Did I missing something? "It Is Time For AV Enthusiasts To Rack Mount Their Gear?"

[jtokach]

Just read this article and noticed there wasn't a comments thread and assume that's not a coincidence. I don't post often and not looking to stir the pot, but this article is the worst I've ever encountered on this site not even considering the PC mania literally underlining all current affairs. Looking at the author's previous submissions, they aren't much better. Just letting you know, I may have my head down, but I'm still listening and quality still counts. Not an attack but constructive criticism. Oh, and thanks for the Dyson link in there.

 

[BMXTRIX]

This article certainly isn't the best read, and the grammar issues certainly are a bit shocking.

Is It Time For AV Enthusiasts To Rack Mount Their Gear?

Isn't it time for your AV equipment to get its own space? We'll look at some rack mounted options for your electronics to enhance functionality, organization and appearance. Read on.

www.audioholics.com

DYI: Do Yourself In
DiY: Do it Yourself

The title itself isn't even a question. Like, zero proofing from editors. Come on Audioholics!

The idea is really on point. Equipment racks are a huge plus when doing a better system. It first requires the question to be asked about where the equipment will be going, and how much budget is available. I've used absolute bottom of the line racks. $50 jobbies that I got online (on clearance) with just a few shelves. They went into unfinished basement spaces and supported the receiver and a few small components just fine. Out of sight, out of mind, and functional.

But, once a system gets up to a certain size, then everything changes. I am on board with Middle Atlantic racks. They give me a way to wire a rack neatly and get enough size and space to actually get the gear in that needs to go into it properly. I've done it at my home and at dozens of clients homes. On the commercial side of things, it's just a standard. Equipment is racked and stacked in the office, then brought on site where the last mile connections are made.

The whole talk about PoE connectivity is kind of ridiculous. Most consumers have just a small number of PoE devices, and most of them are not in the rack and some require inline power supplies rather than actual PoE network switches as part of the setup. Crestron DM or NVX systems and touchpanels being more of an exception... but rarely used in a standard residential installation. But, yes, a fully integrated home would likely use a rack. It also will use a custom integrator who is going to make these decisions and talk to the client. It's not something that a typical person will just wake up and decide upon one day on their own.

Middle Atlantic is terrible at marketing to consumers. They don't have their website setup in a manner where consumers can easily understand what they should purchase, and it isn't nearly as stylish or as sexy as a nice wooden cabinet can be.

I think I would have taken this article more in the direction of how the equipment cabling can be better managed. Even in an inexpensive rack. A basic piece of furniture with some added cable saddles and zip ties or velcro loops are a killer way to manage what may be a rat's nest of hell.

Certainly though, it did lean a bit towards making me like I needed to DYI.

 

[Pogre]

Boy, ol' Jerry is pretty good at eliciting negative reactions from his articles...

 

[Bucknekked]

This article certainly isn't the best read, and the grammar issues certainly are a bit shocking.
I think I would have taken this article more in the direction of how the equipment cabling can be better managed. Even in an inexpensive rack. A basic piece of furniture with some added cable saddles and zip ties or velcro loops are a killer way to manage what may be a rat's nest of hell.

Certainly though, it did lean a bit towards making me like I needed to DYI.

BMXTRIX:
I agree with your overall sentiment. DIY is a great idea, but mostly because in a home setting cable management is probably the chief gain. I have attached a picture or two of just what you suggested : taking a simple piece of furniture but using some DIY stuff to create a nice and neat cable plan for it. This is my gaming PC and network storage device (Synology NAS) that sit in my office. Sub out the big bodied Cooler Master case and graphics setup for s hockey puck sized Mac-Mini and you have my setup inside my music room. I took the same approach in both places: tidy up and simplify the cabling.

On this picture I took a simple glass and steel rack and fabricated a wood back and fastened it. Then simply used cable ties and routing to make a normal rats next look neat and tidy. A false baseboard with the cables bound inside it gets it all to the keyboard and consoles. @Pogre saw my music room setup. I think it passed muster.

 

[Pogre]

BMXTRIX:
I agree with your overall sentiment. DIY is a great idea, but mostly because in a home setting cable management is probably the chief gain. I have attached a picture or two of just what you suggested : taking a simple piece of furniture but using some DIY stuff to create a nice and neat cable plan for it. This is my gaming PC and network storage device (Synology NAS) that sit in my office. Sub out the big bodied Cooler Master case and graphics setup for s hockey puck sized Mac-Mini and you have my setup inside my music room. I took the same approach in both places: tidy up and simplify the cabling.

On this picture I took a simple glass and steel rack and fabricated a wood back and fastened it. Then simply used cable ties and routing to make a normal rats next look neat and tidy. A false baseboard with the cables bound inside it gets it all to the keyboard and consoles. @Pogre saw my music room setup. I think it passed muster.

