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.

The marketing folks at Sound Transit are doing a great job introducing public transportation to people being hit hard by the increase in fuel costs. The timing of their advertisements and casual everyday messaging keep catching my eye. I’ve seen a number of billboards that say the following:

I’ve seen the future, and the seats are really comfy

My favorite is this text inside one of the Express busses between Seattle and Redmond:

Thanks for riding ST Express. We know you could ride a lot of things instead. Like a riding lawnmower. But you’d have to pay for gas, and they only go like 8 miles per hour, so they’re not as cool as you think. And they’re loud so it’s hard to listen to music. Unless you consider the sound of shredding pinecones music. Seriously, take 5 minutes and pick up your pinecones before you mow. We’re not kidding, Steve. If one of those things shoots out from your stupid mower and hits our house again, we’re coming over there. Anyway, thanks for riding.

 

This line of messaging definitely distinguishes Sound Transit from their close cousin Seattle City Metro. The experience between these two is drastically different. Keep it up Sound Transit, it makes us laugh and we like that.

My best friend Mark is working on becoming a pilot and he let Erica and I fly with him last weekend. It was a blast.

 

Yes, I know, Maverick and Goose.

I’ve been taking the Metro to work for the past three months. When you take public transportation for a decent period of time, you start to notice things you otherwise would casually dismiss. While on foot in downtown Seattle, I’ve taken notice of the ear-bud wearing, steadfast throng of pedestrians who move to their groove of choice in their very own solitary music filled bubble. 

This iPod-toting horde, mostly unaware of the social world outside their bubble, don’t seem to be distracted by the homeless who insistently seek jingling pocket change or that Starbucks mini scone being saved for later.

The ear-buds are an effective means to avoid this sometimes aggressive posturing from the homeless. I wonder what the global impact iPods have on the homeless? On the surface, I can envision both positive and negative scenarios.

What’s your take?

I recently purchased a new home, and anyone serious about home audio/video (like me) knows that moving is an opportunity to "do it right this time." The home is new construction, but unfortunately the builder didn’t do obvious things like run CAT5, so I’ll be doing a bit of "remodeling" with the help of my brother-in-law (who’s a great electrician) to do a clean installation. I thought I’d share the process with everyone, including pictures, in case it is of any help. I’ll start this series with what my goals are, and my new purchases to get the job done.

My primary goals are to: conceal all wiring and make the installation look as minimalistic as possible (while also future proofing), preserve as much floor space as possible, and ensure the entire entertainment/lighting experience can be easily controlled. Because of these goals, I’ve decided to sacrifice one of three (the middle one) small windows on the only wall a TV could possibly be mounted. Using a piece of AV furniture would have been way easier, but remember, my goal is to maximize floor space. There is a lot of light from other windows in the room, so I’m not really loosing anything if the install turns out the way I plan.

Seriously, this place was not designed for a media enthusiast. As fate would also have it, the built-in shelving system next to the fire place, where I had planned to place my equipment, is not wide enough for AV components. I could put an AV rack in my garage below the living room, but running up-and-down the stairs in the event I want to watch a DVD would be a pretty bad experience. I’m up for the challenge, so decided to cut out the shelves and custom install a Middle Atlantic swiveling AV rack. This will definitely require some custom work to keep with my goal of looking minimalistic.

Lastly, I’ll have to mount my surround left and right speakers (dipole drivers) on the back wall because I’d prefer to not hang the right one from a roof mount to keep decent symmetry. As you can see from the above picture, the main floor is very open and I feel having a roof-mounted surround over the main walk-way would not be aesthetically pleasing. The rear wall is about 4 feet behind the main listening position, so I’m not worried about this placement.

Here’s my order from Blue Jeans Cable:

• (2) 25-foot HDMI Series-1 Belden Bonded-Pair
• (2) 25-foot 1694A component video
• (1) 30-foot LC-1 subwoofer cable
• (1) 35-foot 1694A RF (coax) cable
• (3) 3-foot 1505A RF (coax) cable
• (2) 3-foot 1694A (coax) digital audio cable
• (2) 3-foot optical digital audio cable
• (1) 250-foot spool Belden 12AWG 5000UE speaker cable
• (1) 25-foot wire for IR blaster in rack (1/8" jack)

Gulp! My next post will show how I run the wires and how I’ll mount the TV. Following posts will show the finished product with tidy wiring job. I’ll show off my Vista Media Center too.

Advice is always welcome (but you’d better speak up now because I have a lot of work to do and I’m moving in 4 days!)

Tool continues to improve the visual depth of their show to the same degree of their music and lyrical artistry. Lateralus was nothing less than stunning many years ago and 10,000 Days topped it. I’ve been fortunate enough to see their latest tour both times the band passed through the Seattle area; hands down the best live performances I’ve ever seen. The first picture below is an example of how lasers we’re incorporated (a clever cloudy sky effect happened when smoke was mixed with a horizontal laser array above the crowd during Wings for Marie and 10,000 Days). The second picture shows the mohawk Maynard was sporting this time around along with his trademark contorting display vis-a-vis microphone stand. MJK’s cowboy hat is a fixture on this tour; which I suspect has no doubt become an important accessory while winemaking in the hot Arizona sun.

I’m on vacation until July 1st in the Del-Ray Beach area (I’ll spend some time in South Beach too). Loving it. My inbox will no doubt overflow and bounce a bunch of messages, so if I don’t get back to you, holla back.

Yes, 2006 is right. Unfortunately I broke my ankle early in the season this year, but was able to get a lot of early riding in at Whistler. I really wish I was able to make use of that season pass I bought Hopefully the mountain will treat me better next year (or I’ll stop doing stupid things that cause bones to break). Counter clockwise, meet Eric, Mark, me, and my brother Dustin. We had such a fantastic time! Can you tell who is still recovering from the night before?

We also managed to turn Heather (sis) into a cigar aficionado.

Eric, that’s a pretty good Popeye face.

Meet Heather (left) and Jennie (right); I have no idea who that guy in the background is. While it may appear so, I really don’t have them in a headlock

I’ve now purchased my second bluetooth headset (for use around the house). The first disappeared and I had no idea where it went until yesterday. My new headset also disappeared, but I know it was on the kitchen counter. I fear my gadgets are being mistaken for mice (the furry kind) or toys by Beedle, my crafty cat.

Beedle steals my iPod, and now my bluetooth accessories. I’m on to him.

 

Sigh… I have to start searching under my stove, where most of the toys end up.