Media Center Setup

[Duffinator]

Many new homes come with "media centers" which can be quite limiting on what you can do. I didn't have much room to work with but this is what I ended up with. I have two holes in each glass shelf, one for interconnects and the other for power. The glass shelves are 1/2" thick with a beveled front edge and are fully supported on three sides.

Here's my systems:

Home Theater
Denon AVR 3805
Adcom GFA 555 Mk II powering the Fronts
Monitor Audio S6's Fronts
Monitor Audio SLCR Center
Monitor Audio Radius 90 Surrounds
SVS PB12-ISD Subwoofer
Toshiba 56H80 HDTV
Sony DVP-NS700P DVD Player
Sony MXD D3 CD MD player
TiVo/DirecTV HD DVR HR10-250
Hauppauge MediaMVP Digital Media Player
Home Theater Master MX 500 Remote
Niles OS-10 Patio Speakers
ADCOM ACE-515 Power Conditioner
Bluejeans Cable, Monster Cable, and DIY Interconnects
DVI Gear HDMI Cable
Belden 12 ga. DIY Speaker Cable

PC
Klipsch ProMedia Ultra 2.0 Speakers
Yamaha YST-SW215 Subwoofer
iPod Nano 2nd Gen

Vintage Gear
Living Room
Pioneer SX-1250 1977
Pioneer CT-F1000 Cassette Player 1979
Sony CDP-C535 CD Changer
Denon DP 60L Turntable with Signet Cart
ADS L810 Speakers 1980
Sennheiser HD 280 Pro Headphones
Fisher Custom Electra Console 1955

Bedroom 1
Sansui G-8000 Receiver 1979
ADS L420 Speakers 1981

Bedroom 2
Sansui 9090DB Receiver 1978
AR4X Speakers 1968

Garage
Sansui 3000A Receiver 1968
ADS L710 Speakers 1975
Denon DVD 555
Sansui AU/TU-717 1977
Polk RM 2000 Bookshelf Speakers

 

[surveyor]

I like the built in equipment enclosure. This is a nice job with a difficult room.
I'll bet the 3805 sounds good with the mirage speakers.

Cheers

 

[Duffinator]

Thanks Surveyor,

My Mirage speakers are bipolar and the back firing speakers do not have any room or walls to reflect off of. So I'm not taking full advantage of their capabilities. They sound fine for now, at least according to my wife!

 

[kode3]

Nice stuff (just get those speakers away from the wall) I love that receiver

 

[Duffinator]

It's tough for me to keep the speakers away from the way. The further away they are the more the block the view of the TV from the right side. Not to mention the possibility of my 2 year old twins knocking them over. New speakers are on the wish list...no bipolars though.

 

[kode3]

Hey, I see you live in Sacramento, I'm in Rocklin...

 

[Duffinator]

Don't pull over a silver Honda Odyssey with a bike rack on top!

 

[kode3]

Don't pull over a silver Honda Odyssey with a bike rack on top!

I'm keeping my eyes pealed... j/k

 

[brian32672]

Great looking set-up Duff. Clean!!! Is that glass like 1" thick?? (or is it just the angle that I am seeing. Where is the SVS located at???

 

[Duffinator]

Great looking set-up Duff. Clean!!! Is that glass like 1" thick?? (or is it just the angle that I am seeing. Where is the SVS located at???

Thanks Brian. The glass is 1/2" thick with a beveled edge. It's fully supported on three sides and bows ever so slightly. The bow is from it's own weight and doesn't move when you place the equipment on it. But I'm always worried there is too much weight on it. The bottom shelf has my 3805 (38 lbs), my Mirage C3 (25 lbs), and my Sony CD changer and DVD player (20 lbs). I won't be placing any 80 amp up there.

The pictures are old and I need to upload newer ones. The SVS is in the same position as my Mirage in the picture on the left.

 

[Buckeyefan 1]

Duff,

This is the first I've seen the pix. I likey. That's a comfy room. Your twins are quite the artists. Like my 2 and 5 year old. They love markers.

 

[Spiffyfast]

very nice setup, lucky you were able to squeeze that tv in there

 

[Duffinator]

very nice setup, lucky you were able to squeeze that tv in there

I'll I needed was another 1.5 inches and the 65" would have fit. The good news is either the Samsung 61" or Mitsubishi 62" 1080P DLP's will fit. That upgrade will happen once one of the HD DVD formats is a winner.

And thanks for the nice comments Buck.

 

[Spiffyfast]

I'll I needed was another 1.5 inches and the 65" would have fit. The good news is either the Samsung 61" or Mitsubishi 62" 1080P DLP's will fit. That upgrade will happen once one of the HD DVD formats is a winner.

I'm so jelous

 

[Duffinator]

New Pictures

I added pictures of my new Monitor Audio speakers and SVS sub in the first post. The sub picture shows the difference in size between my old Mirage 12" sub and my PB-12 ISD. The PB12-ISD is pretty large in comparison and I can't even imagine how much bigger the other SVS subs must be. And what a difference it made for both music and movies.

I also included pictures of a couple pieces of my vintage gear. The one is of my Pioneer SX-1250 and the other is of my Fisher Custom Electra (below) that my grandfather bought my grandmother for Christmas in 1955 for $1,000. That was a lot of money back then. Although I don't use it regulary it still works fine although it takes about 5 minutes for the tubes to warm up. That's a 15" woofer in there.

 

[The Chukker]

I also included pictures of a couple pieces of my vintage gear. The one is of my Pioneer SX-1250 and the other is of my Fisher Custom Electra (below) that my grandfather bought my grandmother for Christmas in 1955 for $1,000. That was a lot of money back then. Although I don't use it regulary it still works fine although it takes about 5 minutes for the tubes to warm up. That's a 15" woofer in there.

That is possibly the coolest thing I have ever seen. Will probably fetch a tidy sum on Antique Roadshow in a few more years, especially considering its great condition. btw, great job on your HT in a difficult room (to say the least!)
-chux

 

[Duffinator]

Thanks for the nice comments Chux. The Fisher is in unbelieveable shape considering it's almost 50 years old, I hope I look that good at 50! If nothing else it's a nice looking piece of furniture.

 

[westcott]

Geat job!

I am continually amazed what some of you accomplish with the space you have available.

Kids? What are those? Very short messy people?
If I had to childproof my home theater, I do not know if I could.

Congratulations and enjoy!

 

[Duffinator]

Thanks Wes, my kids can't get to any of the equipment to mess with it. But I usually keep my remote on top of the TV and they have now figured out that if they stand on a chair they can reach it. I'm waiting for one of them to go through the plastic screen on the TV so I can get a Mitsubishi 62" 1080P DLP.

 

[Sheep]

If I had to childproof my home theater, I do not know if I could.

You don't have to protect it, you just have to get the thought of touching it out of your kids head.

Heres a self-help article which should help you acheive this goal.
http://www.thebestpageintheuniverse.net/c.cgi?u=beat

Duff,

You can also use this article to find out ways to put a child through a television...

SheepStar