My wife is happy and I’m tired., January 27, 2008

By 

D. Edwards (Atlanta, GA) – See all my reviews

  

I bought this for my wife to replace my ugly bachelor style MDF/cinder Block “entertainment” unit. I was very happy with the price, and more than impressed with the packaging to prevent damage during delivery. Be ready to have someone help you move it into your home as it is incredibly heavy for one person. I had to flip it end over end to walk it through my front door (this is not the recommended procedure in case you are wondering). If you have stairs, setup your chiropractor appointment first. From that point I opened the box and took out all 5 million parts. I opened the directions and got started. There is nothing complicated about assembly, but set aside an easy 3-5 hours to work on it. Having built many of these “type” of various units, I now prefer to take my time and double check everything before I get half way through a project and have to start over. I suggest the same. Almost every piece on this unit requires that you glue many wooden pegs for support. While I like this from a construction standpoint, I’d be lying if I said it did not take me a while to complete it.

Over all the stand is functional, the perfect size for my Sony 60″ XBR TV. It holds my 4 main components and all different type of remotes function through the glass. The drawer is nice as it holds extra remotes so I know where to find them. I also like that the back is solid wood and not cheap cardboard….so there is a lot of support. The only “Con” is that the center speaker section in the center of the stand is not big enough to hold any real quality center speaker. Mine is currently on the floor in front of the TV stand as a result. At this time I’m not sure how we plan to remedy that. All in all I’m happy with the stand. If you have the time and you have the brawn, then I would more than recommend this stand for you.

12/4/2010 Update: It’s been almost 3 years. The furniture has held up well in day to day living. We have an 18 month old now who likes to hit it a lot with toys. Over all it has stood up well to this punishment. Like most “fake wood” furniture, if you gouge it too deep then you will see a lighter color substrate under the darker covering. I usually just draw over it with a black felt tip marker and you never see it without CLOSE inspection. I now have Wii and a computer in it. They both breath in the box OK, but not great. The holes in the back help some. Not too hot to be worried though.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment (1)

Great Addition to the Famliy Room, August 12, 2008

By 

D. Gibson “dobs” (Toms River, NJ) – See all my reviews

  

Like many other reviewers, the assembly took a while, but it was well worth it (especially for the price.)

The stand is very sharp looking. The dark wood color blends very nicely with my the “Touch of Color” red border on my Samsung LN52A650. Shelves are the perfect size for my receiver and other components. The glass doors allow for IR signals to pass through. The center shelf could actually fit my cable box, but i chose to put it behind the glass door for now.

There isn’t much ventilation for components. My Xbox 360 and PS3 get extremely hot, even with the doors open. I recommend cutting some holes in the back to increase air flow. The center shelves are almost useless, I have yet to find any decent center channel speaker that will fit on the shelf. You can only fit very small components on the center shelves, some cable boxes may fit. I currently am storing some DVDs and some other junk on the center shelves. It would be better if the draw was bigger and there was only one shelf.

Overall I am happy with this purchase.

Dimensions for your reference (according to product web page):

Audio Compartment Dimensions:

HEIGHT: 38.000cm (14.961″)

WIDTH: 48.600cm (19.134″)

DEPTH: 48.300cm (19.016″)

Center Channel Area Compartment

HEIGHT: 26.200cm (10.315″)

WIDTH: 32.300cm (12.717″)

DEPTH: 48.300cm (19.016″)

Drawer Compartment

HEIGHT: 7.300cm (2.874″)

WIDTH: 27.100cm (10.669″)

DEPTH: 35.200cm (13.858″)

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment

Very solid TV stand, January 27, 2008

Yesterday and today (about 3 hours total, even with my 5 yr old “helping” me) I assembled this TV stand, and I’m very happy with it overall. Delivery from Amazon was faster than promised, and there was no damage to the unit when it arrived.

Positives: 1. Very solid construction. This unit is very heavy in the box, but once it’s assembled it is very sturdy. In addition to the four corner legs, there is a 5th leg in the center of the unit. As a previous review states, the back is solid instead of cardboard. 2. Very nice design – looks like a good piece of furniture once assembled. 3. Quality product. Everything lined up perfectly during assembly, and the two glass doors and top center drawer appear to be square to the eye and no “rubbing” of doors as they open and close. 4. The unit is packaged very well, minimizing the likelihood of damage in transit (and when you struggle to get it where you want it in your house).

Some drawbacks: 1. Although my Time Warner DVR Cable Box fits on one of the shelves behind the glass door just fine, my Onkyo receiver is a very tight fit. I had to remove the other glass door to get it into the cabinet, then reinstall the door. 2. The air circulation in the cabinets behind the glass doors is poor – it gets very warm in there with your AV components running. Still, there is an opening around the glass doors that lets some cold air in as the hot air rises and escapes out of the top cable holes in the back of the stand. 3. Costs $60 more than what appears to be the identical TV stand in a light Cherry finish (Sonoma collection).

Note that the center shelves and drawer are not very wide, you won’t be putting any AV components or speakers in that space – it’s for remotes, magazines, CDs, DVDs, etc.

Overall a very good TV stand. A nice value – better than the cheaper stands out there but not as expensive as a “real” piece of expensive furniture.

Help other customers find the most helpful reviews 

Was this review helpful to you? 

>Report abuse
| Permalink

 Comment