| Building The Basic, Badass Home Theater |
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| Home Theater Feature Articles Other | |
| Written by Jerry Del Colliano | |
| Wednesday, 01 February 2006 | |
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Page 4 of 5 Equipment Racks Traditional racks used for audiophile systems are a sore topic with many wives, designers and system owners who need to continually make changes to their system. Radical improvements have been made to store-bought home theater racks, including most importantly the ability to install a flat TV on top of your gear.  Depending
on the size of your system, in addition to the extra components you may
purchase at some time in the future, you need to consider the size of
your rack. Personally, I prefer installed equipment racks like the kind
Middle Atlantic sells. You buy the shelves you need for the gear you
have and install them neatly in a rack, which saves space. With a
pullout style, you have easy access to the back of your rack to make
equipment or cable changes with relative ease. You can mount one or two
racks like these into a custom piece of furniture or into a closet
which you will find can create much more space in your theater.
Consider ventilation in any rack system you might install. Overheating
is a classic way to get AV equipment to fail on you. Consider ways to
get cool air into your rack, as well as sucking hot air from your rack
to another place in your home or venting it outside. The parts needed
for a pro rack could cost you between $600 to $800, depending on the
size and amount of cool custom faceplates that you order. Also be sure
to get a rack drawer for about $50, so that you have a place to store
all of your remotes in case you ever need them. Also consider
installing an AC power strip that rack-mounts with a light. I use mine
all the time when changing discs in a dark room during a listening
session. |
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