First pics of Theater Install

[Perp]

I have been working on a theater install for my parents for a few weeks, and I finished the cabinet this weekend and got it installed. I wanted to be able to access the wiring behind the equipment, but it all sits in a nook above the fireplace, and backs up to an exterior wall. I opted to pick up some accuride 500 lb slides, but they were only full extension, and I needed to get behind, so I got 2 pairs and bolted them together. I was worried that they would not handle the weight fully extended, but they do (thank God). I used hardened 1/4 inch bolts to put them together and to bolt them to the cabinet, and stainless 1/4 inch lag screws to fasten them to the walls. The walls are just two 6 inch studs set 24 inches apart with drywall one each side, and they are not very straight because of mud and tape, so I took 2 pieces of 3/4" oak 24 x 9 and scribed them to the wall to get a near perfect 39.5" width. The slides use up 3" total, and the cabinet has 3 walls at .75 inch each, so I recessed the slides in the cabinet by 1/4 inch to get 17 3/8 inches per side.. the equipment has about 1/4 inch on each side now (or less). The top is open except for structural support, so the amp and cable box can breath a little. The TV sits proud of the nook because its a 52" LCD and the opening is a little more than 40". They were never happy with the 40" tv they had so I hung the 52" from an 8/4 oak bracket. Its on a mount that allows me to pull it out about 24" from the wall and turn it any direction.. I will be building a shelf that attaches to the TV mount to hold the center channel speaker next, then fishing wires down into the crawlspace for left, right, surround, and patio speakers, as well as subwoofer. After that I can hook it all up. I snapped these shots with my camera tonight after getting the cabinet done, then hung the TV again and got a couple more.. sorry for the quality, these phone cameras are horrible.Equipment is: Sharp 52" 1080p, Denon 3808, Motorola cable box, Sony BD player, xbox 360 (yes my 65 year old parents play xbox), M&K 125's in front, Kef wall mount surrounds, paradigm 12" powered sub..

 

[Perp]

Oh, cabinet is black malamine case, adjustable shelf on each side, and cherry face, stained with red oak stain (other furniture is done in that color, so I matched). Cabinet is built very solid so shouldnt sag or warp. I will wrap all wiring and hang it with a light spring to keep it up while working the drawer in and out.

 

[jamie2112]

Very nice rack there. It looks great sunk in like that.



P.S- your camera sucks

 

[Perp]

Very nice rack there. It looks great sunk in like that.

Thanks

P.S- your camera sucks

Indeed.. I need to remember to bring a real camera next time.. Those pics look even worse at full resolution.. ugh..

That cherry has some fantastic grain, and even with the dark stain on it, it really highlights the cabinet.

 

[Thirsty93]

very nice work

 

[pearsall001]

Looks great man!!! Job well done.

 

[adk highlander]

Very ingenious. That is a great setup for your parents. What speakers are they using?

 

[strube]

That is freaky with those two slides bolted together, but it won't be sliding out too often I am sure, so all I can say is bravo on the creative engineering ! Thanks for posting the pics.

 

[Djizasse]

Uau! That looks really neat. How much weight are those sliders holding?
That's a really ingenious solution. Thanks for sharing.

The receiver seems to have a lot of space behind. You could use a fan to force air circulation. One or two silent 25cm 12V computer fans could be hooked up to a 12V transformer connected to the Denon's power outputs.

 

[Perp]

Uau! That looks really neat. How much weight are those sliders holding?
That's a really ingenious solution. Thanks for sharing.

The receiver seems to have a lot of space behind. You could use a fan to force air circulation. One or two silent 25cm 12V computer fans could be hooked up to a 12V transformer connected to the Denon's power outputs.

The slides are rated at 500 lbs each, but once you add another slide to that the leverage probably cuts that capacity by 4x, so I was a little nervous.. the cabinet is around 60 lbs, the receiver is I think 37, the cable box, dvd, and xbox adds another 25 lbs, so I am damn near at full capacity. I was very careful the first time I extended it with the full load, but it handled it with no sweat.. I am more worried about the walls buckling now than the cabinet or slides breaking.. I would LOVE to hang from the cabinet fully extended just to see what would happen, but of course I don't want to cause hundreds of dollars of damage (or more).

I had figured that if heat was an issue I could add some fans.. I figured I would wait and see.. I might even cut some large holes in the center of the shelves so it is open on top and bottom.. that should allow some nice air flow up and around the AVR and the cable box.. I am actually more worried about the cable box than the receiver for heat.. those things over heat so easy..

 

[MatthewB.]

Very nice, but I would consider adding some small fans behind the TV to push all that hot air out. I have my plasma and gear in a ent center and have had to install three (fairly silent) fans to move the air from my Denon 3808 and two fans on both sides of the plasma to keep the plasma cool.

I love the pull out designs and think it's very cool your folks play XBox.

 

[Perp]

Very ingenious. That is a great setup for your parents. What speakers are they using?

Thanks!

M&K LCR 125's in front, some KEF's in rear.. I dont recall the model number on the KEF's.. They have had the left and right M&K's for a long time now, but they barely got used. The old theater was downstairs and they NEVER go down there. The sub is also from the older system, its a Paradigm powered 12". I sold them the speakers and sub about 12 years ago when I was in the business. I have always just loved the M&K's, and every so often I would go over there just to listen to them.. I found a matching C125 on ebay, and practically stole it for about $200.

I am also putting speakers outside around the patio that will run off the zone 2 channels of the Denon.

 

[Perp]

Very nice, but I would consider adding some small fans behind the TV to push all that hot air out. I have my plasma and gear in a ent center and have had to install three (fairly silent) fans to move the air from my Denon 3808 and two fans on both sides of the plasma to keep the plasma cool.

I love the pull out designs and think it's very cool your folks play XBox.

I very well may have to do that, but there is a 40"x24"x70" open space behind and above the TV and rack, and it opens up to the rest of the room, so I am hoping it will allow that heat to rise out and not be a factor.. when the fireplace is on though, all bets are off..

 

[Shock]

Ingenious problem solving right there.