Advice for Middle Atlantic Products

[audiofox]

I am quickly outgrowing my existing audio rack and am considering the Middle Atlantic line to house my HT equipment. I would like to end up with a double cabinet that is wide and deep enough for me to place my VPI HW-19 Mk IV turntable on top but that does not exceed a reasonable height for operation of the turntable (say, 42 inches max). I would also like the ability to add wood sides and top (probably hardwood plywood with hardwood edge strips) to the rack to match the rest of the furniture on my HT to avoid the "test rack" look (and increase the WAF!). MA has a bewildering array of products, so I am not sure where to start-if anyone here has expertise or experience with their products and cares to make a recommendation, I would be most appreciative.

 

[highfigh]

I am quickly outgrowing my existing audio rack and am considering the Middle Atlantic line to house my HT equipment. I would like to end up with a double cabinet that is wide and deep enough for me to place my VPI HW-19 Mk IV turntable on top but that does not exceed a reasonable height for operation of the turntable (say, 42 inches max). I would also like the ability to add wood sides and top (probably hardwood plywood with hardwood edge strips) to the rack to match the rest of the furniture on my HT to avoid the "test rack" look (and increase the WAF!). MA has a bewildering array of products, so I am not sure where to start-if anyone here has expertise or experience with their products and cares to make a recommendation, I would be most appreciative.

OnmiMount has a floor rack on casters that would be close to the height you want. http://www.omnimount.com/Products/Rack_Systems_and_Carts/Rack_Systems/

Middle Atlantic has slide-out shelves that hold a lot of weight, so that's another option if you can't find anything that's the right height and you decide to get one that has more space than you need now.
http://www.middleatlantic.com/rackac/storage/shelves1.htm#4

 

[jostenmeat]

I am quickly outgrowing my existing audio rack and am considering the Middle Atlantic line to house my HT equipment. I would like to end up with a double cabinet that is wide and deep enough for me to place my VPI HW-19 Mk IV turntable on top but that does not exceed a reasonable height for operation of the turntable (say, 42 inches max). I would also like the ability to add wood sides and top (probably hardwood plywood with hardwood edge strips) to the rack to match the rest of the furniture on my HT to avoid the "test rack" look (and increase the WAF!). MA has a bewildering array of products, so I am not sure where to start-if anyone here has expertise or experience with their products and cares to make a recommendation, I would be most appreciative.

You can try downloading Rack Tools (v3.5 currently). I haven't figured out how to use it, perhaps since I lost some motivation due to lack of funds and other much more competitive upgrade candidates.

http://www.racktools.com/

TBH, I am not sure they will have something for you. Maybe, and I'd be sure curious what that would be. They are "pro" racks for the most part. You can find wood sides, but I haven't recalled seeing double doors.

A large part of the expense of these racks is the customization options, and ease of dealing, installing, and removing components. Ok wire mgmt too, etc.

But for a vinyl system, wood finish, double doors, in need of WAF, I might look elsewhere. In fact, I might even consider hiring a cabinet maker to get exactly what you want.

Otherwise, I did think of Sanus . . . here is a double door, with wood, 36.5" tall.

http://www.sanus.com/us/en/products/av-foundations/av-woodbrook/WFAV44

 

[walter duque]

Salamander makes some nice racks. Expensive, but top notch quality. I have the smallest one and that was $300.00
http://salamanderdesigns.com/syn/twins.jsp

 

[audiofox]

