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July 2, 2007 - 9:14pm
#1
posted some pics
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Me too!
I'll go check yours out.
Nice shots and nice setup. What do the room boundaries look like on either side of the speakers, i.e. how far away are they? What kind of treatments are you using, if any (absorption, diffusion, etc)? I can't tell from the pictures.
I have the black version of that same Salamander rack in my equipment closet. It is a very nice and easy to use rack (not to mention, well priced compared to other stuff on the market).
It's not a dedicated listening room, so I have to comply with other considerations. The right channel is closer to a wall than the left, but the left is near a sofa. I'm not using any room treatments, although I might experiment with furniture placement and such.
Thank you for mistaking my homemade rack for the Salamander! That's very flattering, as I used the Archetype 5.0 as my model.
Looking very nice, Erik, but that top shelf appears to be longing for a turntable. Maybe if you got two summer jobs.......
Yep, that is the Salamander model I have. The truth is, they are fairly easy to make. I had to put mine together anyway, that left me thinking I should have just found the parts myself and built one on my own as well.
That was ingenous, Eric! Who was your "parts" supplier, Home Depot?
Bingo! I bought the threaded steel rods, nuts, and rubber gaskets at Home Depot, at a cost of about $65. My mom works at a cabinetry company, so I was able to get the five shelves (plywood with a cherry veneer) for about $100. They came to me cut, veneered, and drilled. I had to do the sanding, staining, and sealing. I came out ahead because an Archetype 5.0 in cherry is $400. The thing took me six hours to assemble, though. Threads + holes = headache.
But the final product was worth the effort. How easy is it to adjust the shelf heights?
It wouldn't have been worth it for me to build myself then. It is only $250 for the unit in black.
Adjusting shelf height is a bit of a pain (and make sure you have a level handy), but very precise. For anyone who plans to build one themselves, I recommend boring the holes out to slightly larger than 3/4", or whatever diameter rod you use. When the exterior diameter of the rod matches the diameter of the hole, you have problems. Once a shelf gets stuck, you either bang it free - at the risk of splitting the veneer or the wood - or disassemble the rack and pull the rods out.
For me, the extra work was worth the money I saved. For many of you (I'm looking at you, Jeff
), it may not be. There are probably better ways to make your own rack, but I didn't do any research before I started on the project. I consider it a learning experience. I love the finished project, anyway.