Turntable integration quandary - please make suggestions

[dobyblue]

I’m having a hard time deciding how to set-up my new HT room in the house we just moved into, specifically the turntable. The room is the first level of a basement sidesplit, so there are concrete floors throughout which should be easier to work with than the hardwood bouncy floors I’ve just come from.

I have already ripped apart the two long walls (12.7’ x 19’ room) as they had nasty 70’s stucco and the one foundation wall didn’t have any insulation or moisture barrier or anything, so now it has proper 2x4 with R12 insulation and moisture barrier and I’ve also put in Roxall sound absorbing insulation in the other 19’ wall and in all the ceiling area too.

My choices are this, in each case the TV will be wall mounted:

1) Get a longer 2 shelf AV stand and use the top shelf (TV stand) for the centre channel, one with a 9” bottom shelf to accommodate the 7 5/8” high Onkyo 805. Mount the turntable using a VW1 wall mount about belt height just off and up from the side of the stand, so it’s about 1ft to the right of the TV.
2) Get an AV rack with the turntable on the top, then I’d have to buy a stand for my centre channel.

The cost of a good AV rack seems to be around $400, whereas the AV stand along with a VW1 mount can be had together for about $280.

Any suggestions?

[richteer]

If possible, I prefer the stand-alone option. It makes moving stuff around easier that using a wall-mounted shelf.

[zicmubleu]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

I’m having a hard time deciding how to set-up my new HT room in the house we just moved into, specifically the turntable. The room is the first level of a basement sidesplit, so there are concrete floors throughout which should be easier to work with than the hardwood bouncy floors I’ve just come from.

I have already ripped apart the two long walls (12.7’ x 19’ room) as they had nasty 70’s stucco and the one foundation wall didn’t have any insulation or moisture barrier or anything, so now it has proper 2x4 with R12 insulation and moisture barrier and I’ve also put in Roxall sound absorbing insulation in the other 19’ wall and in all the ceiling area too.

My choices are this, in each case the TV will be wall mounted:

1) Get a longer 2 shelf AV stand and use the top shelf (TV stand) for the centre channel, one with a 9” bottom shelf to accommodate the 7 5/8” high Onkyo 805. Mount the turntable using a VW1 wall mount about belt height just off and up from the side of the stand, so it’s about 1ft to the right of the TV.
2) Get an AV rack with the turntable on the top, then I’d have to buy a stand for my centre channel.

The cost of a good AV rack seems to be around $400, whereas the AV stand along with a VW1 mount can be had together for about $280.

Any suggestions?

I like option 1 since it isolates the turntable which in your case is probably a high end one that can benefit from the isolation. Sounds like you will have a nice HT setup when the dust settles.

Steve

[Hammie]

Is there a WAF that needs to be considered?

I personally would prefer to have a stand alone rack for equipment and the center on its own stand. Isolation being the key here.

What are all of the components that will be housed in the rack(s)?

I'm thinking the following setup would look nice:

Left Front Speaker <--> Left 2 or 3-shelf rack <--> Center channel stand <--> Right 2 or 3-shelf stand (matches left rack) <--> Right Front Speaker.

[naturephoto1]

Hi Steve,

Like Rich I prefer a separate rack for the turntable. In my case, I have the turntable on the top shelf with the turntable control box and the power box for the Phono Preamp on the shelf and the Phono Preamp below that. When I move, I will add a shelf and one of my Exact Power EP15A Power conditioners on the bottom shelf. But, I have an unusual set-up.



Rich

[househead]

I just ran into almost the same situation and have the 805 too. I'm in the process of hacking some ikea furniture into an av rack with turntable on top and 805 on bottom (it fits perfectly and lots of airflow). Buy three $7.99 tables and cut legs to desired length. I'll probably fill legs with glue and wood. These diy ikea racks get great reviews.



Here's another:

http://www.zerogain.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10733

I'm using the black/brown. Also happy to save some money.

[dobyblue]

I was thinking that the shelf would be good for isolation (and cheap) if I had wood floors still, but going into a lower level basement room with solid concrete floors I don’t think I’d get any additional sonic benefits from a wall mount, only monetary benefits.

I definitely like the idea of two av racks on either side of the centre-on-a-stand, but the wall is wired already for either a single av rack or a wide TV stand. Unfortunately most of the 60” wide stands (which would allow for three rows of equipment) don’t have shelf height worth a damn and I need at least one inch. The Sanus AFV48 gives me 9” on the bottom shelf, which is 1 ¼” clearance on the Onkyo and loads for everything else…and also gives me a nice top shelf for the centre channel…but centre channel on a stand would definitely be better isolation unless perhaps I got some Aurlex Mopads for underneath the centre, that would work too.

The AV unit will hold:

1) Onkyo TX-SR805
2) PS3
3) Goldring GR-2 turntable and Parasound Zphono pre-amp
4) Toshiba DVD-Recorder
5) Bell ExpressVu satellite HD PVR receiver
6) JVC dual cassette deck
7) Pioneer Elite DV-48 SACD/DVD-A player

I’m not as concerned about putting the turntable on this unit because the centre channel will never be used during vinyl playback, but for aesthetics I’d rather keep the top shelf dedicated to just the centre…in which case I need something dedicated to just the turntable. I’m not abject to three shelves with the TT on the top (4th shelf) as plenty of this equipment can sit on top of each other given how thin some of it is.

