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Hyfi
05-25-2010, 10:44 AM
Getting ready to redo the living room soon and need to retire my long outdated and too small av rack.

I'm looking for something to hold lots of gear since i run a 2ch and ht setup together. I want something solid, good looking and under $1500. I don't want glass shelves. It's unbelievable how many MFGs use glass in their construction as it's the worst product for audio equipment.

What I have been looking at are the following but I am not opposed to someone building me something to my specs.

Lovan (various models) not the best WAF factor but built nice.
http://www.lovanusa.com/images/matrix_series.jpg

Sanus
http://a248.e.akamai.net/pix.crutchfield.com/products/2006/051/h051WFV66C-f_L_Angp.jpg

Possibly something by Salamander also.
http://www.audioadvisor.com/images/SALTR30CB_000.JPG

Any suggestions? Thanks!

dakatabg
05-25-2010, 10:50 AM
Personally I like the first one by Lovan. Very nice looking

Hyfi
05-25-2010, 10:55 AM
Personally I like the first one by Lovan. Very nice looking

Yeah, gear should not be encased in cabinets for heat issues. If I get the wife to approve, I'm leaning that way.

Mingus
05-25-2010, 10:59 AM
I also like the Lovan units

dakatabg
05-25-2010, 11:01 AM
Not just for overheating issues, I just like when they are exposed so you can see them.

Hyfi
05-25-2010, 11:01 AM
Here is what I need to replace, not sure why it won't display right
http://forums.audioreview.com/attachment.php?attachmentid=5519&d=1241362285

blackraven
05-25-2010, 09:06 PM
Here are some very good racks. I own a glass rack (RGR series) but they do have others with mdf. Personally I have not found any problem with my glass rack. If your worried about resonance, put some sorbothane feet under your gear. I think the problems with glass are over rated.

http://www.vtimanufacturing.com/Audio%20racks%20&%20AV%20stands.htm

Hyfi
05-26-2010, 03:05 AM
Here are some very good racks. I own a glass rack (RGR series) but they do have others with mdf. Personally I have not found any problem with my glass rack. If your worried about resonance, put some sorbothane feet under your gear. I think the problems with glass are over rated.

http://www.vtimanufacturing.com/Audio%20racks%20&%20AV%20stands.htm

Thanks Blacky. I did find that site last night.

I am not as concerned about the gear on glass as I am with how glass sucks up bass. Maybe I would be ok but I'm still leery.

TheHills44060
05-26-2010, 04:22 AM
I was a bit hesitant to go glass as well but quality glass shelves can look sooooo good. To quell my fears i made little pads to stick under the equipment feet but whether or not that had any audible affects I couldn't tell ya.

Hyfi
05-26-2010, 05:18 AM
I was a bit hesitant to go glass as well but quality glass shelves can look sooooo good. To quell my fears i made little pads to stick under the equipment feet but whether or not that had any audible affects I couldn't tell ya.

I use sorbothane pads under all my gear anyway so I have that covered. Almost all the VTI racks have the rear leg in the middle of the shelf so my large amps would not fit and allow proper wiring with that type of leg. Even with the Lovan, I will need to remove the cable management pc from the bottom shelf, If I can actually fit my Counterpoint or Stratos between the 19.25 width limit. I think it gives me an 1/8 leeway.


What I do like about both the Lovan and VTI is that I can keep stacking shelves, I missed that when first looking at them.

blackraven
05-26-2010, 09:36 AM
Hyfi, I have 6 shelf RGR rack. I have my Parasound amp on the top shelf. You have 21" from front to back on the middle shelfs. And there is 23 3/4" width on the middle shelfs. The glass sits on steel pegs with rubber O rings around the Pegs. The back panel has 2 large holes at each shelf position for cable management..

Hyfi
05-26-2010, 10:01 AM
Hyfi, I have 6 shelf RGR rack. I have my Parasound amp on the top shelf. You have 21" from front to back on the middle shelfs. And there is 23 3/4" width on the middle shelfs. The glass sits on steel pegs with rubber O rings around the Pegs. The back panel has 2 large holes at each shelf position for cable management..

Thanks for that info, I actually like the BL series for the wood. Do you think they have the same dimensions? Their site only gives overall dimensions and no real documentation.

blackraven
05-26-2010, 10:13 AM
Hyfi, I called VTI for the dimensions when I bought mine. I have 2 large amps. My 55# Adcom AVR and my 60# Parasound. Give them a call.

pixelthis
05-26-2010, 10:46 AM
I love my lovan gear, had two racks that I got on sale for a rediculous price.
I THOUGHT THE "waf" be high, as they are quite good looking.
Only thing about the Lovan, hard to move once its set up, since its a series of stackable units.:1:

Hyfi
05-26-2010, 10:50 AM
I love my lovan gear, had two racks that I got on sale for a rediculous price.
I THOUGHT THE "waf" be high, as they are quite good looking.
Only thing about the Lovan, hard to move once its set up, since its a series of stackable units.:1:

If I go that rout, they will be harder to move after filling them with sand or shot. I'm leaning towards the Lovan or VTI because I can add more as needed.

