Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems New cabinet

I'm looking at a few cabinet options for my gear. It will hold a G68, Oppo BD 83, Dish VP622 and a bunch of DVD's and jewell cases. I've found one from Standout Designs that looks good. It has two exhaust fans rated at 16 db @ three feet. We sit 10 feet from the cabinet. Any thoughts on that noise level?

Ken

Check out these guys, I love their stuff. Very modular, nicely built.

http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/

The thought of "exhaust fans" in a cabinet makes me cringe.

I like natural cooling. It's like having a fan in amp or preamp that isn't well designed to cool passively. It's generally not needed.

That's why I love the salamander stuff. You can have all 4 sides open, or screened, or glass or wood. You pick and choose what's needed on each module.

I have open front and rear and screened sides.

Many components that do have fans will ramp up based on temp. I like seeing things cooled passively and minimize total fan noise.

Stuffing high end components in a closed cabinet then adding forced air to compensate just doestn't make sense to me.

For the record 16db is extremely low. You won't hear it.

Also consider cabling too, it drives me nuts when I see cabinets with a few 3" holes for cables. Open back allows easy cablng and cooling. And some cabinets depend on the panel and weaken a lot if you remove them. The Salamander is designed extremely strong with no sides or backs at all.

Think Post and Beam home when you think of salamander. Versus most cabinets are "stick built" and they depend on the sheathing for their strength.

Hopefully related and not OT. How hot does the Oppo 83 get? Mine comes Wednesday. Will have to fit into a 4 1/2 inch shelf with open back. Somewhere I read that these guys are hot...will I be OK? Thnaks jimK

Jim, you'll be OK. The Oppo gets pretty warm when it's playing but it has a fan which does a good job. In your setup you'll have no problem.

George, I'll check out Salamander next week. I'm not hung up on fans but with the addition of the Oppo BD 83 I need some cooling help.

http://www.clic.dk/uk/Idea/

Here is some "real deal" furnitures for audio / video equipment.

If you like the scandinavian sleek and minimalistic style.

Ugh, I was considering an Oppo just to get rid of the PS3 Fan.

Thanks for the heads up.

The G68 has a fan. I don't think I've ever heard it. The Oppo fan isn't nearly as noisey as the PS3 and you get the benefit of great SD upscaling plus SACD's.
I have the Oppo's fan set to automatic and I don't think it's come on in the two weeks I've had it, and that's in an enclosed cabinet with the front door open an inch at most.

My PS3 has SACD as well, but never spin music any more. I rarely ever watch SD on the PS3 but it upscales fine.

It's really the fan that bugs me. Just concerned about folks saying the Oppo runs hot.

By the way I noticed salamander has expanded a lot since I last looked you want to check out the synergy line http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/syn/index.jsp

FWIW: There have been a few complaints about the Oppo fan but my impression is that it is some sort of problem with those individual units rather than a general issue. In my case, I have my Oppo in a cabinet that is closed except for the back. The HD621 is sitting directly on top of it. Heat doesn't seem to be a problem and I've never heard the fan or noticed that it was on. Then again, I might not hear it if it were on because my equipment cabinet is not particularly close to my seating area.