One of the biggest problems that I faced when expanding and upgrading my home theater system was where to put all "the stuff." The first time I put an 80 lb amplifier in my old rack, it would sway every time I touched it, and was never stable from that point on.

Writing for this magazine made the problem even more acute as I the amount of equipment I had at any given time was much greater. Not only was I afraid the rack was going to collapse the next time the cat jumped on it, but I also just plain ran out of room. It was then that I started my search for my ideal equipment cabinet, a search which ended with the Synergy Twin 30 from Salamander Designs.

The Salamander Synergy system is a modular design, allowing you to build everything from small to large racks, TV stands, media cabinets, wall units, and even full entertainment centers. It comes in an assortment of finishes, including black, cherry, and maple, and the metal struts can be finished in black or silver. The upshot of this is that you can pretty much design just about any configuration you want, aided immeasurably by the Custom Configurator on the Salamander website. The cabinets are very well made, with furniture grade veneer that does not look out of place surrounded by other high end decor. This combination of aesthetics and functionality was actually much harder to find than I thought it would be.

The heart of the Salamander system are the vertical aluminum struts of which there are six on the Twin 30, one at each corner, and one in the center front and center back. The top and bottom of these struts bolt onto the top and bottom panels, both of which are about an inch thick. The bottom bolts have solid adjustable metal feet that can be set to raise the rack up to an inch off the ground. Optionally, roller casters or small legs can also be used.

Each metal strut is vertically grooved on four sides. Individual shelf "pegs" bolt into this groove, and they are solid. The only disadvantage to this flexibility is that there are no predetermined set points, so each shelf must be evened out with the included level. The vertical grooves on the sides will accept slip in side panels, the back will accept back panels, and the internal front grooves will also accept doors.

For my system I picked a cherry Twin 30, essentially a double-wide 30-inch high rack, with black struts. I also specified cherry side panels, and perforated metal doors (this allows more cooling air than the frosted glass doors). I left the back panels off, in the interest of cooling, and this configuration hid my equipment and allowed plenty of ventilation. The shelves are black, and two are included for each side. The perforated metal doors have large hinges and did not present any problems with remote signal transmission, although one drawback is that the wood of the door can block displays or remote windows on the top shelf. A second more minor drawback is the dark charcoal grey metal, and there is no option to match the silver metal of the struts. The perforated metal doors also did a good job of hiding the wires behind the equipment.

The Synergy Twin 30 is an outstanding, flexible and aesthetically pleasing A/V cabinet. The price, as well as the optional extras such as sides and doors are expensive, however I can easily say that the Twin 30 is worth the cost.

Dimensions: 44.5" W x19.75" D x 30" H
MSRP: $986