[bajaed]

I just picked this up at a store today for a really cheap price:

Amazon.com: Sonax NY-9424 New York 42-Inch Metal and Glass TV Stand: Kitchen & Dining

I currently have a makeshift (cutoff top of an old dresser painted black) riser that is only 34 " wide and can barely fit my Oppo and Jolida JD9 on the left and my Cronus Magnum on the right. In fact,  I have the amp pulled about 3/4 of the way out and sitting on a sturdy level stand so it can breathe. My 60" Plasma sits on top and the bottom of the screen is about eye level from my chair.

This new rack  is 8" wider and is open on all 3 sides so I can eliminate the extra stand and move the amp back flush with the other components. The current riser sits on a 24" high built in cabinet as will the new rack.

I wanted to ask a few questions and get some advice.

First, the stand says it fits TV's up to 52" and 150 lbs. My 60" plasma weighs 83 lbs and is currently on a narrower stand so I assume the size of the TV really doesn't matter as long as it's stable?

Secondly, I have the option of fully assembling the new stand with 2 shelves or partially assembling it with 1 shelf.

The first option would raise the height of the bottom of the TV about 10 inches above eye level. It would also allow me to spread out the components and have the tube amp by itself on the bottom shelf.

The second option with 1 shelf  would keep the TV at it's current height. I would still have the Oppo/Jolida stacked on the left and the amp on the right but there would be 8" between them (instead of 0") and plenty of ventilation.

Any opinions on whether raising the height of the plasma 10" would cause the picture to look worse or would it just be a matter of looking up more? I know the only way to tell for sure is to try it both ways but since I have a hernia right now I'd rather not assemble it, put the TV on it, then move the TV again, put the second shelf on and lift the TV again, then possibly go back to the first version. I know off axis viewing on a plasma is not an issue like it is with LCD's. I could also put something under the rear of the rear of the attached stand of the TV to slightly angle it down.

It boils down to TV at the same height with more room on one shelf for equipment or 10" higher with tons of room for the components.

[WC]

What is your seating distance? It makes a difference.

[bajaed]

My normal chair which sits to the left is about 12 feet. The dead center of screen seat on the couch is about 10.5 feet.

[Phil A]

Here's one take - https://www.cnet.com/news/how-high-should-i-put-my-tv-morrisons-mailbag/

[bajaed]

Thanks Phil, I had also found that article a few minutes ago. Sounds like I should probably just do the single shelf for best viewing but the space with both would be nice.

[bajaed]

Update, opinions wanted:

I've been looking for a stand to hold my Rogue Cronus Magnum, Jolida JD9 and Oppo 93 with my 60" Plasma on top. It needs to fit in a 24"high x 46" wide cutout shelf in a built in cabinet. Thought I found it when i bought the Sonax ny-9424 stand at Electronic Express for $99:
https://www.corliving.com/ny-9424-us.html

It's nice looking and the display model felt very sturdy with substantial tempered glass shelves . The Electronic Express website says it has a maximum TV weight of 150lbs, plenty for my 83lb Plasma. Since my built in is already 24" high and the makeshift riser I'm using is 10 3/4",  I wanted to assemble it with just one shelf instead of two to keep my TV at the same height . I called Sonax customer service and they said I could do that with no problem.

The Electronic Express site says it fits TV's up to 42" wide, the Sonax site says up to 50" TV's and Amazon says up to 52" TV's. I asked customer service if it could hold my 60" TV as long as it was under the weight limit and they said yes.

I started unpacking the stand last night (the tempered glass shelves are really heavy, a good sign) and found the instructions. First thing I see is a drawing of the stand with weight limits for each shelf. 85 lbs  for the top shelf(not the 150 that Electronic Express said but still barely enough for my TV), and 50 lbs each for the bottom two shelves. That's a total of 185 lbs but elsewhere it says total weight capacity of 150 lbs.

My TV, amp, bdr and phono stage weigh a total of 153 lbs. I'm ticked about all the bad information I got that led to me buying it but like the stand and would still like to make it work.

Sonax customer service is closed today but I would appreciate a few opinions here. First, I'm guessing going over the 150 lb suggested  limit by 3 pounds wouldn't be a big deal since the combined weight capacity the shelves is supposed to be 185?

More importantly, my plan was to assemble it with just two levels instead of 3 and put the TV obviously on top and the 50 lb amp, 10 lb bdr and 10 lb phono stage on the bottom. The bdr and stage would be stacked on the far left and the amp on the far right with 5-8 inches in between them. Is going 20 lbs over on the bottom shelf with 50 on the right and 20 on the left a bad idea or are these weight limits usually conservative? Will not having the top shelf on the rack make the bottom shelf able to hold more? Any ideas of something I could put under the bottom shelf so it could support more weight?

Sorry for the long post, any advice is really appreciated.

[Phil A]

If you have a really heavy component (or TV), you could always put extra support under glass shelf.  For example if the amp is 50 pounds, put a few pieces of 2x4s (cut to the appropriate height) with perhaps stick on felt pads where the glass would rest on (so it doesn't scratch).  If that is on the bottom, that should take care of that component.  If the TV is too heavy, then you could do the same (and perhaps paint the 2x4s black or silver to blend in).  In that manner the shelf should have extra support.  You might also wish to put the 2x4s under each shelf and with extra support towards the middle back, I'd think it would be fine.

[bajaed]

Thanks Phil, I might do that under the bottom shelf for peace of mind. Guess I just need to be careful to make the height of the supports just right so its not causing the glass to flex upward.

Talked to the store manager and he strongly feels it will work fine. Said he's 150 lbs and has stood on the top shelf. Said 70 lbs should be fine on bottom especially if its not all in center.

This is a heck of a deal at $99. It's  $279 @ Walmart, Amazon etc.

[Phil A]

Thanks Phil, I might do that under the bottom shelf for peace of mind. Guess I just need to be careful to make the height of the supports just right so its not causing the glass to flex upward.

Talked to the store manager and he strongly feels it will work fine. Said he's 150 lbs and has stood on the top shelf. Said 70 lbs should be fine on bottom especially if its not all in center.

This is a heck of a deal at $99. It's  $279 @ Walmart, Amazon etc.

That's what I would do - peace of mind is cheap for a piece of scrap wood at Home Depot and a couple of felt pads.