[Festerfly]

Well we have finally decided what Unit to use in our relatively small space for the A/V equipment.

We have decided to go for an Ikea Besta Combination and came up with the following design ( a little bit of photoshop cut and paste never hurt anyone)

Especially as with all the options we require it totals under £300 (which leaves more for me to spend on goodies!)

This is the list of units i will be fitting within it:

Xbox 360
Xbox 1 Slimline
Joytech 540C (with decent interconnects )
PS3 (Jap)
PSX (if unsure what this is, please google 'DESR')
PS2 (UK)
Pioneer VSX 7??? Amp. (it was free so cant complain)

Also there might be two Gamecubes in there (one UK, one NTSC) until i source a Wii (and funds allow). and an HD-DVD drive for the 360

the TV will be a 37".

Now here is my problem the depth of th eupper cupboards (where iwill need to store the AV Equipment) is only 40cm. the consoles will fit easily but the amp also has a depth of around 40cm with plugs on.. am i going to have to cut teh back of the cupboard at this level or can i get an amp that is 'shallower'?

the equipment has to go in the cupboard area due to the fact that we have two small children and my wife doesnt appreciate the electrical gadgets like i do! I was also a little concerned about the heat the units will generate while running, especially the 360, Amp, PS3 and came up with an idea of mounting a some silent PC fans on the back panel and use a PC fan controller to run them at a low RPM... nothing too fancy but i have a Coolermaster 4 going spare, just need to find a way of powering it at 12v.

Seems a bit overkill perhaps, but after already trashing one Xbox 360 with heat issues, i dont want to do it again....

Thanks in advance for any suggestions and advice.. (other then bin the Joytech! lol)

Cheers

Lee

[Paulie-W]

Depth wise, you could cheat a couple of cms by not pushing the unti hard up against the wall ans putting some fillets in the side gaps. I am also assuming you have some kind of skirting board too.

[Festerfly]

hmm good point.. i forogt abuot that, plus its being recessed into an alcove so the idea of it sitting slightly proud isnt an issue. it was more a case of the cutting around theback board. but i guess if all A/V receivers/amps are roughly the same depth then i will be cutting one place and if i chaange amps later on, i till no doubt benefit then too.

[Paulie-W]

What you could use instead of the back board (i would hazard a guess that it`s only going to be hardboard) is some speaker grill fabric. That would certainly get a bit more air flow. That sucker`s gonna get pretty toasty with all that kit.

[Festerfly]

good idea, havent really thought of speaker fabric for that use.. i do have a feeling that the wife might not like that idea toom uch though.. but true it would save on teh cutting and if we ever switchedit back to a regular unit, it would save any unsightlyness.

[womble9]

I was looking at these very units in Ikea on Sunday. Really liked the style of them and was also happy with the finishes that they were available in, alas out came the tape measure and there's no way my 875 will sit in, bugger .

[Festerfly]

they are very shallow depthwise i think. but most of the equipment i am putting into it will fit no problem, maybe im jut being over picky?

[lawrenso]

Just one further thought for you - will putting your equipment in the higher cupboards by too much weight wise - if not - don't forget that you will have a bit of top heavy cabinetry there so you will need to secure it to the wall to stop it toppling.

Cheers

Lawrenso

[Festerfly]

Cheers Lawrenso, Did think about that as we have two young children anyway (which is why the AV stuff is going up higher). We were actually back at ikea last night (can beat the meatballs!) and did some more intricate measuring up and pricing etc and its looks set to go in the new year when the funds are available. the only difference to the original plan is that we are now going to have another extension unit on top again (basically take up the full height of the alcove we have) and get some more shelving for the top, this suits us fine as it will compensate for the bookcase that it is replacing in the space.

[Tellyfiend]

I have a Besta combo (mine's long and low on legs).

Anyway mine's only 40cm deep too which caused a problem for my home cinema kit.

My two 120cm wide units had two hardboard back pieces 60cm wide - I just left out the ones behind my AV kit - one on each of my 120cm units

[Festerfly]

Pretty much hat we were looking at last night aswell.. the idea that at worst, we chop up the back boards to suit the wiring and at the end of the day, its only a bit of Beech effect Hardboard if we ever want to replace them fully anyhow.

[ianmca]

Festerfly: whats the height the TV sits at on its shelf from the floor up? Is it around 30cm?

Cheers

[Festerfly]

ahh nuts, typically thats the only measurement i havent got noted...

[tiagottx]

My first post

I'm also experiencing some problems regarding the depth of ikea furniture, since i'm planning to get a Tobo unit with the back panel to hold a 37" LCD and the shelves aren't deep enough for my Onkyo TX-SR703

My idea was to use 2 CD/DVD storage units like these:

http://www.ikea.com/gb/en/catalog/products/10094135

one on each side of the TV cabinet, "sticked" to the wall. This way i can pull the cabinet a couple of inches away from te wall so i can get enough space in the rear for the back of the amp and AV connections, and also airflow.

The CD/DVD storage rack will cover the "backstage" of the AV cabinet

PS - sorry for my english

[jlf81]

Anyone know if this unit would fit a 42" telly, and sony DG 910, as there is plenty of room for all my other bits, and I am quite tempted to get one.

Also where would people recommend putting the centre speaker, on the shelf below or somewhere else. Sorry for the stupid question I'm still a bit new to all this,