View attachment 47802

It more than passed muster. You have a very competent, clean and great sounding system in that little room. I really enjoyed my visit there, plus it was my first experience with Salk speakers!

 

[jtokach]

The PoE statements really pushed me over the edge. The article makes it sound like PoE should be installed to replace ALL component power. That and some other things led me to believe that the author isn't knowledgeable at least in that domain. Either way, it's poorly written and the content is lean at best.

As for racking, I'm all for it. I'm a +20 year IT veteran and live that life every day. Regarding extreme cable management, what I will say from what I've learned, and a former data center colleague attested to before he passed, is that cable management looks really nice until the exact moment when something goes wrong and you have to tear it all apart just to trace, replace or reroute a wire. This is tongue in cheek in comparison to the thousands of wires we deal with, but the value proposition is equitable, especially if you like to tinker or frequently swap stuff in and out. It looks nice but YMMV so find the right balance.

Whether it's IT or AV racks, when well done, they look good and there is an element of pride that's reflected from that.

Obligatory totally OT vacuum links:
Shark
Shopvac

 

[BMXTRIX]

For what it is worth, in this thread... This is my family room rack. It is cut into the side of our 'entry' closet which had some room on the side for equipment to fit.

I literally just took a stud finder, ensured I could fit it into the closet wall. Cut a couple of small holes (on the closet side) to ensure there was no pipes or other major obstructions, then used a drywall saw to open the wall up.

The rack rail I already owned, but could have bought it online for not a lot of money. $20-$40 or so. I cut it down to length, by hand. Then I just screwed the rack rail into the studs on the side of the opening, bought some trim from Home Depot along with white paint and put it all together. Took a weekend to get it all installed myself, but overall I ended up with a very professional looking setup for under $100 in this location. Be aware that the rack shelves and drawers I am using for storage and a very clean final look were a lot of added money.

 

[Bucknekked]

The PoE statements really pushed me over the edge. The article makes it sound like PoE should be installed to replace ALL component power. That and some other things led me to believe that the author isn't knowledgeable at least in that domain. Either way, it's poorly written and the content is lean at best.

As for racking, I'm all for it. I'm a +20 year IT veteran and live that life every day. Regarding extreme cable management, what I will say from what I've learned, and a former data center colleague attested to before he passed, is that cable management looks really nice until the exact moment when something goes wrong and you have to tear it all apart just to trace, replace or reroute a wire. This is tongue in cheek in comparison to the thousands of wires we deal with, but the value proposition is equitable, especially if you like to tinker or frequently swap stuff in and out. It looks nice but YMMV so find the right balance.

Whether it's IT or AV racks, when well done, they look good and there is an element of pride that's reflected from that.

Obligatory totally OT vacuum links:
Shark
Shopvac

Its like washing your car. The only thing you know is that if you wash it it's going to rain, a bird will s-h-i-t on it, or some other random act will mess it up. When you take the time to carefully manage cables etc, the only thing you know is that the next failure will mean tearing it all apart. You are correct : there's a balance to be maintained.
If you like to change things a lot, a tight and tidy cable management plan may not be for you. If you are even the slightest OCD however, it has a great feeling of accomplishment to it.

I spent my whole working life in and around data centers. A well laid out and managed cable plan beats a rats nest any day of the week for ongoing maintenance. YMMV. Caveat, caveat, caveat.

The PoE stuff in the article just confused me to be honest. For a home setup, I just could not figure out how it would apply. I'm sure the OP had a scenario in mind. I'm sure there's a valid technical point to it. I just couldn't connect the dots for a home setup. No worries. I'm sure there are audiophiles here who have enough complexity to make it worth their while.

 

[Bucknekked]

For what it is worth, in this thread... This is my family room rack. It is cut into the side of our 'entry' closet which had some room on the side for equipment to fit.

I literally just took a stud finder, ensured I could fit it into the closet wall. Cut a couple of small holes (on the closet side) to ensure there was no pipes or other major obstructions, then used a drywall saw to open the wall up.

The rack rail I already owned, but could have bought it online for not a lot of money. $20-$40 or so. I cut it down to length, by hand. Then I just screwed the rack rail into the studs on the side of the opening, bought some trim from Home Depot along with white paint and put it all together. Took a weekend to get it all installed myself, but overall I ended up with a very professional looking setup for under $100 in this location. Be aware that the rack shelves and drawers I am using for storage and a very clean final look were a lot of added money.

that looks terrific. I wouldn't apologize for any of it.

 

[jtokach]

Its like washing your car. The only thing you know is that if you wash it it's going to rain, a bird will s-h-i-t on it, or some other random act will mess it up. When you take the time to carefully manage cables etc, the only thing you know is that the next failure will mean tearing it all apart. You are correct : there's a balance to be maintained.
If you like to change things a lot, a tight and tidy cable management plan may not be for you. If you are even the slightest OCD however, it has a great feeling of accomplishment to it.