Damn it, I wish this was a bit easier! I don’t want to spend $700 just on the bloody racks and stands!!

Thanks for the input though! I'm a little concerned about the LACK line from Ikea just because I've gone through two of their tables before and the material the body is made out of is really very soft at best.

[dobyblue]

Think something like this would do the trick?
http://www.racksandstands.com/Bush-F...03-BU2924.html

Turntable on the top?

[dobyblue]

Turns out that one ^^^^ doesn't have the shelf capacity I need.

I went with the 6-shelf VTI RGR 406 in black with frosted glass. Very nice sturdy looking AV rack weighing in at 98lbs and it also has almost 12" space on the bottom shelf which is perfect for my Onkyo.

http://www.standsandmounts.com/vti6s...tedglass1.aspx



Turntable should go real nice on the top shelf at a few inches above waist height.

I found a good centre channel 19" stand as well for $57 which supports up to 150lbs from RTI also - http://www.standsandmounts.com/vtidf...anddfc-19.aspx

I got 4% off so the two items together came in at US$480.

That's a lot of cash, but I'm sure my equipment will appreciate being in a solid AV rack instead of an acoustically rotten MDF entertainment centre like they've been in for the last three years.

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Turns out that one ^^^^ doesn't have the shelf capacity I need.

I went with the 6-shelf VTI RGR 406 in black with frosted glass. Very nice sturdy looking AV rack weighing in at 98lbs and it also has almost 12" space on the bottom shelf which is perfect for my Onkyo.

http://www.standsandmounts.com/vti6s...tedglass1.aspx



Turntable should go real nice on the top shelf at a few inches above waist height.

I found a good centre channel 19" stand as well for $57 which supports up to 150lbs from RTI also - http://www.standsandmounts.com/vtidf...anddfc-19.aspx

I got 4% off so the two items together came in at US$480.

That's a lot of cash, but I'm sure my equipment will appreciate being in a solid AV rack instead of an acoustically rotten MDF entertainment centre like they've been in for the last three years.

This is a rather strange co-incidence. I ordered a VTI rack from same company and got the same 4% off.

You should be happy with your purchase, it seems very stout.

[Johnny Vinyl]

That is indeed a nice-looking and well-contructed A/V rack. I wish I had something like that, but my room configuration doesn't allow for it. My TT is on the 2nd shelf of a 3-shelf HT stand and it drives me nuts. I barely have room to put the LP's on....LOL!

John

[DangeRuss]

Originally Posted by dobyblue

Turns out that one ^^^^ doesn't have the shelf capacity I need.

I went with the 6-shelf VTI RGR 406 in black with frosted glass. Very nice sturdy looking AV rack weighing in at 98lbs and it also has almost 12" space on the bottom shelf which is perfect for my Onkyo.

http://www.standsandmounts.com/vti6s...tedglass1.aspx



Turntable should go real nice on the top shelf at a few inches above waist height.

I found a good centre channel 19" stand as well for $57 which supports up to 150lbs from RTI also - http://www.standsandmounts.com/vtidf...anddfc-19.aspx

I got 4% off so the two items together came in at US$480.

That's a lot of cash, but I'm sure my equipment will appreciate being in a solid AV rack instead of an acoustically rotten MDF entertainment centre like they've been in for the last three years.

I've spent a little more for my rack systems but my equipment and I love them, it even gives me room (my audio rack) for future expansion(a usual occurrence)

I'd love to see photo's on how it all turned out

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by DangeRuss

...I'd love to see photo's on how it all turned out

Agreed!

[dobyblue]

Yes of course! I'm waiting until next year when I finally get the TV to put up full pics in a gallery...but I'm going to add a few just to show what I did with the small 19x12 space I had to work with for the HT room.

Here is a pic of the rack as it currently stands...I'll add a few more into a "construction" gallery momentarily. Note that the glass is frosted...not actually dirty.



Close up from the top:



From top to bottom:

1) Turntable - Goldring GR-2 with Goldring 1012GX cartridge (installing a 2M Blue tomorrow thanks to CasualKiller for a comparison)

2) Pioneer Elite DV-48 SACD/DVD-A player (behind it is the Parasound Zphono preamp)

3) Toshiba D-R410 DVD-Recorder

4) PS3 (80GB) with 2 sets of Buzz buzzers

5) Bell 9200 HD PVR

6) Onkyo TX-SR805

Love this rack. It's 105lbs BEFORE you put anything on it. Really very sturdy, the glass shelves are absolutely solid...lovely space in between the shelves as well allows the 805 to breathe like no tomorrow...and some of the other bits and pieces like the Toshiba and the Pioneer can go on the same shelf when I eventually add a power amp. Perfect height for the turntable as well...right at chest height so I don't even have to bend over to change records, etc.

Might replace the Pio at some point with an Oppo for BD/SACD/DVD-A/CD playback...but that's probably a few years away.

My next upgrades will probably be the Groovetracer platter and subplatter for the Goldring.