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Post by AudioHTIT on Jun 24, 2020 10:03:06 GMT -5
That makes more sense LOL. Wanna pick the least ugly one anyway? Or are they all equally bad? I actually hate the color, that might be it...lol... It’s a drawing you know, I try to make my drawings as accurate as possible, but they’re never perfect. I’d also assume this will fit the aesthetic of other items in the room. Not trying to dis your opinion, just that to help we need to put ourselves in the OP’s shoes and help them make their plan better. |
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Post by gus4emo on Jun 24, 2020 11:09:02 GMT -5
I actually hate the color, that might be it...lol... It’s a drawing you know, I try to make my drawings as accurate as possible, but they’re never perfect. I’d also assume this will fit the aesthetic of other items in the room. Not trying to dis your opinion, just that to help we need to put ourselves in the OP’s shoes and help them make their plan better. I do want to see the final product... |
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Post by JKCashin on Jun 24, 2020 19:12:27 GMT -5
They’re growing on me, I don’t know if I missed the dimensions, but from the amp size I assume each compartments width is about 18” for a total width just under 60”? Depth appears about 20”, but hard to tell. Just some questions and comments before I vote. * Emotiva amps are deep, and XLRs make them deeper, large speaker cables require sweep clearance too, 20” is absolute minimum (I went 24”) * Do you have a plan for cable management / power delivery, cables can mess up an open design (my management is within the 24” depth) * Related, open back designs in front of light walls emphasize cables (the one part of mine I haven’t finish is back panels with magnetic standoffs) * 18” width is good for most home gear, but some products only come with 19” rack faces (VTL amps currently for me but many over the years) * What will be in the drawers? Nice to have a place to keep stuff, but they seem tall, maybe on the shorter bottom row? * Since there’s a center on top option I assume the TV doesn’t sit there, will it be wall mounted? Keep it as close to the center as possible * How will you ‘tinker’? Plug cables, add/remove gear, troubleshoot, try different connections. Open shelves help, still not easy (mine rolls). Just some things to consider. OK lemme address these points Each bay is 18.3125" wide which is standard rack width. The "pillars" are 1.5" each. This gives a total of 60.9375" wide. Currently 19", but thinking of going 20" minimum. I can go even deeper but I do need to account for power bar on the back (more below) 19" is a min, 20" probably better. I have about 26.5" depth available. Yes actually! If you look at the image below, it shows the back of the unit, where you can see there's two 12 outlet power strips. I have 5 110V devices needing protection: - (3) XPA-1L on bottom
- (1) XPA-TEN
- XMC-2 Processor
I have 5 110V devices that don’t necessarily need protection: - Sony PS-3
- HTPC Mac Mini
- Apple TV
- (future) Nvidia Shield
- (future) Media server
I have 10 wall warts, but these will be replaced with a single common rail supply: - Roku
- Ethernet Modem
- Ethernet mesh main node
- Ethernet switch main
- TV antenna amplifier
- (future) I/R repeater
- Ethernet switch XMC-2
- Dirac interface XMC-2
- (USB) Chromecast
- (USB) Hub for HTPC
Anyway, here's what the back looks like:  Speaker wires will be handled as follows: - Left/right mains - will run along floor to speaker next to left of cabinet. The XPA-1Ls powering these sit on bottom shelf
- Center - will run from middle bottom shelf up the back of one of the middle legs
- All other channels driven by XPA-TEN on middle shelf above the center channel XPA-1L. The wires will be neatly bundled and enter into a chute in the wall behind the cabinet.
Interconnects will be bundled together with reusable zip-ties, and bound to attachment points on the back. Ethernet cables will be similarly handled. The wall is very dark, so that's not a problem. Plus I have access to the other side of the wall behind the whole thing so it's easy to install chutes and patch-points. I will be using cables that match the wall color. Standard rack mounts, the ones we call 19", are actually 18-5/16" wide (see this wikipedia article) Their height is dictated by the XPA-TEN that sits in the same row. The bottom row is where the three XPA-1Ls live. As for what will be kept in there? I have not decided... remotes, and stuff? They will be foam lined to prevent content vibration. The TV is indeed wall mounted. The bottom edge of the TV currently sits just above the top edge of the center, but the TV still needs to go up a little more, maybe 1.5". The builder has suggested building in hidden casters. I am considering that, or possibly teflon pads with integrated "brakes" on the back legs. OK that addresses your questions... now for the dimensions... - The overall height is 40.2" but this may change if I change some shelf heights.
- Each shelf is 1.5" thick
- Bottom leg is 1.5"
- Bottom shelf for three XPA-1Ls is 5.375", but I am thinking it should be 1/2" more to allow full 2" for cooling, or I can add AC-Infinity cooling units like these, which are 1.5" tall
- Middle shelf for XPA-TEN and optional drawers is 9.5" - that's 1.5" for cooling.
