Weekend Roundtable: Show Us Your Rack

I thought it might be fun to play a little Show & Tell in this week’s Roundtable. We’ll give you a peek at the gear in our home theater equipment racks if you tell us about yours too.

I specifically asked our contributors to send me photos and descriptions of the components on their equipment shelves: Blu-ray players, A/V receivers, cable boxes, videogame consoles, etc. I did not require photos of speakers, HDTVs, projectors, or miscellaneous theater items, though some may have chosen to provide those as well.

Mike Attebery

This feels more like a confession than a peek at my equipment rack. We’re going to be doing some renovations on our condo this fall, so I’m considering putting everything in a secured cabinet after windows are replaced if anyone has any suggestions. In the meantime, this is my semi-baby-proofed setup:

  • Demon turntable
  • Roku
  • Apple TV
  • X-Box 360 with HD DVD drive
  • LG Blu-ray player
  • Satellite Radio
  • OPPO BDP-93 with region hack
  • Phillips surround receiver (Ancient… We live in a condo with thin walls)
  • Panasonic VCR
  • Sony CD changer
  • Philips CD burner
  • RCA DVD Recorder
  • Viewsonic Pro8200 projector
  • Pulldown screen

Adam Tyner (DVDTalk)

  • Display: 60″ Pioneer Kuro Elite PRO151FD plasma
  • Receiver: Harman Kardon AVR-247
  • Game Consoles: PlayStation 3 (my primary Blu-ray player); Wii; Wii U
  • Media Players: Sherwood BDP-5004 (for Region B Blu-ray discs); Toshiba HD-A30 (HD DVD)
  • Cable Box/DVR: Motorola DCH6416 (gross)
  • Speakers: Axiom Millenia M60ti floorstanding mains; Axiom VP100 center; Axiom QS8 surrounds; Axiom EP350 subwoofer. (I still haven’t worked out permanent surround placement, so I schlep my rear speakers back and forth to stands on either side of my couch.)
  • Miscellaneous: ‘Skylanders Giants’ portal (Ssshhh! Don’t tell anyone!); as-yet-unwatched Blu-ray discs

I’m getting the upgrade bug again, so that display and receiver aren’t long for this world. I have a separate setup of older gear upstairs, and that’s where I keep my Xbox 360 and other assorted game consoles, my Panasonic TH-50PX50U plasma, HK AVR-330 receiver, and on and on and on.

Shannon Nutt

Top shelf, from left to right:

  • Samsung 3D Blu-ray player/receiver (part of the Samsung HT-E6500W 5.1 Home Theater System)
  • The center channel for my home theater setup with my Roku 2 XS sitting on top of it
  • My Xbox 360 with controller.

Bottom shelf, from left to right:

  • Box containing 3D glasses for my VIZIO M3D470KD
  • The Motorola HD-DVR for my Comcast cable

Tom Landy

I wanted a nice, compact home theater stand and this is the one I went with. It has three glass shelves (although I’m only using two due to the size of some of my components) for equipment. Above, though not pictured, is my 50″ Panasonic Plasma TV. The first shelf has my Panasonic 3D Blu-ray player and remotes. Underneath that is my Bell satellite receiver box, and then the big ones at the bottom are my Pioneer AV/Receiver and CD player. Yes, my CD player holds 301 discs. Sure, it’s kind of obsolete these days since the Pioneer receiver has AirPlay built-in, but it still works great.

M. Enois Duarte

This is an older pic from last year, but there haven’t been any major changes since. The components are as follows:

  • OPPO DBP-93 3D Blu-ray player [Region-Free hacked]
  • Sony PlayStation 3 Slim 120GB Blu-ray player
  • Marantz SR6006 7.2 A/V receiver
  • Velodyne SMS-1 DSP System
  • Panamax M4300-PM power conditioner/surge protector
  • Intel Core i3-2100 @ 3.10GHz HTPC
  • Logitech Harmony One Universal Remote

Josh Zyber

Shelf 1:

  • 3D emitter for Sharp XV-Z30000 projector
  • Comcast X1 DVR
  • Lumagen Radiance XS-3D Video Processor
  • OPPO BDP-93 Blu-ray Player (region-hacked)
  • Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD Player
  • Denon AVR-3808CI A/V Receiver
  • Pioneer XLD-X9 Laserdisc Player

Shelf 2:

  • Sony PlayStation 3
  • Microsoft Xbox
  • Nintendo Entertainment System

What home theater gear graces your home theater shelves? Tell us in the Comments. If you’d like to show us pictures, I recommend uploading them to a hosting site like ImageShack or Photobucket and linking to that.

