-wall cabinet like you were apparently thinking of originally.

I'm with Mark regarding the sound being contained fairly easily and not spilling out to the HT area, if you have adequate ventilation somewhere in the upper back of the cabinet a glass door as he suggested should help to knock down a lot of the noise ... along with a little tweaking on the backside.

You know a while back I threw out the notion to my wife about maybe installing a stripper pole in the bedroom (just for kicks and giggles ) but apparently she wasn't too keen on the idea because the placement where I had in mind wasn't anywhere near the place where she said it should have been stuck.

Somewhere the sun don't shine in Florida, I bet!

One of the DIY threads on AVS has quite a few examples of homemade in wall cabinets. I particularly like this one.

Stupid question-are the rack rails the two long black pieces that run vertically along the edge of the cabinet? And the brackets are obviously what support the shelves, and they latch into the rail on each side?

In his construction, he's screwed the rack rails into the wall, and I would assume into studs. So basically I would have to frame two studs vertically 20" apart (the drywall would be cut out 20 "wide as well), then screw the rack rails to the backs of the 2X4's. And, when making the shelves, they'll have to be cut to account for the 2X4's so they extend to the front of the cabinet.

Do I have the right idea? Am I missing anything?

Thanks again.

Rick, thank you very much for the help. I didn't mean to come across like I was dropping your suggestions when I referred to the rack design on AVS. Your suggestion is pretty much the same, if not identical to what he's done.

Assuming that I have all the framing and everything down, I just have to buy rack rails similar to these , and the adjustable bracket similar to these .

All in all, it looks like my friend and I could build the entire cabinet ourselves. Hopefully we'll get around to it this winter (he is a landscaper, so he's off this time of year).

Thanks again for all of the help.

Cam

Yea no problem Cam, I just didn't realize you were adding a built-in bar at first and I did a switch up on ideas from the 'outie' cabinet to the in-wall deal. Man that cabinet in the second set of pics on that AVS thread is a killer setup and those self made faceplates are just bad ass to the bone, although I probably would have used allen head screws like Axiom uses on their speakers instead of the phillips head screws he used. That is a very simplistic cabinet with a lot of style and probably not much money invested. In your case I'd certainly be looking at a very similar design.

But yea, those brackets and rails are what you need to be looking at but just make sure to get both rails and shelf brackets strong enough to carry the load of your equipment, there's really no need to order that stuff online because I'm quite sure you'll be able find 'em at most home improvement stores. I really don't think you guys will have any problems building that cabinet, just try to make your drywall cutouts as close tolerance to your measurements as feasibly possible so that trim pieces can cover any blemishes because drywall finish work can be a royal pain in the neck and could turn out looking like Fido's ass if not finished correctly, thank god for trim!

I'm thinking a couple or three days maybe.


Depending on the beers.

I just got off the phone with my friend who's a certified electrician, and I inquired about him hooking up two separate 20 amp outlets in the laundry room. Before calling him, I had a feeling that running the electrical was the drawing card, and he confirmed that he doesn't know if it can be done because the fuse panel is at the other end of the house .

I should have thought about the electrical first, because this really puts a damper on things, as I talked to my best friend today about building the cabinet, and he said we could get to it next week or the week after.

Anythng can be done; just depends on how much more renovating you are willing to do. I am sure you said you wanted a new look for the rest of the house too

Cam I'm with Jason ... build and fine tune that cabinet to your liking and somebody, somehow will find a way to get the electric to the cabinet.

And...

Although I am far from an electrician and certainly wouldn't attempt any major household electrical work on my own I feel that it shouldn't be that big of a deal to get a dedicated 20 amp circuit to a cabinet that's sitting in a laundry room with both 220 and 110v circuits.

Build Forrest build!

Cam,

FYI - I built my HT rack from the same AVS posting about a year ago (a fun project). You can see some photos here... my gallery page

Any questions feel free to ask.

Bob

I know what you guys are saying, but I just finished overhauling and renovating the entertainment room, and really don't want to cut a hole in the drywall.

I can really only run wire inside the bulkhead in the basement ceiling because the floor joists run across the room.

