High Quality HT Furniture

[JLS]

Can anyone tell me where to find a high quality piece of furniture to hold my system? I ordered one from a reputable dealer here and waited 6 months and it came in with the shelves less than 15" wide. It would not even hold the LCD screen.
I have search the web and found nothing but junk. Any leads would be appreciated on a company that carries them or makes them.

[elapsed]

Here are a few companies to get you started:

Sanus: http://www.sanus.com/
BDI: http://www.bdiusa.com/
Salamander: http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/
Bell'O: http://www.bello.com/
StudioTech: http://www.studiotech.com/

[JLS]

Elapsed, thanks for the post and I should have included that what I am looking for is a solid wood entertainment center that would enclose everything when shut. I need something around 6 to 7 ft. wide and 20 to 24 in. deep.

[jocko_nc]

I ended up building one...

Perhaps look into having something built. Find someone who does custom cabinetry and has a large, flexible shop. Some of the larger cabinet shops are set up almost like a furniture OEM, they put a lot of work through and have the latest CNC machinery. Make a sketch or a drawing. Ask what they could easily do, materials and construction techniques. Get a quote. You might find it is actually cost-effective. The quality will be top-notch and you can get something that really works for you.

Mine is huge; tall, wide, and deep. No back panel, no panels between the shelves. I have it on slides and I can pull it out easily so I can easily tweak my collection of stuff. That is hugely important. I had it painted at a local shop that refurbishes damaged and obsolete furniture from the local manufacturers.

It is a full 8 feet wide and 30 inches deep. I can fit any amplifier or receiver out there. Not to mention the always difficult center channel speaker. Total cost was less than $300.00.

jocko

[O'Shag]

Boyd Crusader - American made, in Carolina I think. The only drawback is if you have a large screen TV more than 38" it won't fit in the center unit (I managed to get my 38" Loewe Aconda in but had to remove the doors which slide forward then flip closed). The center unit and two side units together run about $3,000 or so. I have owned this unit for about 7 or so years and it used to house my HT system. The unit (three pieces) is large, and can house a good amount of components. The glass shelves are thick and can support considerable weight. You will have to drill holes using a large round router bit to facilitate all the cables. Also, if you have a component thats very deep such as my Yamaha RX-Z9 that will have a lot of cables attached, you will need to cut out a square in the back-board to accomadate this. The back boards are a light density thin fibre board like MDF, sort of. When cutting or drilling USE A MASK as the fine dust is not good to get in the lungs. Drilling can be done indoors, just make sure to use large plastic sheeting to prevent dust from getting everywhere. Its really very easy to do and well worth it. The unit is a light honey colour and is made of 'finished' pine - and I would characterize the style as a rather sophisticated 'French Country'. Very solid build and heavy. Also has lights in the cabinets. With all due respect, this thing makes Sanus type units look rather dinky. If your looking for an attractive and imposing entertainment cabinet solution of this type, check the Boyd Crusader.

[DEVO]

Elapsed sent you a search for BDI, but when you gave more specs. you are looking for something very simular to what I have. Here is a link to the specific piece, probably the nicest one I've found w/ out spending $$$ on custom furniture.

http://www.bdiusa.com/avfurniture/avion_8529.shtml

Also look at this company...

http://www.jsp-industries.com/Pages/introhomethea.html

Good Luck!

[jocko_nc]

Custom furniture is not necessarily expensive... $3000.00 for an entertainment center is a lot of Jack.

I had a pair of custom wall units done by the same guys who did the cabinetry for my house. I made a drawing on AutoCAD, they just imported the dimensions and layout into their CNC equipment. Since it is all electronic, there is no setup involved. The routers cut out the parts and drill all the holes, just like a furniture plant, except the design is a one-off. To maximize material usage, they actually run different jobs at the same time. They laser mark the job number and part number on the back of each piece. Amazing. Since they are set up like this, they really do not mind the work.

I do live in an area with an abundance of furniture manufacturing. Actual mileage may vary.

jocko

Also: One time I was up there, they were running parts for someone who is building subwoofers locally. He supplies the CAD files, they cut out the MDF. How nice would it be to DIY like that?

[JLS]

Thanks for all the replies and I have been put in the dog house by my wife. I had a unit all picked out and bought all the equipment in Jan. and everyone knows how much room a 52" tv , receiver, blu-ray and all the speakers take up in her dining room. Then I changed my mine on the unit I was going to get and now this one won't work and I am in deep sh??.
To make matters worse I had a nice 3 piece mahogany unit with a 32" tv and all the components that worked removed the night before this one came in. It was 8 years old and after seeing this new stuff I had to bite.
I am now watching a 52" tv set by itself on a coffee table and still have the rest laying around.
Please keep the post coming.

[O'Shag]

What make and model number TV are you using? That is going to govern the choices you have.

[jocko_nc]

I feel for you. The furniture part is a real PITA. I'll try to find a pic of what we came up with. The problem with much of the furniture out there is that it has limited size and flexibility. We shopped about three years ago, there was NOTHING on the market.

jocko

Interestingly... A good friend of mine recently moved into another house. He was FINALLY able to unpack his stereo equipment that has been boxed up for 5 years: Large Mirage towers, Adcom monoblocks and dual servosubs. Nice stuff, for sure. Unfortunately, they had just purchased an armoire for a price that was too good to pass up. Now, he cannot place any of his equipment. Not like he is going to throw away the armoire anytime soon. That stupid armoire turned out to be a poison pill. D'Oh!.

[JLS]

I have a Sony 52" XBR3 and a Sony STR5200es the tv will work in 16" but the receiver needs about 19" to allow for the cords.

[O'Shag]

Hi JLS,

You might try this site. They have some very special furniture, and some of it is priced out of the stratosphere, but some is affordable. I've included a link to one particular piece thats more affordable and seems to offer plenty of component space, but there are severeal others you should check out. There is a beautiful one called 'Serena' I think, but its about 12,000 retail. This is Italian contemporary stuff but very beautiful...

http://www.1contemporary.com/plasmamilano.html

[westcott]

I own the Carino AV credenza and I am very happy with it. They also offer matching coffee and end tables.

Laurier Furniture

[westcott]

Hi JLS,

You might try this site. They have some very special furniture, and some of it is priced out of the stratosphere, but some is affordable. I've included a link to one particular piece thats more affordable and seems to offer plenty of component space, but there are severeal others you should check out. There is a beautiful one called 'Serena' I think, but its about 12,000 retail. This is Italian contemporary stuff but very beautiful...

http://www.1contemporary.com/plasmamilano.html

I had my Carino series shipped through 1 contemporary. I suggest another company. They totally screwed up the so called "white glove" shipping. They did not even have a contract with the drop ship company here in Houston that they shipped it to. I wound up having to pick up the coffee table and credenza myself and waiting over a week for the privelage. 1 contemporary sucks!! If you like the furniture, I suggest calling the manufacturer direct to find another middleman.

The furniture itself is top shelf and highly recommended. Mine has swivel shelved for easy access and is ventilated at top and bottom. Lots of room for even the largest components like my oversized Mega Changer.