36 comments

  1. Scott

    I was very lucky that my boss bought two really fancy, expensive Middle Atlantic racks a few years ago. He then moved and decided that he wanted to consolidate down to one rack and next thing you know, I have a kick-ass fancy, rotating, heat dissipating, more than I’ll ever need rack to hold all my goodies! I’ll try to go from memory, from top to bottom:

    B&K Reference 200.7 200 watts x7 THX Ultra heavy as all get up blow your hair back amplifier

    a second B&K 3340 (or something like that) 125 or so x2 amp for bi-amping my NHT 3.3 speakers

    a third amplifier, some Carver amplifier that I cannot remember the name of, this one is used for zone 2

    my newest addition, the Integra 80.2 pre-amplifier

    Oppo BDP-83 blu-ray player (no need to upgrade yet)

    Xbox 360 (hasn’t been powered on in close to a year!)

    Directv HR20 (I think that’s the model number) HD box

    Panamax surge protector/line conditioner (can’t remember the model #)

    Apple TV

    And about five or six more shelves for future stuff!

    All of this going to a 7.3(I can say .3 since I’m bi-amping the fronts, right?) set up with NHTs all around, plus video from a JVC RS-1 (will be my next upgrade once I get finished paying the wife’s back to school tuition)

  2. Tracy Bolte

    My dedicated home theater consists of:
    Sherbourn PT-7030
    Sherbourn PA-7350
    Oppo BDP-105
    Apple TV 3
    Epson 5010
    Elite Screens Fixed 110″ HCMW
    Sonus Faber Venere 2.5
    Sonus Faber Venere Center
    Emotiva ERD-1
    Martin Logan Encore TF
    HSU Research VTF-3 MK II
    Emotiva CMX-2 Line Conditioner
    CyberPower UPS
    Logitech Harmony Touch
    3x Berkline Electric Recline HT seating
    610 BDs and counting…

  3. Steve Kroenke

    Rack shelves from top to bottom –
    1)Denon AVR 5803
    2)Pioneer Elite CLD-99 LaserDisc player
    3)Pioneer Elite BDP-09FD Blu-ray / DVD player
    4)Toshiba HD-XA2 HD DVD player
    5)Sony BDP-S300 Blu-ray Disc player
    6)Pioneer Elite PD-F109 CD jukebox (holds 100 CDs)

  4. Dan

    Adam, you mentioned that you are getting the update bug and your display is on the chopping block? SERIOUSLY?!? How exactly do you plan on upgrading the ninth-gen Kuro, arguably the finest TV ever made? Unless you are moving to a 4K panel (for which there is no source material), your comment leaves me bewildered.

  5. Drew

    The VT60 and ZT60 are both far superior than the ninth-gen Kuro. None of the 4K sets that have been released can hold a candle to either the ninth-gen Kuros, or the VT60/ZT60, or even the VT50. He certainly wouldn’t be upgrading by moving to a 4K set. Every 4K set is still LED-LCD, and prone to all of the same problems that any 1080P LCD set is. There are many aspects of image quality that are more important than resolution. Only OLED sets (once they are actually available in a flat model), and 4K plasmas (If they are ever manufactured) will be superior to the VT60/ZT60.

    I tell you this as previous owner of a ninth-gen Kuro, and a current owner of the SONY 65″ 4K set.

