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Review 3 of 3 Summary:
Within the last 6-8 months, I have been assembling a relatively modest home theater setup for my family room which at the beginning of the year consisted of only a 4 year old Sony 27" TV, matching stand and VCR. About $4,500 later, I added a DBS receiver, DVD player, A/V receiver and 5.1 speaker set up and quickly came to a couple of conclusions: firstly, my TV stand could barely handle 3 components (which forced me to temporarily banish the VCR to a closet shelf); and secondly, a garden variety TV stand (like the one I had) simply did not "suit" the standards set by the rest of the setup, especially if I were to crown it all by replacing the 27" with the Sony Wega 36-XBR400 (as is my intention). As I had read in a home theatre mag somewhere, you will enjoy your system while you're watching it, but you can and will appreciate the furniture you surround your system with at all times of the day, even when you (and your visitors) aren't watching a thing.
I therefore set out to find something a little bit better than what most people have decided to plop their TV's. Enter Bell'oggetti International. Italian designed and manufactured, you can be assured that anything they make will be very attractive-looking and fetch a lot of compliments. The AVS-4201 is all of this. Not only does everyone that sees it think it's something special, but even the wife loves it.
Looks aside, this is a very functional A/V stand. The stand consists of three glass shelves, topped off with a 40" wide top shelf which serves to hold your TV/monitor. I have managed to spread two components plus my centre channel on the shelf immediately below the TV, and two more components on the middle shelf. Lower shelf can handle another two components but has been "decorated" by the wife for the time being.
Cable management system works well, although I might have liked ports on either side of each shelf (as opposed to its one side per shelf). The V-shape rear shield flairs wide at the top and wide enough at the bottom to hide any cable loops and/or surge protector bar from sight.
It's fully-open concept can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, the better air circulation helps keep your components running cooler (esp. my SAT receiver, which was hot enough to fry an egg on in my previous, closed-door stand). On the other hand, you will have copious amounts of dust gathering on the shelves and components. Which one's worse? I don't know for sure, but I'm betting they're better off cooler in the long run.
One problem I had was what appeared to be a misaligned top shelf. The rubber glass shelf supports in the middle of the front cross bar were obviously lower than the supports to either side. At the rear of the top shelf, the plastic lids to the stand's legs were also slightly higher than the three supports distributed along the rear cross bar. This all resulted in a noticeable bow to the shelf when I placed my 27" TV upon it. I corrected this quite easily by simplying adding extra rubber supports in the appropriate places and the bow is now completely gone.
I have one great concern at this point. In the next few weeks, I plan to pick up the Sony Wega 36-XBR400, which as some of you may know, is one massive tube TV: 236 lbs. This is a good 45-65 lbs. heavier than the average 36" tube TV. Bello's written specs simply state that it supports up to 36" TV's. I am concerned that once the XBR is placed upon it, this stand will start to noticeable lean forward from the weight, or worse still, keel right over. I must stress that I have contacted Bello on two separate occasions and have been assured I will have nothing to worry about. Nevertheless, I am still concerned. IF ANYONE HAS THIS STAND AND ANY OF THE 36" SONY WEGA TV'S, PLEASE LET ME KNOW IF YOU'VE HAD ANY PROBLEMS.
Height. The top shelf is 28" above ground, I believe, so you'll watch your TV straight on, and not at a downward trajectory. A little easier on the neck and the components are easier to access with the remote, to boot.
Try to get a hand carrying this beast from the store. I didn't and nearly put out my back. The stack of glass shelves make this thing super heavy.
Price. I managed to pick it up from a local home theater shop for just over $800 CDN, a price I was happy to pay, all things considered.
All in all, a great purchase. If you're looking for something a little different, a little better, take a long look at Bello International. Strengths:
Very stylish/eye-pleasing; easy to assemble; terrific cable management system; fully open-concept allows components to dissapate heat easier; colour matches most components (black); greater height for TV; plenty of space for components; Weaknesses:
very heavy unit when received unassembled/packed in delivery box; top shelf misaligned; will get dusty, quickly; price; strength?! Similar Products Used:
Sony (glass door) TV Stand (27"); Sony Wega XBR 36" TV Stand; Sony 36" Wood/Metal TV Stand;
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