- Top equipment shelf for XMC-2 is 7" - that's 1" for cooling
- Center speaker shelf is ~9.4" but I may reduce it a little. The speaker is 8.625" tall so I could go to 8.75"
Here's a diagram that explains it better:
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Post by JKCashin on Jun 24, 2020 19:13:51 GMT -5
That makes more sense LOL. Wanna pick the least ugly one anyway? Or are they all equally bad? I actually hate the color, that might be it...lol... I originally had it all black.... this actually has some color at least! The software I am using is limited in what colors I can use. It would be cherrywood color. |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 7, 2020 21:21:30 GMT -5
Well, it's a go. Went with the high vote, center on open top, no drawers. Will post renders soon.
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 7, 2020 22:25:28 GMT -5
A few views from the front   And a view from the back  Wood was ordered yesterday... see you in this thread again in a few months! |
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Post by jamco on Jul 8, 2020 1:04:14 GMT -5
I prefer the center speaker on the open top with no drawers. The top of the left and right speakers should be in the vicinity of the center speaker.
You may want to check your equipment manual for the recommended clearance on the top of your amplifier or receiver. My high current amplifier would not have enough clearance for heat dissipation under that configuration.
Best of luck!
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 8, 2020 8:00:02 GMT -5
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Post by AudioHTIT on Jul 9, 2020 10:23:45 GMT -5
With that kind of open design you shouldn’t need fans. One of my design criteria was no fans, I always hear them and even the best ones are noisier than the good circuits we pay for, so why reduce your dynamic range. Your power and cable management looks great too, hope it all comes out to your liking. |
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Post by Ex_Vintage on Jul 9, 2020 21:22:09 GMT -5
They’re growing on me, I don’t know if I missed the dimensions, but from the amp size I assume each compartments width is about 18” for a total width just under 60”? Depth appears about 20”, but hard to tell. Just some questions and comments before I vote. * Emotiva amps are deep, and XLRs make them deeper, large speaker cables require sweep clearance too, 20” is absolute minimum (I went 24”) * Do you have a plan for cable management / power delivery, cables can mess up an open design (my management is within the 24” depth) * Related, open back designs in front of light walls emphasize cables (the one part of mine I haven’t finish is back panels with magnetic standoffs) * 18” width is good for most home gear, but some products only come with 19” rack faces (VTL amps currently for me but many over the years) * What will be in the drawers? Nice to have a place to keep stuff, but they seem tall, maybe on the shorter bottom row? * Since there’s a center on top option I assume the TV doesn’t sit there, will it be wall mounted? Keep it as close to the center as possible * How will you ‘tinker’? Plug cables, add/remove gear, troubleshoot, try different connections. Open shelves help, still not easy (mine rolls). Just some things to consider. Consider component heat..... How to get it out! |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 9, 2020 21:41:40 GMT -5
2" gap above all components. That should be enough, and if it's not, I will add the fans I mentioned above
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 23, 2020 17:36:47 GMT -5
It's not much to look at so far, but you have to start somewhere! So as you may know, the cabinet consists of 4 shelves, each surrounded by a skirt of 1.5" x 1.5" cherrywood, with 1.5" x 1.5" cherrywood "legs" supporting these shelves, dividing the rack into 3 "columns" so to speak. Each shelf center is basically a slab of 1" baltic birch, which will have several layers of black polyurethane on them. The birch is now cut, and the first coat of polyurethane has been applied to one side. Here's a picture, courtesy my builder and buddy Dean Hummel of Ottawa (lemme know if you want to get in touch with him)  This is in fact a day-2 picture... yesterday Dean sent me this, with the caption "no turning back now"  In this picture, you can see the baltic birch for the four shelves, as well as some of the cherrywood rails and stiles, rough cut. |
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Post by JKCashin on Jul 23, 2020 17:48:42 GMT -5
A few renders of the finalized design   |
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Post by JKCashin on Sept 17, 2020 22:13:02 GMT -5
Some more progress! Heres a stack of the stiles (the legs, essentially). There's 8 stacks like this... 4 stiles on the front, 4 on the back  Here's one of the shelves, with the front and back rail attached. The side rails get put on with the stiles.  This might make the stiles clearer. The block at the bottom is the bottom "foot"  Here's a close-up of the top with the front rail. There is a tiny gap but that will be filled in with the final coat of finish and it won't be seen.  Here's the last of the shelves getting the rails glued on. This one has a minor flaw (can't really be seen in the photo) so it will be the bottom shelf, but we should be able to fill the flaw  |
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Post by trevordj on Sept 18, 2020 21:03:13 GMT -5
Looking great!
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Post by JKCashin on Oct 13, 2020 22:29:12 GMT -5
Soon.....   |
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Post by gus4emo on Oct 14, 2020 20:53:13 GMT -5
Have you thought about adding casters? |
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Post by rbk123 on Oct 14, 2020 21:12:00 GMT -5
Good progress so far. One thing to keep in mind - assuming the center isn't at ear-height, don't forget to angle it accordingly.
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Post by JKCashin on Oct 15, 2020 17:56:23 GMT -5
Have you thought about adding casters? I hate casters... builder suggested it, but I rejected the idea. I don't really need them |
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Post by JKCashin on Oct 15, 2020 17:57:12 GMT -5
Good progress so far. One thing to keep in mind - assuming the center isn't at ear-height, don't forget to angle it accordingly. Good advice, but it's going to be near ear height... I will re-assess once the cabinet is in place and I populate it |
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