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Massive entertainment center replacement ideas?

For many years, our family has had a massive entertainment center. I have found that it IS possible to get great sound out of my current system in spite of the presence of "Gladys" as it'll be called. But I still can't help but wonder how much damage is still being done to sound which is asymptotically approaching perfection (for me) by the gargantuan entertainment center.

And now, (insert Hallelujah Chorus here) the POINT:
Mercifully, my wife has consented to ditch Gladys at any time, provided that I can come up with something that more or less still hides the cords, cables, etc. OK fellow A'gon-izers, IDEAS???????
mdhoover
chadnliz
3,736 posts
 
Md, I was going to suggest exactly what Jeff D. offered you, I just did this to my fathers rig wich formerly had a large projection unit flanked by matching AV racks.
We installed a Salamander Low boy rack and wall mounted a 58in Plasma....what a great improovement in sound!
I have a rack like Gladys, but I call her Bertha in my room now and get what I think is fairly good performance but as I soon move I am going to have nothing between speakers and I will surely post the results if you are interested, I wish you luck and ask for yours in return!
sleepysurf
122 posts
 
I just finished going through that exact transition, and the end result was WELL worth it. My ML Summits soundstage depth, imaging, and tonal balance were markedly improved just by replacing my mammoth wall unit/RPTV with a low console and flat panel HDTV. For higher WAF, I ended up getting a moderate-priced cabinet from Crate&Barrel (their 70" Harmony console). It's actually a VERY audiophile-friendly design, and extremely well-ventilated, with back panels that pop right off. I supplemented it with a Studio Tech component rack, and the entire setup ended up being a win-win situation for both my wife (the videophile) and me.

Before...
[IMG]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/sleepysurf/Summits-obliqueSmall.jpg[/IMG]

After...
[IMG]http://i96.photobucket.com/albums/l175/sleepysurf/AVTransition6.jpg[/IMG]
mdhoover OP
695 posts
 
"Md, I was going to suggest exactly what Jeff D. offered you, I just did this to my fathers rig wich formerly had a large projection unit flanked by matching AV racks.
We installed a Salamander Low boy rack and wall mounted a 58in Plasma....what a great improovement in sound!
I have a rack like Gladys, but I call her Bertha in my room now and get what I think is fairly good performance but as I soon move I am going to have nothing between speakers and I will surely post the results if you are interested, I wish you luck and ask for yours in return!"
Chadnliz
Yes, I'm interested and yes I also wish you the best of luck. Thanks for responding. Bertha is also a good name for such an object. Remember when all the hurricanes used to have female names? Then someone got ticked off and insisted on some of them having male names (Hurricane Andrew, etc.) The same thing could happen to huge entertainment centers with female names, so we'd best be careful with our nomenclature!

Sleepysurf:

What a great set of before and after photos. It reminds me of the before and after photos on the Body for Life book cover flaps (author Bill Phillips). That's a very happy outcome.

An audiophile friend owns Essence Super Gems and has them set up with NO huge entertainment center between them. Soundstage DEPTH appears to be superior in the absence of a structure like Gladys or Bertha. Listening to his rig sounding very nice is what triggered my renewed interest in this topic.

Thanks for all the responses so far.
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