AV Stand: Doors or no doors?

[MDS]

I think I've settled on dimensions for the new AV stand and it will basically look like so many readily available stands - just to my exact dimensions and be made of solid wood.

The last thing I am undecided on is whether or not the side compartments for components should have glass doors. I don't think ventilation will be much of a concern with the large elliptical cutouts in the back panel but you never know. Opinions - yes or no for glass doors?

 

[Adam]

If ventilation is not a concern, that I'd say yes to the glass doors. I think front doors have a nice look to them.

Have you considered other materials besides glass? Like a perforated screen? I like the looks of those and they provide better ventilation. IR signals are more problematic through those, though, I assume.

 

[majorloser]

I guess it all depends on what remote you'll be using. As was stated, some IR remotes don't do well through tinted or tempered glass at angles. It's probably because they use weak IR-LED's. If you have an RF remote with an IR repeater it's not a problem.

Glass does help to keep components clean and can block out fan noise if you decide to add back mounted fans. It seems everything is black now days and they always seem to be dust magnets

EDIT: I vote for the cherry finish, too.

 

[MDS]

I could get solid wood, wood framed glass, or wood framed speaker cloth. Obviously solid wood is out for IR reasons and the problem I see with the speaker cloth is you wouldn't be able to see through it to read the display of the component (although IR passing is no problem).

On the one hand I think glass doors look cleaner but on the other hand enclosing the components can trap heat a bit.

 

[mike c]

if the only ventilation is the ellipse holes for the wiring, I vote no doors.

19" width for equipment is a bit exact, no allowance?

 

[MDS]

A receiver is 17 1/8" and DVD players and cable boxes are often a bit less wide so 19" should be fine. The 20.5" center compartment would be for a center channel speaker and that is a compromise I have to accept.

I'm constrained by width since I only have 86" of wall. The stand as pictured will be a total of 66" wide - 64.5" of actual width and another 1.5" due to the crown molding. That leaves 20" which not coincidentally is the usual width of two speakers, one on each side.

 

[mike c]

it will be slightly hard to put in a 17" component with 1" allowance each side, you're gonna have to slide it in, instead of landing it in with hands on each side. but, you only have to do it once.

 

[MDS]

No Mike, it will go in smoothly. I would lose .5" due to the hinges the furniture company uses but it would still be OK. My old stand was roughly the same dimensions, without doors, and it was fine. It's not a huge amount of extra space for ventilation, but so be it. I have no choice given this is my house and I have no intention of moving.

My biggest concern was the stupid center channel and I do recall that you helped me out with a suggestion of Monitor audio that is less than 20" wide. That was my biggest concern but it seems there are quite a few companies that have centers that fit into the ~20" space restriction. My current JBL is not an issue because it is only 14" wide but I want to upgrade.

Thanks for your thoughts...that is what I was looking for. Ultimately I will do whatever it is I think is appropriate but it is nice to hear from others that have experience with different brands that I have not used.

Best guess now is that I won't even bother with a speaker upgrade till after the first of the year but the pre-planning is the hardest and that is the stage I'm at.

 

[Alex2507]

Yes to the doors even at the cost of ventilation. Ventilation can be addressed by other measures. The whole dust thing freaks me out. I helped a friend replace a reciever in an entertainment center that had not been dusted in 10 years. Ugh! You might not be able to win the battle but you have to fight.

 

[ParadigmDawg]

My PS3 and AVR get hot in about 10 minutes with the doors on my credenza even with the back completly off. If you use doors, get some good fans.

 

[majorloser]

I would also vote for a removable back panel. It makes thing so much easier to wire things up then slide the whole unit back against the wall. Another option would be installing shelf slides so the whole shelf will come out through the front.

I know these are expensive, but they make some nice items for cabinets and rack components:
http://www.cool-components.com/31.html?sm=16241

 

[MDS]

Furniture in the Raw is the place that would build it. They do good work and use all solid wood with no MDF or particle board but in some ways it's like lincoln logs because they have a bunch of pieces that are of a known size and you have to take those sizes into account.

For example, the 'stiles' (that's what they call them) are the vertical support pieces and they are always 1.5" wide. The fixed shelves are always .75" thick, the base is always 3.5" tall, the top shelf is always 2" thick, the crown molding adds .75" on each side, etc. When I look at all the designs from Salamander, StudioCraft, BDI, and others I see stands that meet my width requirement and have other features like sliding doors and removeable back panels but it is because they don't have the same restrictions - their walls are thinner or the stiles are thinner, the base is just feet, etc.

