Well to the subject of racks... i looked and seriously though about mid-atlantic , etc... Even had the wife's approval despite the price. But shelves or custom face plates for rack mounts / ears, etc would have been outragous... I decided to build my own. 3/4" ply (good stuff from the wood place, not HD/Lowes). I butt joined (glued & pin nailed) some thin strips of red oak i had left over from my stair project to the front edges of the shelves and sanded flush for edge treatment - blind dadoes up front (recessed a little so the door could be near flush with the trim and have room to pivot). Coated in black enamel semi gloss ... I cut out a stud, moved it over and built this into the wall (a little over 19" wide). Screwed to makeshift header/footer and studs on each side. It's not going anywhere...
For cooling, my father in law picked up a fan usually used to aid in air distribution in ductwork. I haven't hooked it up, but will run off a relay connected to an elk output and triggered by a rack mounted temp sensor rules... (temp sensor will be near te top near my Onkyo and STBs which product a ton of heat)
All in all, paint/glass/wood was under 200 bucks and the WAF is very high...
I need some black plastic wire wrap. Unfortunately my monnster speaker wire and long runs of composite video cable are white. and as you can see sticks out a little from behind - esp. when the door is opened
-brad