Just thought (I'm sure my friend would know)- is there such a thing as running insulated/protected electrical wire along the outside of the house between the house brick, like they do with coaxial cable? I highly doubt it as it doesn't sound like it would be very safe, but it just popped into my head.

You should be able to run the wire through a conduit on the outside of the house. I think you might need to dig it in the ground 2' though.

Yeah, I thought of that Jay, but I was hoping for a cheaper alternative . And running it underground would also require waiting until the the spring when the frost is gone.

Thanks for the input though, bud.

Interesting. I just came across EMT (Electrical Metallic Tubing), which can be used outside and exposed to the elements. It seems to be an option, as I could run it along the outside of my house, from the back of my fuse panel, to the laundry room.

I think something like that sounds good but it still comes down to passing the inspection and whether or not the Ontario government sees it as an OK thing to do inspite of the actual engineering behind the product.

Very true, Jay. I definitely wouldn't do anything without consulting a Peterborough building code inspector.

I had a look today, and I noticed a couple things. While I was watching a movie that I had playing quite loud, I could easily here by HVAC system. My HRV is quiet, but the HEPA is quite loud, and my furnace only makes things louder when the heat comes on. I honestly think the only option is to box the back of the cabinet up, rather than leaving it open.

The other thing is that there is an available outlet, but it's not a dedicated one, and I don't know what else is on that circuit. I'm wondering if it's possible to just replace the current fuse with a larger one to accommodate for my electronics? Wouldn't it be the same as having a dedicated 20 amp circuit?

A true 20 amp circuit utilizes 12/2 wiring not the standard 14/2 so I wouldn't advise changeing out the fuse/circuit breaker.

Thanks, Jay; more great advice that I don't necessarily want to hear .

You don't want to hear it... I've got a 35amp fuse screwed into what is probably a 15 or 20 amp circuit... not touching it, though.

Sorry Cam, just trying to be ......uh....helpful?

You could most likely get away with just the lone 15 amp circuit as the likely hood of the system actually drawing more than 15 amps for more than a split second is very unlikely.

I thought the same. Especially seeing that my sub is going to be plugged into another outlet.

S#@&T, I just remember about my TV. I would like it to be connected to my APC power conditioner, but that would require running a long extension cord to the cabinet. Is this common? I wonder if Rick or Bob did this.

I would think that it could possibly cause problems with my TV's power consumption, thus resulting in a deteriorated picture.

Sorry for so many questions, and thanks for the help.

After a quick search online, it appears that it's not recommended to run an extension cord for my application. I did come across this though. It's one way to get power across the room.

Edit-as with a lot of things on the Internet, there's no consistent answer. It's apparently okay to run an extension cord according to some web sites, but not on others.

I have my gear in a closet behind the TV. I bought the stuff to add a 20 amp outlet in the closet, but haven't gotten around to it yet. Instead I bought a heavy duty 5 foot extension that has 4 outlets built in and plugged it in one of the outlets in the room. So far, so good.

As with all things electrical, you just have to follow the proper size of wire to handle the power required, but you still have that extra connection at the receptacle. If that outlet is just the tiniest bit loose you now have added resistance in the line and some potential for power loss/heat build up. IMO as long as you have a good connection(the real issue) and proper size cabling, adding an extension cord should not result in any power feed issues, it is no different than adding an extra outlet with 14/2 wiring in the wall.

Thanks, Cat. The main difference is that my cabinet is going to be on the opposite end of the wall from my TV, and the cable would have to be run through the bulkhead in the ceiling. This would require a 30-40 foot extension cord.

Apparently, what I'm supposed to be looking for is called a "power bridge". What I found and linked to in my previous post is what's supposed to be used.

I found this one at Monoprice, and I'll probably just get it because I also have to get some cables.

Could you guys please help me out with the appropriate cables I need in 50 ft lengths (always safer to go longer).I know nothing about what gauge of cable should be used for a given length.

Off the top of my head, I need the following-

-one HDMI cable
-Speaker wire
-one subwoofer cable

Is there anything else I should consider while I'm at it? This will be it for a while, but I didn't know if an extra HDMI cable or a component cable would be a good idea.

Yet again, thank you very much guys.