I spent my whole working life in and around data centers. A well laid out and managed cable plan beats a rats nest any day of the week for ongoing maintenance. YMMV. Caveat, caveat, caveat.

The PoE stuff in the article just confused me to be honest. For a home setup, I just could not figure out how it would apply. I'm sure the OP had a scenario in mind. I'm sure there's a valid technical point to it. I just couldn't connect the dots for a home setup. No worries. I'm sure there are audiophiles here who have enough complexity to make it worth their while.

One of our larger and older data centers got to the point where it was simply easier (and safer) to cut fiber at the racks and leave it in the raised floor. You gain an appreciation for cable management when you're calf deep in OM1 and can't see the floor. On the bright side, if a cooling pipe burst the cables on top stayed dry. Eventually some poor bastard had to clean all of that out.

 

[Verdinut]

Middle Atlantic is terrible at marketing to consumers. They don't have their website setup in a manner where consumers can easily understand what they should purchase, and it isn't nearly as stylish or as sexy as a nice wooden cabinet can be.

You probably know about one competitor: Most likely, Penn-Elcom is better at marketing to consumers. I have had an excellent experience dealing on several occasions with their Canadian branch in Ontario:

Penn Elcom

Penn Elcom is the leading manufacturer and provider of 19 Inch Racking, Flight Case Hardware, Cable, Connectors, LED and Lighting solutions for the Pro Audio, Events, AV markets and more

www.pennelcomonline.com

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Just read this article and noticed there wasn't a comments thread and assume that's not a coincidence.

If there were a comments thread, I would have posted, "HELL NO!"

 

[ryanosaur]

To be fair, his articles seem to be predominantly posted under "Editorial" and clearly aren't newsworthy. The more unfortunate thing is that his voice is coming from a much more high rent neighborhood and he does come across as aloof to the struggles of more of us everyday folk. (Even though, not all of us are 'regular' or 'everyday' folk... the point I think still stands: Jerry is writing from a snob-appeal perspective (IMO).)

That aside, I do agree with some aspects of what he wrote, especially that getting equipment off the front wall is an "ideal" solution. But going to the extent of racks isn't always necessary, and again his budget perspective doesn't take into account what most people can spend. Comparatively, @BMXTRIX managed a great solution in his home at a fraction of what some of Jerry was discussing.

For me, I do wish Jerry would alter his perspective to be a bit more inclusive of the common gear head in the audio universe and not talk up the 5% that can drop Gs into the whim of the day. A great perspective on this topic would be suggesting ways to do this for more meager systems or in rooms with limited space and with limited budgets. Detailing the acoustic benefits to proper set up and looking at more everyday solutions to cable management and distribution where in-wall runs aren't possible would actually be meaningful to many people reading these articles.

Sadly, this article does quite the opposite of making an Audiophile lifestyle accessible to the masses and just reintroduces the ivory tower that he seemed to try to do away with in another article.

No thumbs up from me, but I would definitely give it 4 out of 5 on the "meh" scale for being utterly pointless, tone deaf, and banal.

 

[lovinthehd]

Didn't notice the article until I saw this thread. Jerry does seem to get some folk excited alrighty. If I had a better solution to my equipment positioning without knocking some walls down....I would, but its not that big of a deal to me to fund such. If only I had a suitable dedicated theater room.....

 

[MrBoat]

I probably should have a rack, but I rarely have more than 3 components stacked. I ended up with a 3 shelf TV stand. I really have no preference either way. But, since I have wired a lot of things from automobiles to boats, houses, car audio etc., I tend to keep cables neat anyway. . . .eventually.

 

[Alex2507]

I wouldn't apologize for any of it.

I don't know, the trim looks a little off.

 

[3db]

Who doesnt like a good looking rack?

 

[highfigh]

This article certainly isn't the best read, and the grammar issues certainly are a bit shocking.

Is It Time For AV Enthusiasts To Rack Mount Their Gear?

Isn't it time for your AV equipment to get its own space? We'll look at some rack mounted options for your electronics to enhance functionality, organization and appearance. Read on.

www.audioholics.com

DYI: Do Yourself In
DiY: Do it Yourself

The title itself isn't even a question. Like, zero proofing from editors. Come on Audioholics!

The idea is really on point. Equipment racks are a huge plus when doing a better system. It first requires the question to be asked about where the equipment will be going, and how much budget is available. I've used absolute bottom of the line racks. $50 jobbies that I got online (on clearance) with just a few shelves. They went into unfinished basement spaces and supported the receiver and a few small components just fine. Out of sight, out of mind, and functional.