  6. My entertainment system…

    Panasonic TX-P50VT65 plasma
    Onkyo TX-SR608
    PS3 60GB(EU)
    PS3 500GB (EU)
    PS3 120GB (US)(for region A)
    PS2
    X360 Elite with HD-DVD add-on
    Wii
    Horizon-box (UPC digital TV)

    I also own, but currently not connected:
    NES
    SNES
    N64
    GameCube
    Dreamcast
    Amiga 500
    XBox

    Posted some picks of my setup, as wel as the rest of my collection, on the invelos forums, see link below,

    http://www.invelos.com/Forums.aspx?task=viewtopic&topicID=680456

    Paul

  7. Drew

    Oh, forgot to add that the 65″ ZT60 is my display in my secondary HT. So, I can absolutely compare all of these sets and tell you that the SONY 4K set is nowhere near any of the plasmas we discussed. I even had a chance to take a Samsung F8500 for a test-drive, and it is vastly superior to the SONY 4K set. Again, resolution is only one aspect of picture quality, and it’s far from the most important one. Black level, contrast ratio, screen uniformity, and a few other aspects, are all more important than resolution. If he switches the Kuro out for a 4K set, it would definitely be a DOWNGRADE.

  8. Perry Creason

    Here is my set-up that I have built and developed over ten years or so. I am just a teacher so my available funds are always limited. However, I have a set-up that I love and I feel is top notch.

    DISPLAY
    -Toshiba 55L7200U 55″ LED 3D 1080P 240Hz

    RECEIVER
    -Yamaha RX-V675 7.2 105 W/channel

    SPEAKERS
    JBL Studio Series II
    -1x JBL S-CenterII (center)
    -2x JBL S412PII with 200W powered woofer (left and right fronts)
    -4x JBL S36PII (left and right surrounds and rears)
    -2x JBL S120PII 400W powered (dual subwoofers)

    MEDIA PLAYERS
    -Toshiba BDX5200 Blu-Ray 3D Player
    -Toshiba M755 6-Head VCR
    -Motorola DCH6416 HD Dual Tuner DVR (TWC)

    GAME SYSTEMS
    -Xbox 360 S 320GB with Kinect & HD-DVD Player
    -Xbox
    -Nintendo GameCube
    -Sega Dreamcast
    -Nintendo 64
    -PlayStation
    -Super Nintendo
    -Sega Genesis
    -Nintendo

    MEDIA SWITCH
    -Pelican PL-960 System Selector Pro (for game systems)

    CABLES
    -Monster Cable HDMI 1000HD
    -Monster Cable 10 gauge with Monster Cable banana clip (center, surrounds, and rears)
    -Monster Cable 4 gauge with Monster Cable banana clip (fronts)
    -Monster Cable component video, composite video, optical audio, stereo audio cables where HDMI not available

  9. I don’t buy junk, and usually buy second from the top gear. Example would be, my tv was 2nd from the top, the only thing that separated mine is the top one has a 2ND Vga port and cost $200 more, other than that, identical in every aspect.

    I would love to participate but feel it is sort of a shopping list for “come rob my house.” My Facebook status has said in the past “At home cleaning my guns.” I hope we all have a halfway decent alarm to protect our treasures and I would not encourage anyone here to say they did not have one.

  10. Well just moved into a new home not too long ago (about a month) and finally got my man cave down stairs, even got lucky enough to upgrade some components so here we go 🙂

    Samsung PN60F5500 60-Inch 3D Smart Plasma

    Sony STR-DH740 7.2 channel receiver with 4k

    Sony SS-F6000 Floorstanding 4-Way Speakers

    Cerwin-Vega VE-5C 2-Way Home Audio Center Channel

    4 of Leviton AESS5-BL Architectural Edition Powered By JBL Expansion Satellite Speaker

    Also have an Xbox 360 and a Samsung 3D Bluray player as well. Just sold my PS3 and I’m getting an Xbox One in November as well, nothing crazy fancy or super pricey but man I love it 🙂

  11. Greg

    Just upgraded to the X4000 from the AV7005. I’m loving Audyssey XT32!

