Salamander AV furniture?

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2FlyingYorkies

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Any experience with Salamander AV units? Looking at a couple of their more aesthetically oriented units in the Chameleon series (as opposed to the rack mount pieces) to place in our combined living room / listening room. I know they're not as pure audiophile oriented as a dedicated audio rack, but they at least have ventilation on the bottom and rear, solid moderately damped shelves, and wire management opportunities.
 
I have used the Salamander Synergy for many years in the main system in my old house an currently in a secondary system.
 
Here it is in a secondary system
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Penthouse-D said:
I own one. I feel it's worth the extra $$$ to buy something better…...
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What would you recommend in the "better" category? I know there are any number of more audio-specific racks out there - my problem is that this needs to look like a piece of modern (and enclosed) furniture. Salamander and BDI are the only ones I've come across that seem to have any success combining spouse-approved furniture looks with audio functionality. Salamander's build seems better than BDI's to me. Both are in the $2-3k price range. So if there's something better, I'm definitely interested.
 
There are many audio specific options out there. The Salamander racks are simply wood and aluminum mix and match very basic shelving. No isolation at all.
 
While I have the Salamander in a secondary system currently, I do use isolation devices on components (e.g. Gingko Audio Cloud 10 Platform). The Kanso furniture I noted above looks like furniture does use materials that isolate things better than Salamander. The OP noted "my problem is that this needs to look like a piece of modern (and enclosed) furniture." So perhaps for his needs it would be best to get things to isolate the components on the shelves - e.g. - http://www.ginkgoaudio.com/product-category/platforms/

There are many other isolation devices of all price points. I originally bought the Salamander as I needed lots of adjustable shelf space and sometimes the space needed to be adjusted when I got a new component. The OP needs something that will satisfy the spouse.
 
Phil A said:
The OP noted "my problem is that this needs to look like a piece of modern (and enclosed) furniture." So perhaps for his needs it would be best to get things to isolate the components on the shelves - e.g. - http://www.ginkgoaudio.com/product-category/platforms/
Click to expand...

You hit the nail on the head, Phil!

I've looked at the suggestions here and on the "name your favorite rack" thread, and not surprisingly they tend to be open audio racks that offer great isolation and ventilation. No arguement that something like that would be ideal soncially, but it won't pass my aesthetics committee. Salamander has been interesting to us because they at least make an nod in the direction of ventilation, damping, and rear access, while looking more like furniture than a rack. I can't argue that they're less than ideal from a pure audio standpoint, though. This one has gotten good reviews on appearance from "the committee": http://www.salamanderdesigns.com/products/details/781223b6-909a-b85f-ef35-520877b78c1b (as have others in that Chameleon series). If there's anything out there that has this sort of console / sideboard look but is more audio oriented that Salamander, that's what I'm looking for. If not, we'll go down the Salamander route, and put some effort into component isolation.
 
In my main system (pic was posted several responses ago of both the current Odyssey rack and the Salamander I formerly used in the old house), I have an integrated AV system. My requirements in the new place were for something lower than the 40 inch Salamander towers for the screen height. I originally intended to go with the Adona AV rack. I spoke to the owner right before ground was being broken on the new house. When I was ready to buy, I had sent three emails and made three phone calls (and spoke to him twice) and was basically ignored. At the Capital Audiofest in the summer 2013, I ran into someone in my Northern VA audio group at the time and we grabbed lunch. I mentioned my rack situation to him (and he had Adona racks but not the kind I would want - towers) and he mentioned he was selling his and had ordered an Odyssey rack at RMAF and I should go upstairs and talk to Klaus from Odyssey. So I did. I designed it to my needs (as you or anyone else should do for yours). As I noted it weighs 350 lbs. The bottom shelf is 93 lbs. It works quite well (better than Salamander) with the isolation devices. I even talked to the designer or HRS racks (http://avisolation.com/) before I went to Odyssey. I would have loved to get their racks. However, it probably was going to run me $25k, give or take, for what I would need. If cost were no object, I would have bought something like that.

A bit of advice with regard to Salamander. When I got the rack, my friend worked at a high end shop and I help set up several. Avoid any of the designs where they have perforated metal panels (e.g on the front doors or sides). Sometimes they can rattle. I still use their Synergy media cabinets (you can see them in the one pic of the old house as they are narrow and made for CD/DVDs/Blu-Rays) in the main system for Blu-Rays. All the rest of my media is in a closet and I'm into file playback for music.
 
I have a Salamander Synergy Triple, with the perforated front doors for ventilation. Haven't had any rattling issues, but I did notice that one of the doors was significantly warped; Salamander sent me another without any problems. The only other actual problems I have had have been the little door-close shock-absorbing thingies fall off (they're entirely unnecessary anyway) and the locking mechanism in one of my casters broke when I pushed the rack without unlocking it. All in all I feel that it's decent; I have no doubt that you can get better for more $$, but I am not unsatisfied. The finish also tends to show fingerprints and dirt easily, but it's also pretty tough and fairly easy to clean.
 
I have the Salamander Archetype. It is open; no doors. In my opinion, the looks of the equipment is better than the look of any rack that has doors (not to mention better air flow). If you have nice equipment, don't hide it! Of course ultimately WAF wins. [emoji51]
 
Nicoff,

Absolutely. It's all about WAF. But I'd also note that if somebody lets small children into the house they are less likely to mess with shiny stuff if it's behind a door.
 
Since this thread got resurrected from the dead, I'll chime in to say that we ended up purchasing the Salamander "Chicago", 4-doors wide, 2-shelves tall (the one I linked back on June 15). It fits our room and our gear quite well, though I wish I could get the doors to align just a tiny bit better. It's one of those things where you don't notice it unless you know it's there... Otherwise, we've been quite happy. Gear stays plenty cool enough, even under spirited use, and I haven't noticed any ringing or damping issues so far.
 
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