Thanks for the input.

Hyfi
06-09-2010, 03:07 AM
I placed my order yesterday and it already shipped.

First let me say that Racks&Stands.com is a great place to do business with. Although their website and option configuration was not available to choose what I wanted, they worked with their Marketing group and VTI to assure me that what I wanted was what I would get even though the quote showed it differently. The also gave me fantastic pricing for the whole package and even kept the price the same on the audio rack because I wanted the 13" - 9" - 7" version of the BL-404 as opposed to a 9" and 2 7" spaced shelves. I could not get pricing within $150 of this package.

What I ended up ordering was a VTI BL-404-13 with Silver frame, Cherry shelves, and Gold caps and feet (that was the main sticking point with my order as it seems nobody ever ordered this color configuration but VTI told me it was not a problem) and an extra 7" shelf. And, a BL-503 with an extra 7"shelf.

I ordered it all by phone yesterday at 2:30 in the afternoon and it already shipped last night Fed-Ex from Cali to be here Saturday......oh and it was all free shipping too.

http://pic3.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1176747260.jpg

http://www.standsandmounts.com/ProductImages/vti/BL404all.jpg

Feanor
06-09-2010, 04:06 AM
I placed my order yesterday and it already shipped.

First let me say that Racks&Stands.com is a great place to do business with. ....

http://pic3.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1176747260.jpg
...

That's great stuff, Hyfi. I'm envious.

Hyfi
06-09-2010, 04:47 AM
That's great stuff, Hyfi. I'm envious.

Hey Feanor, thanks. I have wanted to do this for ages but for financial reasons never did. When the banker says go ahead, I didn't hesitate.

I will post pics when assembled and in place.

Worf101
06-09-2010, 05:30 AM
Based upon my EXPERIENCE (oohhh I love when I can say dat) Salamander or Sanus are the way to go. Expensive and you have to put it together but you can get EXACTLY what you want, you can make it as plain or as fancy as you want and you get to put it together right and tight. I've a pre-made thingy in my living room which I regret buying but I couldn't afford another Salamander rig and the new screen and the new Onkyo totl receiver.

Worf

Hyfi
06-09-2010, 06:21 AM
Based upon my EXPERIENCE (oohhh I love when I can say dat) Salamander or Sanus are the way to go. Expensive and you have to put it together but you can get EXACTLY what you want, you can make it as plain or as fancy as you want and you get to put it together right and tight. I've a pre-made thingy in my living room which I regret buying but I couldn't afford another Salamander rig and the new screen and the new Onkyo totl receiver.

Worf

I looked at their stuff and it is too pricey for what it is. I don't want doors, threaded rods, and such. With any of their racks that use the extruded tubing, it's Item or Bosch, I would be able to tell if I could touch it.

I like the sand/shot fill-able feature of the VTIs.

A little late since I already ordered but thanks for the input.

blackraven
06-09-2010, 09:21 AM
I've seen Sanus racks and I can tell you that the VTI racks are better from my personal experience. Salamander makes some nice stuff but their lower priced racks don't compare well to similarly priced VTI racks. When comparing wood racks, Room and Board makes 60" cabinets out of solid natural cherry or walnut for $1600 and they are much nicer than Sanus and Salamander.

Hyfi, I tried to reply to your PM but your mailbox is full.

Hyfi
06-09-2010, 09:25 AM
Hyfi, I tried to reply to your PM but your mailbox is full.

All cleared out now.

Worf101
06-10-2010, 04:18 AM
I looked at their stuff and it is too pricey for what it is. I don't want doors, threaded rods, and such. With any of their racks that use the extruded tubing, it's Item or Bosch, I would be able to tell if I could touch it.

I like the sand/shot fill-able feature of the VTIs.

A little late since I already ordered but thanks for the input.
I hope you like what you've bought and I'm interested in hearing your opinions since I'm sure to get asked this question sometime in the near future and your experiences could prove quite valuable.

Worf

Hyfi
06-10-2010, 05:59 AM
I hope you like what you've bought and I'm interested in hearing your opinions since I'm sure to get asked this question sometime in the near future and your experiences could prove quite valuable. Worf

Man, I hope so too!

I will be sure to post opinions and pics when I get it all together. I am always apprehensive to buy anything that I cannot touch and see. I trusted Black Raven's recommendations from his early response. The pricing was right also. I got this whole custom configured package deal for under $700 and could not get pricing from anywhere else under $900. The other brands mentioned would have been between $1K and $2K for a similarly configured setup.

The Lovan looked very nice but the usable shelf size and spacing was not optimum for my amps.