Cam

Edit-HA! I just noticed that the product in the link I posted a couple messages ago, is actually called Powerbridge. I'm an idiot!

Cam,
I just finished running all my cables through the walls in my new condo. If I never see another hole in my drywall, I'd be a happy man.

As for cables, Romex for the power bridge is what you need. Simple and easy enough to use (and snake through the walls). But for your HDMI run, I'm assuming this is from the entertainment center to your TV, yes? Here's what I installed:

1) HDMI from Monoprice.
2) Component from Monoprice. (I *HATE* HDCP issues and some receivers have issues with OSD/GUI with HDMI)
3) Optical cable (just in case)
4) IR Receiver extender. If you want to turn on your cable with RF/IR later, it's a must.
5) CAT6 cable. Too many TVs these days can take advantage of it. You can always use a wireless bridge, but if you're running cables, why not!
6) ClubNeon turned me on to some temperature appropriate fluorescent lights. So I ran an extension cable from my receiver to (behind) the TV being mounted. This will let me use the trigger outlet to turn the back light on and off.
7) **MOST IMPORTANT**: Spare pull rope!

good luck. I'm getting ready to mount the M22 on-walls this week so I'm almost finished. I just have to terminate a million CAT6 and Belden COAX cables all over the house!

Thanks for all of that information, bud. One question-what do you mean by "IR Receiver extender. If you want to turn on your cable with RF/IR later, it's a must"? I have a Harmony 1000 along with the wireless extender. My satellite box will be in the cabinet at the back of the room so I assume I'm okay? Sorry, I don't know what else the IR receiver extender would be used for.

Thanks

Some universal remotes use RF to communicate between the remote itself and the "controller" in the equipment rack. From this "controller" you plug in the IR flashers to stick on the equipment. This way, products that only work with IR (TVs, DVD players, cable boxes etc) can be controlled with the RF remote. The remote sends its signal via RF (so you can go through walls, don't have to point etc.) and the controller translates the RF signal into IR flashes.

Some remotes (some models of Harmony for example) have IR BLASTER. These are like flashers, but it's meant to spread the IR signal across multiple devices. MY URC remote uses 3.5mm mono cables for the IR flashers. So I ran 3.5mm mono extender cable from the equipment rack to the TV. I can then plug in my flasher to the extender, then the extender into the controller.

Okay, I get it now. Currently I have my remote set up so that the wireless extender controls all of my components with exception to the TV. Later on I plan on running 3.5 mm mono cables from the Logitech wireless extender to each component I need controlled; that way I can put the RF extender hidden in the cabinet. Until then, I just have to place it within line of sight of the cabinet, which shouldn't be a problem.

The way I have things set up, I don't think I will need to do what you did, although I could be wrong.

Any thoughts?

Thanks again.

I made one of those power bridges to feed power to my wall mounted LCD at my old house. The hard part was locating the male receptacle end which feeds the power through the wall to the one you want to actually have power. I found them at an electrical supply store. We use them at work on our trucks to attach the block heater cords to, the drivers then only have to push the extension cord into the receptacle.

Hey guys,

I just went through Blue Jean Cable's and Monoprice's website for a speaker wire, an HDMI cable, and a component cable. The video cables are at 40 foot lengths(or thereabouts), and the maximum length I'll be running my speaker wire is in 50 feet lengths.

There's a huge difference in price between the two companies, and as far as I know, the cables are pretty much the same quality (or rating).

I know Hansang bought his cables from Monoprice, but I was wondering about the quality juxtaposed to that of Blue Jean Cables. As mentioned, the price difference is perplexing, but that said, I don't mind paying the extra if it means better quality.

Here's what I found-

Blue jean cable-

-BJC Twelve White Speaker Cable, 200 foot, unterminated- link - $124
-HDMI Cable, BJC Series-1 23 1/2 AWG Belden Bonded-Pair, 40 foot, Black - link - $110
-Belden 1694A Component Video Cables, 40 foot, RCA/RCA, Black - link - $126

Total not including shipping- $361.00

Monoprice-

-50ft (RG-6/U) CL2 Premium 5-RCA Component Video/Audio Coaxial Cable - link - $39.00
-Professional 22AWG HDMI Standard Speed Male to Male Cables - link - $35.00
-250ft 12AWG CL2 Rated 2-Conductor Loud Speaker Cable - link - $75.00

Total without shipping- $150

I don't know if I have overkill with the cables from Blue Jean Cables which is driving the price up, but I tried to choose the proper cabling from both websites, based on research I did online for my distance required.

