It has been a year since I wrote the first part of this series, when I first purchased my new townhouse. I had a daunting task ahead of me, and I was more ambitious than most, but I’m happy to say I’ve completed (a year later) everything that I set out to do. In part one of my install, I decided where I would mount my display, speakers, and AV rack to fully optimize the limited space, as well as how I would run all the cable necessary to future proof the install and meet my cosmetic goals. In this post, I’ll describe the challenge of getting it all done, and show you the result.

Running the cable

To run the audio, video, and network cable, I had to do a lot of drilling and pulling. In order to get my hand (and remodel drill bit) into the wall, a lot of 4 inch holes had to be drilled; then afterwards patched. My new year project is to paint and install new trim. All cables terminate behind my AV rack where they are either punched down into a patch panel (network and speaker cables), or directly attached to individual components such as the AV Receiver (AVR). It was important to me to use exact-length cables behind the rack because I have very limited space for wire clutter, and as you’ll see later, the rack has to be free to slide in-and-out on rails for maintenance. Another important factor for minimal wire clutter behind the rack is optimizing air flow to keep components cool.

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Modifying the built-in cabinet for the AV rack

As I described in my first post, the built-in bookshelf in the console separating my living and dining space was not wide enough for standard AV components, so after some precise measuring and discussions with my brother-in-law Nick who knows how to do pretty much anything related to home improvement (my lifeline), my plan was to do some cutting and install a built-in AV rack. This specific challenge is what I procrastinated on for a year before finally getting around to starting. What a mess! With the help of Nick, the bookshelf was cut out; studs in the console were removed to widen the opening; tiles around the fireplace were replaced; a new sub-floor was installed for mounting the rack; new paneling was installed within the new opening; and finally, new trim was installed around the opening. Nick and I completed this violence to my console, and mounted the rack, in a single day.

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AV rack installation, power, and cooling

I ordered rack-mount shelves with custom faceplates for each of my components, as well as a drawer (for remotes, etc.), blank faceplates, and network patch panel, from StayOnline.com, who always satisfied my order within a week; I definitely recommend them. To keep the rack from sliding out on its rails, a screw-on plate at the very bottom is used, which also serves to aesthetically cover the levers that enable it to slide out and rotate 90 degrees for servicing.

All components installed in the rack are powered through a Panamax power conditioner, including the plasma display mounted on the adjacent wall. A nice thing about the Panamax is it provides a real-time voltmeter on the front. Each shelf and custom faceplate has an added benefit of enforcing airspace above and below each component to improve airflow. Because only two main components will be on at the same time, i.e. the AVR and one of: Xbox 360, DVD player, or BlueRay player, my hope is that natural convection will be sufficient for cooling. On the front of the rack, I installed a 1U perforated steel blank panel at the very bottom, and cut a hole aesthetically covered with a floor vent in the back/very top. If all goes as expected, cool air will be sucked in the front and exhausted out the back. If it turns out natural convection doesn’t get the job done, I’ll install another perforated filler panel in the middle of the rack (probably above the Xbox) and a low-noise fan to force air out the back. Suggestions are welcome.

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Before and After

Completed Project

As you can see from the above photos, the project turned out exactly as I had envisioned when writing my first post – no visible wires and no sacrifice of floor space. All speakers in my 5.1 setup are Paradigm. The center channel is mounted within the sacrificed window frame above the display, and the front left and right speakers are on stands on either side of the display connected to terminals in the wall. The surround left and right dipole speakers are mounted on the rear wall (picture below) behind the couch, and the sub is in the front-left corner of the room.

Windows Media Center is at the core of my media collection, which tops 2TB currently. My digital media library contains over 4500 music tracks, 300 DVDs, 2000 photos, and a plethora of recorded HD and SD tv. The entire media library is available to each room (living room, master bedroom, and guest bedroom) by way of an Extender for Windows Media Center and a multi-zone Sonos audio system (a wireless Sonos controller is shown below). I’ll cover more details about my Media Center, Extenders, and media storage in another post.

What’s next?

Paint, molding, and better control. In the next few months, I’ll be installing trim around all my windows, crown molding, and painting all the walls (it’s a new house, so the walls are boring). I’ll also be purchasing a better universal remote (touch panel) and installing an IR-repeater system in the rack so I can build a door to cover the rack cabinet for an even more minimalistic install.