It's all supposed to arrive fedex on Saturday. I need to pre-assemble it all first. (not adding sand to tubes until we fully redo the room later this summer since I will have to tear it all down again anyway) Next weekend I will tear down the current stuff and get this all into place.

There is a post over at AudioKarma that is close to 400 pages now with pics of systems and listening rooms. One of the pics had the BL-503 in Black/Gold/Cherry and looked pretty sweet with the gear on it. I was daring with my two tone choice to use Gold caps and feet with the Silver tubes. From talking with VTI and Racks&Stands, I may just be the first to order this configuration, hence all the trouble I had just placing my order. I have a few 2tone watches that i like and I do have a Gold Faced VAC so I think it's all going to look pretty cool.

pixelthis
06-10-2010, 10:35 AM
Thats exactly the one I had, except that mind had black shelves, and a matte black finish.
I loaned it to a friend, who pretty much tore them up.
Originally made for CRT sets, its a versatile unit, whichever way its facing.:1:

Hyfi
06-13-2010, 10:59 AM
So it all came yesterday. I couldn't get in my front door when I got home. 387lbs of boxes stacked up. Today I unpacked it and pre-assembled for inspection. You have 10 days to report packaging damage. This stuff is so cleverly packed that you would NEVER be able to get it all back in the boxes the way they came out unless you video it. It took me hours to unpack, remove bubble wrap and tape from everywhere and clean up all the styrofoam.

Takes about 5 minutes to screw the spikes in and stack them up. They look pretty cool with the silver and gold. There is a problem with the plating on several and of course, I also go the one with the dinged front edge of the top TV shelf.

Build quality is OK for what they actually are. Not all the spikes from one shelf to another line up until you put weight on them but do find their way. The tubing is a little thinner than I was hoping but should have known better after spending 25 years in manufacturing. The wooden shelves are nice but could have been just a wee bit thicker.

As far as price goes, these things are not worth what they go for if you just visit a site and add to cart. I haggled and they still made a killing somehow. Anyway, they look great and I will be swapping everything out over the next week. Post some pics then.

Feanor
06-13-2010, 12:46 PM
...

Build quality is OK for what they actually are. Not all the spikes from one shelf to another line up until you put weight on them but do find their way. The tubing is a little thinner than I was hoping but should have known better after spending 25 years in manufacturing. The wooden shelves are nice but could have been just a wee bit thicker.

As far as price goes, these things are not worth what they go for if you just visit a site and add to cart. I haggled and they still made a killing somehow. Anyway, they look great and I will be swapping everything out over the next week. Post some pics then.
So you're a tad underwhelmed, Hyfi ... ?

blackraven
06-13-2010, 03:58 PM
Sorry to hear that your a little disappointed. The rack I bought from them is the tall 6 shelf, black with frosted glass in the picture to the far right below. It came delivered flawless with heavy duty tubes and thick glass shelves. The top and bottom shelves are rated for 150lbs each and the middle shelves are 60 each. I also bought mine for 40% discount. I believe the RGR series is a step up from the series you bought.


http://www.vtimanufacturing.com/RGR%20Series.htm

Hyfi
06-14-2010, 03:32 AM
So you're a tad underwhelmed, Hyfi ... ?

I guess only because I never saw or touched one and from the flawless pictures you would think differently.


Sorry to hear that your a little disappointed.

I'm mainly disappointed because of the dings in the shelf and the scratched caps. The other thing I just noticed last night is due to the 503, TV rack having a tripod like construction, I can't put one of my amps on it because the power cable is in the center of the amp and would have to stick out as the rear post is right there. Not a biggie since it was going to just be a resting place for one I swap in and out.

So, lets see how fast they send me some new parts, I'm anxious to get it all into place.

Overall, due to the price I paid, I am not as disappointed as I could have been.

Feanor
06-14-2010, 03:51 AM
I guess only because I never saw or touched one and from the flawless pictures you would think differently.
...
Yeah, it looked terrific to me too.


...I'm mainly disappointed because of the dings in the shelf and the scratched caps. ....

So, lets see how fast they send me some new parts, I'm anxious to get it all into place.
...
As I see it, dinged parts are completely unacceptable.

Hyfi
06-21-2010, 03:16 AM
Transformation....

pixelthis
06-21-2010, 12:48 PM
Looks good.
THING about this kind of rack, you are not tied into the shelves they sent you.
YOU CAN GO WITH another kind of wood completely if you want.:1:

Hyfi
06-22-2010, 04:00 AM
Looks good.
THING about this kind of rack, you are not tied into the shelves they sent you.
YOU CAN GO WITH another kind of wood completely if you want.:1:

I went with the Cherry because when we redo the room it will be a lighter blue gray slate color and I thought the darker wood would look richer. I almost wish I went with the Oak, but as you said, I can swap them out if I choose.