But, once a system gets up to a certain size, then everything changes. I am on board with Middle Atlantic racks. They give me a way to wire a rack neatly and get enough size and space to actually get the gear in that needs to go into it properly. I've done it at my home and at dozens of clients homes. On the commercial side of things, it's just a standard. Equipment is racked and stacked in the office, then brought on site where the last mile connections are made.

The whole talk about PoE connectivity is kind of ridiculous. Most consumers have just a small number of PoE devices, and most of them are not in the rack and some require inline power supplies rather than actual PoE network switches as part of the setup. Crestron DM or NVX systems and touchpanels being more of an exception... but rarely used in a standard residential installation. But, yes, a fully integrated home would likely use a rack. It also will use a custom integrator who is going to make these decisions and talk to the client. It's not something that a typical person will just wake up and decide upon one day on their own.

Middle Atlantic is terrible at marketing to consumers. They don't have their website setup in a manner where consumers can easily understand what they should purchase, and it isn't nearly as stylish or as sexy as a nice wooden cabinet can be.

I think I would have taken this article more in the direction of how the equipment cabling can be better managed. Even in an inexpensive rack. A basic piece of furniture with some added cable saddles and zip ties or velcro loops are a killer way to manage what may be a rat's nest of hell.

Certainly though, it did lean a bit towards making me like I needed to DYI.

You might re-think your ideas about PoE- access points, peripheral network switches, IP cameras, some networked audio and many other devices can use it but it's a lot easier to use a switch with PoE than trying to manage a bunch of injectors.

Middle Atlantic does offer pieces that others don't seem to want to, but many people would see these as 'too expensive' and 'doesn't pass WAF'. However, a standard cabinet that's sturdy can use rack rails, lacing bars and other accessories that make it 'just like a steel equipment rack without the industrial/commercial look' and I think more integrators should offer this as an option, especially when the cabinetry is being custom-made for the house.

 

[BMXTRIX]

You might re-think your ideas about PoE- access points, peripheral network switches, IP cameras, some networked audio and many other devices can use it but it's a lot easier to use a switch with PoE than trying to manage a bunch of injectors.

I'm not saying that PoE and PoE+ equipment with decent switches isn't good. But, it is still extremely limited. It's not like your Roku or AppleTV runs off of PoE (yet). Almost all extenders require at least one power supply to be plugged in. Many access points can run off of PoE, but some require proprietary injectors... some do not.

I use PoE and PoE+ extensively with my installations, but that doesn't eliminate, or even begin to touch, the requirements for good power strips used inside equipment racks and that the vast majority of equipment still requires 120v power.

Middle Atlantic does offer pieces that others don't seem to want to, but many people would see these as 'too expensive' and 'doesn't pass WAF'. However, a standard cabinet that's sturdy can use rack rails, lacing bars and other accessories that make it 'just like a steel equipment rack without the industrial/commercial look' and I think more integrators should offer this as an option, especially when the cabinetry is being custom-made for the house.

I agree, and you can see my follow up post where I show Middle Atlantic rack rail used in a built-in off of my family room above. But, it is almost always part of a custom installation and rarely something the typical consumer, even a more high-end DiY consumer may want to tackle. Even though I strongly encourage them to do so. A much more realistic course of action is getting out cable saddles, and really wire managing their existing equipment racks. I've done this plenty with excellent results. It's not as flexible as a Middle Atlantic rack solution, but it's often 1/10th the price and perfectly fine for those who aren't going to be switching equipment up a lot or having a huge equipment stack.

 

[highfigh]

I'm not saying that PoE and PoE+ equipment with decent switches isn't good. But, it is still extremely limited. It's not like your Roku or AppleTV runs off of PoE (yet). Almost all extenders require at least one power supply to be plugged in. Many access points can run off of PoE, but some require proprietary injectors... some do not.

I use PoE and PoE+ extensively with my installations, but that doesn't eliminate, or even begin to touch, the requirements for good power strips used inside equipment racks and that the vast majority of equipment still requires 120v power.


I agree, and you can see my follow up post where I show Middle Atlantic rack rail used in a built-in off of my family room above. But, it is almost always part of a custom installation and rarely something the typical consumer, even a more high-end DiY consumer may want to tackle. Even though I strongly encourage them to do so. A much more realistic course of action is getting out cable saddles, and really wire managing their existing equipment racks. I've done this plenty with excellent results. It's not as flexible as a Middle Atlantic rack solution, but it's often 1/10th the price and perfectly fine for those who aren't going to be switching equipment up a lot or having a huge equipment stack.

How many Roku and AppleTV models actually have an ethernet port?

At the risk of making some DIY'ers and tech-savvy customers more self-reliant and negatively affecting the CI industry, maybe it's time to inform them of the options for wire management- if they knew about it (rather than reading about special cables with batteries and other crap), they might be open to better equipment and cable management, other than cable supports that look to be no different from the wire insulators that are used on the poles near railroad tracks.