I also have one more question-I just came across some information reminding me that you shouldn't run power cables in parallel with audio/video cables. Because I have to run them all through the bulkhead in my ceiling, is there a specific distance that they should be spread apart so it doesn't cause any interference?

Sorry for all the questions. Your guys input is greatly appreciated as always.

Thank you very much,
Cam

I didn't mention a subwoofer cable because the one from Blue Jean Cable would cost me $75, and figured this one at Monoprice would do the job fine.

-50ft High-quality Coaxial Audio/Video RCA CL2 Rated Cable - RG6/U 75ohm- link - $10

Okay, I'll shut up for a while!

Blue Jeans sells the highest quality cables you can get that don't contain snake oil. Every part of their construction follows sound engineering principles, but they may be over engineered. Their cable stock is made in the US, and they are assembled here too.

Monoprice sells the cheapest cables of good quality. Produced and assembled in China. They're designed to work, and from all reports they do.

Blue Jeans did start their Tartan Cable to compete on price with Mono, for people who don't mind Chinese products.

Thanks, Chris. I've ordered speaker wire from them before, and am happy with it, but was rather surprised how much cheaper it was at Monoprice.

I found an interesting discussion on AVS regarding "Monoprice vs. Blue Jean Cables". It turned into somewhat of a heated discussion between two AVS club members. Surprisingly, Kurt, who is the owner of Blue Jean Cables, adds to the discussion. I was very surprised with his response; he seems like an honest, respectable, business person.

Here it is.

I commented, not even really a complaint, about the build quality of one optical cable I got from Blue Jeans (it could have done with a little extra trimming, which I did myself) to Blue Jeans' support e-mail address. I got an e-mail back from Kurt, saying thanks for pointing out the issue. I was surprised the owner would take the time.

But yeah, there's really no difference in speaker cable (although their Canare 4S11, star quad is really nice, if you don't mind the garden hose size). It's the coax, and HDMI that is really well designed. I just buy their speaker cable too, because I like to support such a nice and honest company.

Garden hose size is cool.

I'm still reading through that AVS thread. Someone just mentioned something important. I don't know how it is in Canada, but in the US wire run through walls must be CL rated. Blue Jeans states plainly which wire they sell is rated, and at what level.

Oh, I knew this, but must have forgot. Canare is a Japanese company. Belden is American (not Belkin, which is Indian). Most everything Blue Jeans sells is based around Belden stock.

Both the Monoprice and Blue Jeans cables will pass a signal just fine. If you are on a strict budget, then Monoprice is the obvious choice. Blue Jeans offers superior build quality (connectors especially) on their coax and HDMI and in some cases are "over built" for some home use applications. With robustness comes with it the tradeoff of stiffness and having BJC's best HDMI and 10 awg speaker wire, flexibility can be a problem. For professional use I would strictly use Blue Jeans cable for everything.

The in-wall rating in Canada is FT4 which is essentially the same as CL2. The FT4 rating only concerns vertical fire spread times, IIRC. CL2 deals with toxicity as well. If I remember a CL2 rating is slightly less than an FT4, a CL3 is pretty much the same.

Found this handy page:

http://www.awcwire.com/techlibrary/16.17.pdf

When I ran signal wire for an IR repeater I used 22/4 wire from Home Depot (only need 3 conductors). My repeater has screw terminals, so it was cheap and easy and you can customize for exact length.

I'm also using a 40' Monoprice HDMI cable and it works great. Note that it is pretty thick, so it has limited flexibility if you've got tight corners.

Hey guys,

Well, after two days of work, my best friend and I have finished the first stage of my in-wall cabinet. I still have to get my cables and run them through the ceiling, do some cable management, close off the back of the cabinet, and put the aluminum face plates and trim on the front; but here's some pictures we took as we went.

