Audio Rack Suggestions

[Krunchy]

Hi Guys,
I am in the process of moving my office into the basement, and I need to figure out some way of setting up my gear other than stacking it on my work surface :banghead:
I know I've seen some very nice solutions here & thought maybe you could suggest some options. This is an informal "office" so it doesnt have to be too fancy, budget is probably $300.00 but preferably less. Out of desperation I was going to go to ikea & see what they had, I would almost rather build something myself, time is at a premium now though so that would be a last resort. I need it to house about 7 components, aproximately & possibly having a TT on top.

Thanks in advance.

5503455035

Audio Rack is to go in that corner next to the left speaker, not sure how it will be oriented, depends on rack selected etc.
The 4430's may not stay there (may put 4313B's in there), I have to see how it all sounds once set up but the speakers will be at that exact location, regardless of which model I go with. The right speaker may be moved over a bit to the right but not too much otherwise it'll be directed at the side of my office cabinets. They may also need to be raised a bit, I'tll be tricky with the 4430's, the speaker footprint is the same size as the depth of the hearth which makes it a little tight (wires in back).

(Baby clothes are ready to go & no, the fireplace will not be roaring when the speakers are there.) :D

[Krunchy]

This one I saw here and is one of our members I believe (excuse me in advance for using the picture, always liked the setup, the gear looks great in it) this style of rack would be ideal and basically the same number of openings that I need.
Does anyone know who this rig belongs to?
:)


55036

[Lee in Montreal]

Cheap and infinitely adjustable. Around $30 for the left stack

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v668/Lee_Vuong/JBL%20parts%20factory/DSCN0975.jpg

[Krunchy]

That would do the trick, plenty ventilated, cant beat the price either, I like the fact that its on wheels, very handy.
These your design, I know you do a lot of work with metal.

[Lee in Montreal]

^^^^ Made in China and dirt cheap. Most likely available from suppliers such as Home Depot or Walfart. Yes the wheels are very practical. I bought then separately. That type of rack is great for its infinite adjustability and expandability, and superb for air circulation too. :bouncy: You can even dress them up by fitting some nice wood bases on each shelf.

[Krunchy]

Thanks Lee, with these things you can really go crazy, I've seen some really crappy looking ones going for stupid money.

:)

[Lee in Montreal]

Hey Krunchy.

You may want to buy two sets and build the rack to the height you want. Posts are in two pieces. So you can extend them to your needs.

Here's an exemple of cheap units.
http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/487385/Wire-Shelving-3-Shelves-30-H/;jsessionid=0000yp30ppj28MZbijXrV7E18M-:13ddq0sic?cm_mmc=Froogle-_-Shopping%20Comp-_-Datafeed-_-Furniture

If you want something even sturdier and from the riginal wire sghelving creators, look at Metro's catalog. I used to have walls of them as they are industrial restaurant equipment. Available in all sizes.

http://www.metro.com/commercial/shelving/wire/

[hjames]

^^^^ Made in China and dirt cheap. Most likely available from suppliers such as Home Depot or Walfart. Yes the wheels are very practical. I bought then separately. That type of rack is great for its infinite adjustability and expandability, and superb for air circulation too. :bouncy: You can even dress them up by fitting some nice wood bases on each shelf.

Yep - I got maybe 8 boxes of them from Home Depot a couple years back, stacked them up in my shed for plastic storage crates (books, Christmas stuff, etc)
Found I could pair them up & use common middle risers for 3-4 shelves wide sets. You could certainly use a linked pair of them (6 risers) for a nice, dual width audio rack. You just can't put shelves side by side when you do it that way.

If you think you'll go that route, I highly recommend you buy 2 boxes at once -
Home depot swapped vendors at one point and the new manufacturer's system
is somewhat different and not interchangeable with the older sets.

[Krunchy]

Yep - I got maybe 8 boxes of them from Home Depot a couple years back, stacked them up in my shed for plastic storage crates (books, Christmas stuff, etc)
Found I could pair them up & use common middle risers for 3-4 shelves wide sets. You could certainly use a linked pair of them (6 risers) for a nice, dual width audio rack. You just can't put shelves side by side when you do it that way.

If you think you'll go that route, I highly recommend you buy 2 boxes at once -
Home depot swapped vendors at one point and the new manufacturer's system
is somewhat different and not interchangeable with the older sets.


Thanks Guys!
Hopefully I will get a chance to swing by the depot next week & check them out. I know home depot will drop vendors and add new ones to suit their needs.

:)

[Ruediger]

Here is a picture of a temporary setup. Two racks from metal, bolted together, 30 mm plywood on top and below, recessed wheels in the plywood bottom.

Ruediger

[hmolwitz]

A little creativity and elbow grease goes a long way.:applaud:
Harry

[Krunchy]

Here is a picture of a temporary setup. Two racks from metal, bolted together, 30 mm plywood on top and below, recessed wheels in the plywood bottom.

Ruediger

Thanks Ruediger, that looks pretty cool!

I went to the depot yesterday to look for the metal racks but they did not have those there, they had another that would have been great (all chrome) but they were much wider than I needed (4'wide) and close to $70 a piece and only 3 shelves.