Without increasing the dimensions my only choice for doors are normal doors with inside hinges. I'd love to have the kind that slide left or right or pocket doors that can be recessed into the unit but they would push out the dimensions further. Same deal with a removeable back panel but I can ask if that is an option.

 

[mtrycrafts]

I think I've settled on dimensions for the new AV stand and it will basically look like so many readily available stands - just to my exact dimensions and be made of solid wood.

The last thing I am undecided on is whether or not the side compartments for components should have glass doors. I don't think ventilation will be much of a concern with the large elliptical cutouts in the back panel but you never know. Opinions - yes or no for glass doors?

A couple of comments. Will you keep the doors closed when operating the components? Even with those slots you may not get enough air circulation with closed doors.
You could eliminate the wire holes, have two slots that is spaced to the width of the components so it would not show and pass the power cables through the left slot and the signal cables in the right slot.
You could have more, shorter slots ( height of the component) in the back, especially behind receivers/amps, for better circulation?

If the remote signal is an issue for front door selection, have you considered an IR sensor by the TV and sending them to the components?

 

[MDS]

A couple of comments. Will you keep the doors closed when operating the components? Even with those slots you may not get enough air circulation with closed doors.

I'd probably have them closed most of the time unless heat became an issue. With no doors, as in my current stand, ventilation is not much of an issue but it may look nicer with doors instead of looking like an open bookcase.

You could eliminate the wire holes, have two slots that is spaced to the width of the components so it would not show and pass the power cables through the left slot and the signal cables in the right slot.
You could have more, shorter slots ( height of the component) in the back, especially behind receivers/amps, for better circulation?

Having the one vertical elliptical shaped slot serves two purposes:
1. Ventilation
2. Wire pass-thru to get out of the cabinet for speakers and power cable to the wall.

The circular holes in the walls allow for wire pass-thru between the compartments and the shelves are 1.5" short at the rear allowing for wire pass-thru from top to bottom. You cannot see the round holes or gap behind the shelves but the elliptical holes in the back panel are somewhat visible unless the components are stacked high. I suppose they could be made horizontal instead but then you need two of them - one for the top compartment and one for the bottom (which is the design I've seen on many of the stands on racksandstands and elsewhere).

If the remote signal is an issue for front door selection, have you considered an IR sensor by the TV and sending them to the components?

Sure and I can use the RF remote with emitters anyway. I'd just rather not have a solid door because I'd like to be able to see the display on the receiver and the channel number on the cable box.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

I think I've settled on dimensions for the new AV stand and it will basically look like so many readily available stands - just to my exact dimensions and be made of solid wood.

The last thing I am undecided on is whether or not the side compartments for components should have glass doors. I don't think ventilation will be much of a concern with the large elliptical cutouts in the back panel but you never know. Opinions - yes or no for glass doors?

I had the same situation with my TV stand. First I had the glass doors on. Then I took them out because I felt it didn't have enough vintalations with just those holes in the back. Then I put those doors back on again. Then now the doors are off again. I don't think those holes are enough for ventilation.

 

[davidtwotrees]

I had a unit years ago that had sliding glass doors in the front. It was very simple cabinetry as they slid in slots rabbited in the top and bottom rails. No hinges, when you were running the rig you could slid the two end panels to the middle, and when not in use, slide them back for dust control.
Not sure if that is too custom for this shop or not.
Major Loser pointed out the cooling units. I thought they were pretty reasonable, starting out at 200 clams. They look fairly slim, too. HTH.

 

[davidtwotrees]

...First I had the glass doors on. Then I took them out ....... Then I put those doors back on again. Then now the doors are off again......

ADTG. That is surprising behavior from the guy with four preamps....

 

[MDS]

I had a unit years ago that had sliding glass doors in the front. It was very simple cabinetry as they slid in slots rabbited in the top and bottom rails. No hinges, when you were running the rig you could slid the two end panels to the middle, and when not in use, slide them back for dust control.

The Bassett furniture store next door had something like that and it was beautiful, although rather expensive ($3000). It was too wide for me and also had a hutch that would only accomodate a 46" TV.

I intended to go today and talk about options again but ended up not doing it. I will see if I can get an option like that. If they can do it would probably make the stand deeper but wouldn't affect width which is the critical dimension for me.

 

[skizzerflake]

No to doors, yes to ventilation. Just dust now and again. Glass doors can be a navigational hazard to shin bones.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

ADTG. That is surprising behavior from the guy with four preamps....

Yeah, notice how those preamps & amps are not inside the TV cabinet
That would be way too much heat inside the cabinet.
I just would not take any changes on ventilation when it comes to expensive electronics.