Thank you very much for everyone's help. If you guys have any suggestions, fire away!

First picture-I haven't shown any pictures of my room because there's a couple things that aren't finished (like the fuse panel in the picture), but here's a teaser showing the cabinet that used to house my components. It's actually really beautiful, with glass shelves and wooden legs that match my speaker finish, but as you can see, the cables are messy.



Cabinet framed up and drywall cut out-



Back-





Front trimmed-



Shelves-

Components on shelves-





Back-

Looking good!

Looks good Cam. I would love to have a cabinet like that for my HT gear.

Things are looking good Cam!! This brings back memories, I was working on mine a year ago January as well.

Re: suggestions, here are a couple that come to mind...

- If you haven't already, think carefully about the order in which you place your components (i.e. mounting the disk player at a comfortable height, etc). Once you've done all the work to build the face plates you won't be too inclined to change things around One tip I'd read is to mount the hottest running components at the top.

- The other tip involves the placement of the screw holes. It's possible, no matter how hard you try, that the frame may not be perfectly square and/or the shelves perfectly level. I was very careful but in the end things were slightly off. Not a big deal because you can account for it when you cut and file the face plates (or shim a component up if necessary). However, what I didn't appreciate was the impact on the placement of the screw holes. I had built a template so that each hole would be the same distance in from the edge on each plate. However, when I attached the plates to the frame I noticed that the screws didn't exactly align vertically from plate to plate (you can see it if you enlarge my gallery pic). Again not a big deal because everything is black but there's room for improvement. If I were to do it over again I think I'd first attach all the ready-to-paint plates to the frame with some 2-sided tape and then run straight lines parallel to the left and right edges of the frame (however far from the edge you plan to attach the screws i.e. 1/2"). You can then use those lines as a guide as to where to drill your holes and they'll all align nicely on the vertical axis.

Also, since you're about to start your aluminum work I thought you might enjoy seeing a photo of this sub from Funky Waves. Very nice workmanship I thought.

Looking forward to seeing the next set of pic's.

Bob

Bob, thanks for that info. As far as my components go, because of my disability, the only one that I would possibly be able to load on my own is my BDP-83. Your suggestion about placing my CD carousel and other DVD carousel within reach makes sense, but because I can't use them, I placed them at the bottom.

Regarding your suggestion about placing my hottest components at the top of the cabinet (those would be my receiver and RPA-1 amp). I currently have my receiver in the middle of the cabinet so I can access it, and my amp is on the bottom shelf with 2 inches of clearance. I could easily move it to the top shelf if you guys don't think that's sufficient air flow. I don't really like the idea of my receiver and amp on the top two shelves because the heat from one could generate problems for the other. Maybe I'm wrong, but I would think it's better to have them separated by a couple shelves so the heat is dispersed?

Any thoughts?

Thanks

That cabinet is looking good Cam.

I wouldn't worry about heat issues with your amp on the top shelf and the AVR below or visa versa, you have lot's of ventilation room for cooling. I have my amp on the top shelf and the AVR immediately below it and have an enclosed cabinet and have never had issues, even prior to installing the PC cooling fans. You are keeping the back and sides open, correct?

Thanks, Rick. I really wish I could keep the back and sides open, but with only having the aluminum face plates on the front of the cabinet, they won't block any sound whatsoever from my furnace, HEPA, and HRV; it was loud prior to having that hole in the wall.

I unfortunately need something to limit the amount of noise coming into my entertainment room, and building a cabinet around the back is the only way I think I can achieve it. It did cross my mind that I could try to fill the gaps around each component with that sound absorbent insulation from Roxul, but I don't think that it would be a good idea. I also thought about using something other than aluminum, like wood for the face plates, but it would protrude too far, as everything is set up to allow just enough room for a thin piece of aluminum.

Hey Cam, just looking at your pics I had an idea to help with the sound isolation. Can you have a 'frame' built around the backside of the shelves out of 2x4 or similar that you could use to insulate the sound. Depending on how it's built you could then put Roxul in that. And if built not too tight to the shelves I think you'd have enough room for air circulation too. I'll post a couple of sketches to illustrate what i mean (working on those now)

Here's a picture of my furnace (I've labeled the three things that are loud; along with my furnace obviously). It's approximately 2.5-3 feet back from the cabinet (basically the edge of the cabinet would be pretty darn close to the right edge of the picture).

