Salamander Designs A2/W Archetype Series Stand

While initially researching the purchase of an AV rack, I quickly noticed that the more "affordable" units had either vastly insufficient weight tolerances, or - worse - weight information was not even provided. The thought of placing my 75lb power amplifier - along with ~60lb of additional electronics components - on a rack of questionable stability was enough to lead me to these well-regarded component racks from Salamander. Due to budgetary restrictions, I was forced to take a gamble and purchase the black MDF version of the 5-shelf rack. If I had a second chance, I would admittedly probably buy the walnut or cherry, however recent purchases at the time (which incidentally necessitated the rack itself) led to some frugality. I was reassured with the weight rating for the black MDF rack being given as 250lb - the same as in the walnut and cherry models. The price, furthermore, was very attractive on Amazon. The box arrived free of damages, and everything inside was in order. Assembly of the unit was tedious yet extremely simple. Most importantly, the stand itself is extremely sturdy. It is satisfyingly heavy, it does not wobble, and there was absolutely no trepidation in placing a particularly heavy or sensitive component upon the rack. I did not purchase this AV component rack for looks, but rather utility, and in that regard it deserves an unequivocal 5-star rating. That being said, I must admit that I have - in the few months since I've had the unit - become quite fond of its sleek, utilitarian look. Please review the attached photograph to judge for yourself. I see no better value for the music-lover on a budget who requires additional shelving. The black, MDF, 5-shelf rack from Salamander gets my complete recommendation.

I bought this AV rack in black and assembled it this past weekend. It is beautifully made and very well designed. It is very sturdy and very flexible. The assembly is straightforward and I especially appreciate the great flexibility in shelf height. The look of the rack is very polished and professional and it is well worth the money. I saw someone describe the assembly as "tedious" because you have to spin bolts down to the proper shelf height. While I agree that it takes some time to do this, I so appreciate the supreme flexibility of the design that the assembly didn't seem tedious at all. I recommend this unit wholeheartedly. The only thing I wish I had is a factory option for lacing rails, to clean up wiring and contribute to a professional, functional look. That said, I can easily adapt other lacing rails to the unit, so it isn't a problem. If Salamander Designs had specific rails which would work out of the box with this unit that would be even better. All in all, this is a beautiful piece of equipment which will work with a wide variety of setups. Highly recommended!

I purchased a smaller Salamander stand similar to this used and really liked the build quality and adjustability, so I decided to go with another Salamander stand. They're also well priced compared to other stands which tend to cost more and are less adjustable. It's nice to have an open stand like this as it gives better ventilation for A/V equipment. This stand was perfect for what I wanted to do, but it's good to know an expander can be added and turn this into how many ever shelves I need. One thing to note, this stand takes a long time to put together. It arrives as four rods, the pieces of wood, and many many nuts and washers which have to be threaded down the length of the rod. Each shelf should ideally be leveled as well, they do include a little wrench for snugging down the nuts and a small level which are convenient. I'd recommend not torquing the nuts down though, as you can't easily adjust them afterwards and generally finger snug is good enough. The metal bits are covered in a greasy compound that ends up turning your fingers black, it does rinse off but just keep that in mind. I ordered the black finish one, which has a textured finish to it. They arrived a little scuffed looking, but if you take a damp cloth and wipe them down the scuffs pretty much come out. A complaint though, the finish is very soft and doesn't take much to scratch. While placing two heavy power amplifiers, the rubber feet slightly scooted across the surface and exposed the light colored wood underneath (Amplifiers weigh 56 and 88 lbs respectively). I was disappointed that it was so easily scratched, however because of the black coloring and the texture a simple permanent marker can color the scratches in and they're now completely invisible. The nicer wood finishes hopefully would not have this problem, just keep in mind not to scoot things on the surface even if it's rubber feet as the surface is not very tough.

Amo este mueble.

I needed a solid A/V shelving unit that could support my heavy equipment and give the clearance needed (heat dissipation) for my setup. Given this, there are limited options (especially affordable ones) out there and I decided to purchase the Salamander. Below are just some thoughts: Pros: - very modular with lots of configuration options. - able to support the weight of my equipment (amp is 27 kg) - aesthetically looks beautiful when fully assembled...needed some finesse with cable management though Cons: - the cherry finish is not quite cherry...not even close to the cherry finish of my speakers - some of the shelves look like the "cherry stain" was barely applied (see image)...how did that pass QA??? - 2 of the steel rods have signs of corrosion on them (out of the box). One is significant and difficult to hide - lack of cable management. In the end, all the "cons" are aesthetics (excluding cable management which is a design consideration) and can be remedied during the construction of the shelves and rods. For the price that is being charged, a little more attention can be used. However, if you are looking for a unit with allows for flexible shelving configuration and need to support heavy A/V equipment, the Salamander will work