drdna wrote:

Option #2 is appealing since it will free up a lot of space and make the equipment more cat-proof.  I was thrilled to come home a month ago to find the tonearm wires chewed through and the tonearm swinging freely.

Actually, call me a freak that I love when is happens. It means the Cat is still around, still healthy, still being a miserable bitch, still being a beautiful Cat. I remember I adored when my Koshka loved to sit atop of the Lamm’s ML2 transformers…

drdna wrote:

I am basically throwing it out there for ideas since before I commit to any major builidng projects for the house.

I am not sure what you are asking. No one would be able to advise you about the room décor or speakers portions without being in your room.

Generally I try to isolate TV from audio system. I negatively predisposed to TV/Audio and to the concept of HT after my move in 90s for “advanced home theater”. I have a lot of reasons to feel that HT is fundamentally faulty concept.

I think it is absolutely irrelevant where you will position the stand with equipment and how it will be configured. All that it boils doe is the configuration of the cables that you have. If you have long interconnect cable then it is good idea to put the amps right next to the speakers. It is what I do with my 7M Dominos interconnect. If you have long speakers cable then it is a good idea to put amps in convenient place and run long speaks cables. In my case of 6-amps it is kind of hard but if you have one amp driving horn island then it would not be a problem.

Generally for the very best scenario I would prefer to have equipment rack sitting near my listening position then to have a LONG cable from preams running to the speakers at other side of room. I can’t accommodate it in my current room as I have hobbit to put speakers in the middle of the room, far away from walls.

Just a quick suggestion regarding stands/shelves :

I don't know if it would fit in with your décor, but sturdy shelves on wheels would allow you to reconfigure at will (or when you move to a new house, get a divorce, etc). They are also really nice when you have to get behind a system that's close to a wall. Anti-Vibe and uncle-Crosstalk can be dealt with directly under each component.

Once I get everything else done, I plan to build a serious rolling rack; the current setup is not really able to suport the weight and roll correctly. Should you decide to go this route, use a shelf(s) with a footprint-to-height ratio offering good stability when rolling on carpet... do not skimp on wheels; they need to be seriously stout; if the floor has thick carpet, go for large diameter wheels.

Good luck with the new installation,

jd*