    BenQ W6000 projector
    92″ Carada Classic Cinema White screen
    Darbee Darblet
    Denon X4000
    Emotiva XPA-5
    Blue Jeans Cable interconnects
    Paradigm Studio 60s
    Paradigm Studio CC-690
    Paradigm SA-ADPs (In-Wall surrounds)
    Canare 4S11 bi-wired
    Epik Empire sub
    Oppo BDP-103
    Toshiba HD-A3 HD DVD player
    Playstation 3
    Harmony One
    Lutron remote lighting system

  12. Sherwood PS 1870
    Western Digital Live
    Sharp 3D bluray BD-HP35
    Toshiba HD-A1
    Sony Ps3
    Pioneer VSX-60
    Belkin Pure AV PF40
    Pioneer CLD-D703
    RCA Selectavision SGT 100

  13. Drew

    Adam,

    The VT60 and ZT60 both offer discernible advantages, over the F8500, in every aspect of picture quality that matters. The only advantage the F8500 will give you is brightness, and given your dedicated HT room, I doubt you would ever want or need the brightness of the F8500. The ZT60 is only superior to the VT60 in a COMPLETELY dark room. If there’s any light whatsoever, you can’t tell them apart. I mean that literally. If you even had the light of a single cigarette lighter flame in the room, the ZT60’s advantage is negated. Hopefully, that’s helpful for you to be aware of. Either way, they’re both quite a bit better than the F8500 (I would even argue the VT50 is better than the F8500, as it has deeper blacks in a completely dark room, and more accurate color) and they’re an inch bigger, to feed that craving better. I really don’t feel that the F8500 would be much — if any — of an improvement over the Kuro.

  14. Matt G.

    In the movie room:
    50″ LG PZ950 3D Plasma
    Vizio 2.1 Soundbar
    Onkyo 210W Subwoofer
    Playstation 3 Slim 120GB
    Xbox 360 Elite 120GB w/ HD-DVD
    Nintendo Wii U
    DirecTV Genie DVR

    In the living room:
    37″ LG LE5300 LED HDTV
    LG 3D Blu-ray Player (it came free with the plasma, and I didn’t need it in there).
    DirecTV Genie DVR
    Nintendo Wii

  15. hurin

    Speakers: Vienna Acoustics Mahler (front) and Haydn (surround)
    Amplifiers: Rotel 1080 and 1050
    Preprocessor: Rotel 1069
    Bluray: Oppo BDP 80
    PC: Alienware x51
    Projector: Sanyo z3000
    Monitor: Samsung 27b350h

  16. Got Oppo 93 Region free instead of 103
    Pioneer LX-85 AV receiver
    Paradigm CC-590 Centre speaker
    Wharfdale Towers for front L & R
    JBL Control one pro for Surrounds & Back
    Paradigm Ultra cube 10 2nos. subwoofers
    Panasonic 7000 Projector with 120″ Screen
    Logitech Harmony one Remote
    Blu-rays 350+

  17. Ross Gauthier

    Panasonic TCP55ST30
    Panasonic DMP-BDT220
    Onkyo TX-NR
    Paradigm Monitor cc190 Center channel
    Paradigm Monitor 7 v6 front
    Paradigm Monitor Atom v6 surround & rears
    Paradigm PDR 80 Subwoofer X2
    Xbox 360 20GB
    SainSonic 3D Glasses 2 Pairs

  18. Jon B

    JVC DLA-X55
    Draper ReAct 2.1 (106″ 2.35:1)
    Oppo 103
    Darbee Darblet
    Onkyo TX-SR608
    Wharfedale 10 series 7.1
    Velodyne CHT12 sub
    Humax HD box

  19. Jeff Shultz

    JZ

    Rather than rant about my over-the top-systems, I ask if you have done a final episode in YOUR Home Theater series? The last installment I remember, you were still in the throws of another OMG. How did things finally turn out?

  20. August Lehe

    My Display consists of a GT 50″ Pioneer plasma set sitting atop a DVOX 585 Surround Bar…(In 3-4 years maybe an OLED 55″ Samsung when the price comes down closer to $2,500.)