I may go the DIY route after all ?. I got some panes of glass (either 1/4" or 3/8") that were here when I moved in, Im going to put 4 wooden blocks under one of them and throw the pioneer sx1250 on it and see what happens :D If it can handle the weight of that that it will handle everything else I have. Should be interesting.

Thanks again guys!:)

[grumpy]

FWIW, if you have "Target" stores in the area, they carry the inexpensive metal frame
shelves referred to earlier in the thread, e.g.:

http://www.target.com/p/Room-Essentials-5-Tier-Wire-Shelving-Black/-/A-13892293#?lnk=sc_qi_detailbutton

... probably Walmart too.

[Krunchy]

Thanks Grumpy, I'll keep that in mind, the closest target is a good 40 miles from me door, but I think there is a walmart closer.
The search continues!

[SEAWOLF97]

Fred ...when I needed one, we went to GW salvage ....they have
8-10 racks/cabinets at any given time ..most were $7-15 .. the majority being
oak veneered home entertainment cabinets , but there are some of higher quality.

I bought a tambour doored one big enough ( 5 ft. wide) to hold everything, with glass
doors too ..on castors for $5

here's an old pic with gear past (much of it is gone) , gone also is all the crap on top
-replaced with just a DAC , laptop and TT. ;)

[louped garouv]

i found some audio racks from an audio/survellience installer for cheap on CL a few years ago....

not quite 'Middle Atlantic' caliber stuff, but decent "Pelco" branded stuff...
the installer was liquidating excess inventory....

maybe some guy in your area is also looking to clear up some warehouse space...

[Krunchy]

Hi louped garouv, Thats not a bad idea at all, I hadnt thought of CL, I'll troll their site & see what I can find, thank you! :)



Fred ...when I needed one, we went to GW salvage ....they have8-10 racks/cabinets at any given time ..most were $7-15 .. the majority beingoak veneered home entertainment cabinets , but there are some of higher quality.I bought a tambour doored one big enough ( 5 ft. wide) to hold everything, with glassdoors too ..on castors for $5here's an old pic with gear past (much of it is gone) , gone also is all the crap on top-replaced with just a DAC , laptop and TT. ;)

Hi Tom, I actually stopped by the local thrift store to see what they had and Nada! they did have a really cheap looking pair of really small fisher speakers for $50.00 LOL.BTW, that set up looked really nice with L166's on stands:applaud:

GLASS SHELVES DIY. I looked at the stack I had here (17 of them, 3/8"+ thick, plenty) & they would work for a DIY. Was thinking of getting some 4x4 posts, cutting mortises into them (thats the tricky part) and sliding the glass panes in there, would need some cross bracing in the back to stabilize but I have something that would fit the bill. The only thing I can think of is to rout those mortises 5/8" deep into the 4x4's (which I would shave to exactly 3"X3"), I have a router, I just have to figure out how to go about that, all 4 posts would have to be routed at the same time so all the cuts remain even/aligned. If I only had a propper wood shop :D

The other thing is that the glass panes are a little bigger than necessary, 25"x27.5 w. :hmm: :hmm: :hmm:
They're certainly strong enough to support this beast (which will not be put in said rack..most likely).

55064

[Guy in WNY]

I got my rack from a cable installer, paid forty bucks iirc, ask around? You never know what these guys have left over from different jobs.

[SEAWOLF97]

yeah, its a bit of a drive ...is this 'bout what you need ?

http://portland.craigslist.org/mlt/ele/2909225772.html

[Krunchy]

Close, I need about 6 slots, plus use of the top of the unit for a total of 7 pieces, ideally.
Thanks for the heads up though. ;) :)

[Robh3606]

Why not use standard cabinets and stack them?? That's what I did when I needed a larger rack than I could find. Really easy to do.



Rob:)

[r8833]

I didn't build this but planning on doing so. Made with Ikea Lack Side tables http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?htech&1001889380&read&keyw&zzrack and ikea55128

[Krunchy]

Why not use standard cabinets and stack them?? That's what I did when I needed a larger rack than I could find. Really easy to do.
Rob:)

Hi Rob,
I remember your set up but I was under the impression that those kind of racks were for gear that could be mounted (rabbit ears?) onto the rack, pro gear kind of stuff. A lot of my gear doesnt have that and I dont know if there are stand alone shelves on those systems.



I didn't build this but planning on doing so. Made with Ikea Lack Side tables
I'm familiar with the Lack system but it wouldnt work with some of my larger units.
The other thing that I would be very concerned is making sure those stacked pieces were very securely anchored to one another, all ikea stuff is fairly cheap grade particle board, I always end up modifying their pieces to make them serve my applications. Buy a tube of PL construction glue/adhesive (the kind you put in a caulking gun/applicator) at home depot if you're considering this approach, just in case! you dont want your gear crashing down at any time. It does look pretty cool though.


Done deal !,
after much runing around to depot, walmart & finally target for those wire racks (they all had some version of it but never exactly what I was looking for, or only one unit, or only a small one) I went to Ikea :eek:, I didnt want to but I was getting to be too much of a wild goose chase. I'll post some pictures when I get it set up.

Thanks guys for all the suggestions :)