Well, after my bit of *ahem* irreverence last night, I thought I'd get back to serious business (yeah right).

Anyways, because of the way the house will be laid out, there's a 2' x 2' x 10' alcove in the back of the media room where I plan to place my equipment on an equipment rack. I'm already planning to run speaker wires in the wall to it, as well as a conduit to the ceiling mounted projector and another conduit to the front of the riser. For a couple of hundred dollars, the builder can frame and put a door to turn the niche into a closet. I'm interested in opinions on whether it's worth it.

The big appeal of the closet is aesthetics. While I don't mind displaying the electronics on a nice rack, it's the wiring that could look unkempt (especially with the conduit in the ceiling). The closet might help with noise from the electronics, though the reviews I've read seem to imply that the fans on most receivers and amps are relatively quiet and only run when the unit is working particularly hard (in that case, the loud sound from the speakers will probably drown out the fan noise anyways). I would also put an AC vent (additional expense) in the closet to help with the heat from the electronics. WAF is not much of an issue: I let her have her way with the kitchen, so I get to have mine with the media room.

The appeal of having the niche is that it's easier to work with. Though the niche is 24" wide, the width of the door frame for the closet is only about 22", which is a little narrower than most of the racks I've seen on racksandmounts.com or standsandracks.com. I didn't want to invest in an industrial-looking rack system (like Middle Atlantic) b/c it's not aesthetically appealing to me and rather pricey. With the 24" wide niche, I'd have more choices in terms of racks with casters and get my own rolling rack. I'd also be less worried about ventilation with the niche, pay less money, and could show off my gear.

Anyways, I just wanted to hear opinions/recommendations. Do people who have their electronics in a niche or out in the media room wish it was hidden away in a closet? Do those who have their gear in a closet wish they had more direct access to their gear?

In our old house when I was just developing our system, all the electronics was in a open-faced cabinet under the TV.

Major hassle everytime I needed access to the wiring!!

In our current house, while setting up a new system and adding a RPCRT which pushed the equipment racks(now installed to the side of the TV)out into the room, I found being able to get behind the electronics during set-up to be the answer to any number of prayers.

Of course, now that the system is relatively mature and complete, I don't need access all that often.

But it sure is easier when I do!!
Rich.

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For a couple of hundred dollars, the builder can frame and put a door to turn the niche into a closet.

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I think you need a cheaper builder.
You can get all sorts of door types at places like Home Depot but if smaller closet doors won't fit, a frame and custom door is very easy to DIY. Now if you are going with something like glass on the front to work remotes through it, that's a bit different. We have two 22" french doors with glass at the opening of our media room so i know you can get doors that small, non custom.

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The closet might help with noise from the electronics

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The loudest component i have right now is my dvdp. I can hear it whirring away. This is one small reason i may consider buying a more expensive dvdp, to get a more quiet transport.

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Do people who have their electronics in a niche or out in the media room wish it was hidden away in a closet? Do those who have their gear in a closet wish they had more direct access to their gear?

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I prefer to show the equipment but yes, a clean look is necessary (nice rack, organized cables). It just takes some patience and time in bundling all the cables together with ties, ropes, elastic bands, gum and sticking them into conduits or cable runs on the back of the racking, but the end result is worth it. I've seen some closet style equipment before but rarely completely enclosed. Heat can be an issue (and hence installing HVAC specifically for that small area a pain) but constant access to the dvdp or any other component is a second reason to leave them 'open'.
That's my four cents.