Guide to AV Furniture

Home cinema is an exciting world filled with plasma displays, DVD recorders and multi-channel sound systems. It’s easy to get carried away with the technological marvels that are transforming the way we watch television and view movies in the home.

In all the excitement it’s easy to neglect an area that is actually critical to getting the most out of any installation – the furniture those shiny boxes are going to sit on.

Many are tempted to make do with existing tables, shelves or bookcases, but this is a serious mistake. If you don’t allocate part of your budget for dedicated AV furniture you are short-changing your system and yourself.

The market for AV furniture is estimated at around £1 billion and there are some compelling reasons why so many people are spending so much money.

TV stands

This is an area where most people think they already have AV furniture, because their TV came with a stand. Certainly a supplied stand fulfils one of the criteria for such an item – it will be strong enough to support the weight of the TV in question – but there are other factors that need to be considered. This is where specialist AV furniture can provide a far more satisfying solution.

• You must be happy with the design of the stand. It is going to be a major part of your room’s décor and if you can’t bear to look at it how are you supposed to enjoy watching your lovely new TV?

• It should house other equipment as well. Ideally, a TV stand should be big enough to accommodate several other items at the same time. This will make your installation neater and less intrusive. Does your supplied stand have two or more built-in shelves for a DVD recorder, satellite receiver and maybe a games system?

• It should have flexibility for future upgrades. What if you invest in a new DVD recorder, home cinema receiver or want to mount a centre channel speaker under the TV? Is your stand adaptable? Can you add extra shelves, or change the position of existing shelves to fit in new, bigger items?

• It should be made from high-quality materials. Rickety stands can fall apart quickly, especially if you have to move them around. This could obviously be disastrous, so avoid stands made from chipboard or cheap wood. Look for MDF, high-quality wood or anodised aluminium, and check that any glass used is toughened safety glass.

• Will it keep things tidy? You can soon amass a daunting pile of cables at the back of a TV stand. Many stands have a built-in cable-management system, gathering all the cables together and feeding them into a hollow leg or tube to minimise mess.

Speaker stands

Few home cinema components have to work under as many handicaps as speakers. There is an inherent problem with a speaker system – there are so many of them! Placing them all properly can be difficult and it is often tempting to stick one on a coffee table, one on a bookcase and one or two straight onto the floor.

This may be convenient, but it plays havoc with performance. The speakers in a system all work together to create a soundstage, and they need to be given an opportunity to do this well.

In an ideal setup, all the speakers should be identical, and all should be placed at exactly the same height. This isn’t always possible, but some looser guidelines should be adhered to – and it involves buying proper stands for the poor things…

• Bookshelf speakers should not be placed on bookshelves! Bookshelves are just about the worst place you could put a speaker. They are often flimsily constructed out of cheap wood or metal. They will resonate when the loudspeaker is activated and they can muffle output, totally sabotaging the soundstage.

• Speaker stands need to be as solid as possible. The weightier a stand is, the more it will be able to absorb vibrations from the speaker itself and the less resonance it will add to the soundstage. Speaker stands can be hollow, and you can add sand or another inert material to weigh them down, or they can be sturdily built to start with. Again, look for solid MDF or wood.

• Stands should never compromise a speaker’s performance. Many cheaper stands, or those supplied with some systems, are flimsy, lightweight or both. They can vibrate when the speaker is working, adding unwanted resonances to the sound output.

Wall brackets

Some AV items can actually be mounted on a wall, keeping floor space uncluttered and presenting equipment at a perfect viewing or listening angle.

Speakers are obvious candidates for this – especially small ‘satellite’ designs, which are often very compact and lightweight.

Recently, televisions have become candidates for wall-mounting. Thanks to improvements in technologies like plasma and LCD screens, many TVs are now light enough to be attached to a wall bracket, but a few guidelines have to be followed.

• Make sure the wall you are attaching equipment to is strong enough. Load-bearing walls are ideal, while less sturdy partition walls may not be able to handle larger (and therefore heavier) screen sizes.

• Ensure the bracket you buy is compatible with your screen. Many brackets have a VESA rating – this is an easy way of identifying whether or not it will work with your TV. Check your TV for an arrangement of four mounting holes as shown in the diagram below.

The holes will be a specified distance apart – it could be 75mm, 100mm or 200mm. VESA wall brackets will be rated as one or more of these sizes (for instance, a bracket may have a VESA measurement of 75/100, which means it will work with TVs rated at either 75mm or 100mm). Many VESA brackets are adjustable and quote a screen size instead, promising to work with any set with the quoted range.

• Make sure the brackets are strong enough. It’s no good attaching a bracket to a sturdy wall if the bracket itself isn’t strong enough to hold your TV. As well as a VESA measurement, brackets will have a load-bearing figure quoted as well. Do not try to exceed this!

 AV Furniture companies

Custom Design (www.customdesign.co.uk)
Based in Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Custom Design both designs and constructs its AV furniture, offering a custom service as well as ready-made units.
The company’s philosophy is to continually question and challenge its own ideas, which results in a cutting-edge approach to AV furniture.

Futureglass (www.futureglass.co.uk)
As the name would suggest, Futureglass is committed to producing stunning designs in glass – the emphasis is on contemporary, clean designs that are easy to assemble and the company’s rigorous researching and prototyping helps to ensure that their products work flawlessly.

Spectral (www.living-entertainment.com)
Made exclusively in Germany, Spectral furniture is constructed from only the highest quality materials – aluminium, brass, stainless steel, solid beechwood, high-strength MDF and toughened safety glass. With great emphasis placed on the experience of the craftsmen used, with automation where appropriate, Spectral furniture is notable for the precision and durability of its construction.

NorStone Design (www.norstonedesign.com)
Hailing from France, NorStone Design has a simple aim – to create functional, practical and fashionable AV furniture that is easy to use and integrate with your home.

Stil-Stand (www.stil-stand.co.uk)
This UK company understands that AV furniture should be more than just functional – it should fit in to its surroundings and enhance your home. As such, Stil-Stand products come in a variety of finishes – from maple and cherry wood to silver, Stil-Stand’s AV furniture has the finish you are looking for.

Supports AV Direct (www.supportsav.co.uk)
A UK-based company that manufactures high-quality AV furniture, exclusively using toughened safety glass with added safety features like rounded edges and plastic feet for secure placement.