Entertainment Center Design

[ChrisDehmer]

I have been asked by a client to design and build a cabinet that will house the family's entertainment center which includes a subwoofer. They would like to hide the subwoofer from view if possible. This new cabinet is going to sit in the corner but placing the sub behind the cabinet would push the cabinet into the room more than desired. The only 2 ideas that I have at the moment are to either place the subwoofer inside the cabinet, or place the sub in the corner and build the cabinet so that it would go over and in front of the cabinet. The first idea would put the sub behind a cabinet door, the second would leave about half of the unit exposed towards the corner. It seems like the second is the better idea to me but I am no audiophile. Any help would be appreciated.

Chris

 

[BMXTRIX]

Chris - Not sure what your A/V experience is or if you are a professional woodworker.

There are potential audio issues with either setup which come into play, and I would be hard pressed to tell you which would be better or worse, but since both lock you into a static location for the speaker, I would likely go with the one which sounds to me like it will present the least amount of issues and that is not completely enclosing it.

Now, I want to add, that I have worked with a fair number of woodworkers for A/V cabinets and the one thing I've learned is that almost none of them know how to build properly vented A/V cabinetry. A very few have come pretty close.

Ventilation is the lifeline to A/V gear, and boxing stuff in kills the gear. Simple as that. Most gear requires several inches of free flowing air on either side, and often top to bottom with a maximum air flow temperature of typical room temperature - 60-75 degrees.

The problem is that you then need a place for the hot air to go when it comes off the gear, and a place for the cool air to come from. The best way to do this usually is to open the back of the cabinetry up, include vents on the FRONT of the cabinetry that are large and really do allow for air flow, or to incorporate fans for intake/exhaust into the design.

If the hot air has nowhere to go, it will circulate within the enclosure and will fry the gear almost everytime.

Likewise, don't forget that there are a lot of cables which connect things, and they need to get up to the TV and connect to each other, so shelving that goes clear to the back is a very poor design method. Likewise, if the entertainment center has several sections, the section dividers should not go to the back so that cabling can pass freely from one section to the other.

Keep in mind, an A/V receiver, even a cheap one, is at least 15" deep and then has connections which must be made to the back of it. Having shelving of at least 20" in depth would be what I would consider a minimum requirement.

http://usa.denon.com/ProductDetails/4222.asp (see the detailed specifications)

I'm not a woodworker, but I certainly have seen more than a few woodworkers who have shown that they take very little thought about what is actually going into what they very expertly build. So, I would ask that you consider everything related to the A/V going into your handiwork if it is you doing the building.

 

[Ragnar]

Although being a audio novice myself I do have experience having all my equipment set in a wood entertainment center at one time and would have to say I would not do it again.
Besides what was correctly stated above you will find getting at the backs of any equipment placed on the shelves will be a frustating nightmare.
just trying to turn a receiver around enough to change or add cables/speaker wires etc, will be a real problem. Imagine fishing wires /cables/plugs through the small holes in the back of of most factory units made today,If as you say they wish you to build this unit I would in this case say build it with no backwalls on it.
Also IMHO I wouldn't think enclosing the subwoofer in a cabinet with the doors closed would be a very good idea either....

 

[fractile]

For accessibility I'm a big fan of putting things on casters. My next entertainment center build will be a gorilla rack on a furniture dolly, including sub, center and 32" LCD. Yes, I'm an industrial hacker when it comes to aesthetics.

However, this concept can be taken over into cabinetry by using an internal rolling rack and an outer shell cabinet, with screen panels for ventilation.

 

[MatthewB.]

Chris I would nix the idea of putting the sub in any kind of cabinet. Subs generate sound in an omnidirectional pattern and hindering that in any way will introduce sound that the customer will not appreciate. The only enclosed design i have ever seen is a front firing sub that was enclosed in a cabinet that had thick acoustical foam all around the sub (custom made) so that the sound pressure only had one direction to go and that of course was front fired. If I were to build a ent center< I would make sure that every compartment had it's own pair of silent fans to help blow cool air in and warm air out. Almost all gear generates heat. Sat boxes and recievers generate alot of heat. If the customer is using a flat screen that will definately need some fans. I have two coiled fans (because they are mostly silent) on both sides of my plasma blowing the hot air rising from the back upwards. Even with both fans, it doesnt take long for the room to drastically heat up from all the gear and plasma. Great for the winter time, not so much in summer living in AZ.

 

[Ragnar]

Would most certainly agree A/V components need air circulation plus installing them in large entertainment centers can give you fits trying to do any kind of work on'em.
All of my equipment is housed in a simple but rather elegant glass and metal stand with ample space and ventilat]

 

[fractile]

I should maybe take pix of the current setup before i rebuild. All but the mains, power supply and sub are on a 34"x21" 3-shelf stainless streamlined bus-cart.

I'll do about the same next time with a 5-shelf gorilla rack on a furniture dolly.
It's good to be mobile before deciding where to nail it all down.