Wow i really suck at Sketchup - haven't used it in years. Anyway, while crude I hope this conveys what I mean:


The white shelves are supposed to be your equipment rack, then build a 2x4 wall with or without 'roof' to slide in place around the shelves to block the sound from all your HVAC equipment.

Dan, that's an excellent idea, thanks for taking the time to draw that out for me.

Next time I'm up, I'm going to take some measurements. I know that there is enough room to build an enclosure behind the cabinet and leave breathing room on the sides, I just have to make sure that there's enough room to access the furnace easily.

Thanks again for the input, guys.

Hey guys,

I'm purchasing the rest of my cables etc. this afternoon, and have a question about coaxial cable. As Randy is doing, I'm running a 40 foot one for my subwoofer, and was wondering if there's a difference in coaxial cable quality that I should consider?

For use as a subwoofer cable, is the stuff I can get from my satellite guy, the same as the stuff at say Blue Jean Cables?

Thank you very much.

The stuff Blue Jeans sells, specifically the LC-1 cable is better for unbalanced audio (coax) than anything designed for video or RF. But is the stuff for RF good enough, is Blue Jeans' cable over designed? Perhaps.

Read their article about what went into the design of the LC-1 cable: http://www.bluejeanscable.com/store/subwoofer/LC1-design-notes.htm

Cam, if you do decide to close in around the back of the rack simply use a door on the back for access to the gear, providing you have room for the door to open of course. a Solid door would be equal to if not better sound insualtion than the drywall.

Thanks for that info, Chris; I ordered a 40 foot length of their LC-one.

Jay, that's an excellent idea. I've been thinking about it this afternoon, and although Dan's suggestion was great, I unfortunately don't have enough room to slide the wall out. I'll definitely need the back of the cabinet closed in, and I can't see there being enough room for a door.

Your suggestion for a solid door got me thinking that replacing the laundry room door with one would help with the noise.

Thanks

Cam, maybe if you gagged the girls before you tied them in the laundry room, you'd have some peace and quiet?

. They're usually tying me up......

Does anyone have any experience with Leviton Quickports? I really like them, but I'm trying to get my head around why each little port is so expensive (almost $5 in most cases). I understand connectivity and expansion capabilities, but really, that much money. Are they manufactured really good?

If I was to use them for my hookups, instead of a wall plate with multiple hookups already on it, it'll end up costing me over $100 for the wall plates and connectors.

I'm looking at getting these three.

Thanks

You're paying for customizability. In my experience, something that's molded in place will last through many connects/disconnects longer than these custom pop-in jobbies.

EDIT: The "in my experience" refers to panels that use RJ-45 network jacks.

Great point about longevity, Peter; thanks. I think I'll get one six port for my non speaker cables, and a 7 channel plate for my speaker wire connections. That will save me some coin.

Three shipments of cables ect. came today, and hopefully Monoprice's package will get here tomorrow; then fishing cables and hooking things up this weekend!

I agree with your assessment Peter, I'd rather pay a little more up front and have it right the first time.

Not to be a thread jacker but on the topic of equipment cabinets I wanted to get some input from everyone. I'm trying to decide what to do about mine. I could possibly build something similar to Cam's with it being flush mounted on the back wall. I understand routing IR with repeaters but I'm just curious how everyone feels about not being able to view the displays of their equipment (primarily AVR). Especially when the AVR doesn't have an on (TV) screen display. I'm worried about being able to easily check what the volume level is set to as well as sound modes being used, etc.

Upgrade the avr for one with OSD, problem solved I beleive most everyone that has the avr not in the line of sight has OSD on their systems.

I was worried that would be the answer. Before I switched to HDTV I did have the OSD from my HK on the TV but didn't like it so I disabled it. Personally I find it annoying to see the volume display pop up on the TV when I want to make small adjustments while watching TV. I'd rather just look over at the display on the AVR, but oh ya I want to mount it behind me.

Yes I want to eat my cake too.