    My custom-designed and built light oak equipment rack consists of A BDP 103 OPPO on top with a Sony Twin Cassette Deck just below with two Pioneer Laser Disc Players on the two shelves down, followed by a SuperBeta Deck and Finally a Mitsubishi Home Theater amp which will soon be replaced by a full-size Marantz Home Theater Receiver/Amp…(all shelves adjust!)On the Bottom is space for Laser Discs and Deluxe Blu Rays such as Lawrence of Arabia boxed set…

  21. Dave Mueller

    Mike (and someone may have already commented on this) but you should really move that shelf. You’ve got that projector butted up against the wall as it is and the shelf and books are blocking the side vents and making all that heat just swirl around there. You’ve created an easy bake over for your projector.

    • Mike

      I’ve worried about that. The pic makes it look much tighter than it is. There’s actually quite a bit of space all around it. I may move that closest box set though.

  22. Wouter

    Panasonic 65vt50 plasma
    Oppo 103eu
    lumagen mini
    darbee darblet
    Denon AVR X3000
    Vu+solo2 satellite box
    WD TV Live media player
    ps3
    wii u
    xbox 360
    Infinity primus 360 front
    infinity primus 250 rear
    infinity primus C25 center
    JBL crappy sub (last replacement on the list)
    Synology D411J NAS with 4*2TB drives

  23. Scott H

    My equipment list contains a Samsung LN40650 TV, Pioneer VSX-1018 Receiver, Oppo BDP-93, PS3, Xbox 360, Comcast DVR, PS2 and a Definitive Technology Pro Cinema 60.6 speaker system with the 8″ sub placed on an auralex platform as to not annoy the couple living below me. Here is a link to pictures if interested.

    http://www.blu-ray.com/community/gallery.php?member=Terminator+XG

    If you look at the pictures, I had to come up with a way to extend the lower shelf as I bought the rack before having purchased a receiver and receiving the Comcast DVR at my apt. I ended up using 3 styrofoam bricks, which I shaved a bit off the top in back in order to wedge it under the glass and then covered them with black felt.

  24. Timcharger

    “The Show Us Your Rack” title is wrong.

    Let’s admit it boys, this really is a Let’s Show Each Other Our Penises blog.

    Hey, check out my abs, feel them, go ahead and punch me. Yeah, punch me as hard as you can…

    Oh and my guns, too. Squeeze them. Go ahead, you puny man, squeeze my biceps. Let’s go workout; I will pump. You. Up.

    —–

    I almost joined the party, too. I was beginning to type out my equipment. And then I had flashbacks of asking my fellow classmates to come over to my house to check out my comic book collection or transformer toys.

    —–

    If we could have a ladies’ line, where ladies would show us their (equipment) rack. Now that would be cool.

  25. August Lehe

    SORRY Guys, but that’s a Panasonic (NOT Pioneer) GT 50″ Plasma Display and my Surround Sound Bar is a ZVOX 580….BUT I AM hoping to eventually get a 55″ OLED Samsung (but NOT for 9G’s).

    Hey, I’m 68 years old!

  26. SONY VPL-VW1000ES 4K PROJECTOR, McIntosh MX151 A/V Control Center,Sony BDP-S790 Blu ray,
    Simplay Labs DVDO DUO VP, OnkyoTX-NR 5010 Receiver/ Pre-Pro, DARBLET, DirecTV Genie, Xbox 360, PS3, Monster Power HTS 5100, Oppo 103 Blu ray, Panasonic BDT 500 3D Blu ray player, MonsterVision 3D glasses, Sony 3D glasses, Parasound HALO A51 AMP x 2, Antec Component Coolers, Vutec SilverStar 120.5″ screen with a Carada Masquerade Masking System. Speakers MARTIN LOGAN STAGE X Center, THEOS (Left and Right), VANQUISH (Surrounds), AXIS (Backs), Subwoofers- Martin Logan DESCENT i, BG Woofer SW210, Dayton APA150 Sub AMP, 8 Aura Pro Bass Shakers, 8 Black Seatcraft Venetian Home Theater Chairs, Remote: Harmony 1100. Monster 1000 HDX Ultimate HDMI cables top to bottom. And two Monster 35 foot HDX Hyperspeed HDMI cables.

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