Thanks for the inputs. I looked at Sanus and Salamander (their Twin40), both of which have double door designs, but the feedback I read about the quality of their products led me to believe that they were too costly for what I would get-I did the same trade when I remodeled my kitchen and ended up building the cabinets from scratch (except for the doors, which I had made to my specs from a regional door manufacturer). My thinking now is to find a decent rack "spine" and build a cabinet around it or insert in into an existing cabinet. That would give me the best of both worlds-the strength and flexibility of a rack system with the aesthetics of a hardwood cabinet. One option I am considering is to reconfigure a an old Ethan Allen entertainment armoire for this purpose by adding a shelf/rack system to the interior-it's solid oak with lots of space inside (I can even place my projector on top and eliminate the wall shelf it now sits on), so it hits all the WAF points, and it has plenty of room for everything plus room to grow (the growth part does NOT meet the WAF objectives, since I "already have too much stuff"). Since it is enclosed, I would take off the back to aid in air ventilation rather than add cooling fans (and their inherent noise). The armoire's current configuration is unusable, since it was designed back in the days of ginormous CRTs as the center of the entertainment suite, so it either needs a facelift or a trip to the local donation center. I just can't bear the thought of giving away all that beautiful solid straight grain red oak (no veneer)-even the shelves and frame are solid oak, so the scrap value of the wood alone makes it worth a facelift (or a salvage operation).

 

[audiofox]

Walter, I read your post after I did my latest one-how do you like your Salamander cabinet?

 

[JPAVIA]

Middle Atlantic C5 Series Credenza Rack

Hello Audiofox,

I believe the C5 Series Credenza Rack is just what you're looking for.

You would need two part numbers, the frame and the finishing kit.

The part number for a two bay frame is C5F2.

The wood finishing kits come in two different styles, traditional and contemporary, and 12 different finishes.

Let me know if you have any questions.

Thanks,
Pavia
Tech-support
Middle Atlantic Products

 

[audiofox]

Josten, I'll give the Racktools a try this evening-it's a Windows app, so I will have to run it in VMWare mode on my MBP, but that might help me decide what to do.

Highfigh, can you recommend a vendor for the Omnimount racks?

 

[highfigh]

Josten, I'll give the Racktools a try this evening-it's a Windows app, so I will have to run it in VMWare mode on my MBP, but that might help me decide what to do.

Highfigh, can you recommend a vendor for the Omnimount racks?

They have a "Where to buy" on their site and you can enter your zip code.

 

[audiofox]

JPAVIA, that product looks very promising-can I access it via the Racktools app? That way I can play with the shelf configurations to see if all my stuff will fit.

 

[JPAVIA]

Hello Audiofox,

Yes, the C5 is in RackTools.

You can use the "binoculars" search tool on your top toolbar to help you find the C5 series easily.

Thanks,
Pavia
Tech-support
Middle Atlantic Products

 

[audiofox]

Pavia,

Thanks-I got the tool loaded and played with it a bit yesterday. I still need to learn its capabilities before I can do my own custom rack layout, but this will help me a lot. Can the rack drawing be exported to a standard graphics format for import into something like AutoCAD or Vectorworks?

 

[BMXTRIX]

RackTools allows you to Save As in CAD format as well as a ton of other formats. I just leave it in RackTools format for the most part because it is far easier to work with and provides nice snap-to points for all the shelving and everything else.

We just installed a 3-bay C5 rack...
http://www.middleatlantic.com/enclosure/sa/C5.htm

There is no question that this is a huge improvement and step forward which is long (LONG!) overdue from Middle Atlantic.

The rack itself is of solid build quality which means it doesn't sway around when you start pushing it across carpet or loading it up with gear. As is always, Middle Atlantic is a step ahead of most others in terms of the solid build quality of their product.

The wood panels are available in a variety of colors as shown on their website and the really nice part is that they all ship separately from the rack then bolt on when you are done playing around with the hardware and tools. So, you don't end up with a nice scrape down the center of a wooden rack because you dropped a tool.

I would strongly recommend this product and the look and style of it is far more fitting for a residential situation or a boardroom than the other racks I've seen from them.

www.mrpodium.com offers some rack/credenza alternatives that are professional as well.

I am NOT a fan of Salamander racks as they are not deep enough for components which bums me out considering their price.

Yep, Middle Atlantic can be more expensive than some others, but they actually make A/V racks which look like furniture rather than furniture that attempts to portray A/V racks.