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Sanus NFA 245 Stand Usage

by Gary Benfield last modified March 02, 2009

Suggestions and Recommendations

The setup in my theater requires that my projector be located directly behind the seating area.  The construction of the room makes ceiling mounting my projector a difficult task, so I have settled on sitting my projector on a shelf.  The 45-inch height of this unit makes it very convenient for placement behind my seating area and leaves a nice clean (and completely dark) viewing area in the front of the room.

NFA 245 stand legHaving said all of this, the height of the stand also causes it to be a little less stable than I would prefer.  Even weighted down with my components, the three legged design of the unit allows some vibration through the carpet (though so far not enough to notice as far as picture movement on the screen).  I do not think this would be an issue if the stand was located on a hard flooring surface, but at this price point some type of floor spikes would be beneficial to help stabilize it.  Floor spikes could also give you an option for leveling the stand if you have uneven floors.

NFA 245 wire management 2The wire management system included with the stand is a pretty simple concept and a welcome feature given the stand's open-air design.  In my case, I found that the wire management system would not hold all the wiring associated with my home theater setup.  For my configuration (stand behind and basically out of sight) this turned out not to be a deal breaker, but if the stand was in a more prominent location in the room, having the wiring visible could be a serious distraction from the stand's otherwise great looks.

Conclusions and Overall Perceptions

The Sanus NFA 245 is a component stand that is both highly functional and great looking. The high quality hardwood and finish and the steel and glass construction materials will easily mesh with other furniture-grade pieces in your room.  Also, the height of the stand makes using the top shelf ideal for anyone who needs to set up their projector behind their seating area.  This stand doesn't just look good; its deep shelves and open-air design also make it highly functional as well.  When you're ready to trade in that cinder block and plywood AV rack you've been using since college, the Sanus Foundations Natural Series is well worth consideration.

 

Recent Forum Posts:

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Soundman posts on May 27, 2009 13:37
Dezoris;531948
Gary!

Where are the pictures?

The stock photo blows and all I can see is a foot, and parts of the back of the unit on the pictures attached.


Yeah, Anyone have a better picture of this thing?
Dezoris posts on March 02, 2009 20:24
Gary!

Where are the pictures?

The stock photo blows and all I can see is a foot, and parts of the back of the unit on the pictures attached.
cwall99 posts on March 02, 2009 10:01
... I have the NF206, not the NFA 245.

Still, the review pretty much applies exactly to my stand, too.

Okay, it wasn't a lie. I just got excited to almost see my rack reviewed right here at the center of the AV universe.
cwall99 posts on March 02, 2009 08:58
... I just got mine about five or six weeks ago, and, like the previous poster said, it is a breeze to put together. I did pretty well with the interconnects through the holes, though, as I started to get close to the end of the process, the holes going into the back of the shelf where my receiver is, were getting pretty full.

It does sway slightly, especially if I'm standing there, pressing buttons on my receiver (a Pioneer VSX-82TXS - or whatever). It's on the second to top shelf (I wanted a tall stand so I could finally put my turntable out and not worry about my two-year old daughter playing with it).

But, with that heavy load of the turntable up high, and no real counter-weights at the bottom, it does feel a little top heavy.

I think it could be an inch or so deeper, too, to give you a bit more room in back to plug in banana plugs and interconnects. Some of mine have to make a pretty severe Z between the holes in the back piece and the places where they plug into my receiver.

Casters would have been nice as I had to do most of my connections with the receiver about a foot further out from where it now sits, but I know that would have added to the stability issue.

Still, it's good looking, and the top shelf lines up perfectly with the top of my old-ish (fall, 2002) Sony 57-inch RPTV.

Best part? I only paid about $200, with about $45 shipping, for mine. I ordered it on Wednesday, and it was sitting by my back door that Friday (and that was after the shipping method I elected to use promised an 8 to 12 business day turnaround).

Nice rack. Not perfect, but in this economy, I'm not complaining.

I guess, though, to stabilize the weight issue, what I really ought to do is buy a bunch of massive amps, put them on the bottom shelves, and then use my receiver as a pre-amp. I'm sure my wife would go for that.
davidtwotrees posts on March 02, 2009 07:09
I've owned this exact rack for a number of years, and the reviewer was spot on. It is an excellent addition to my home theatre rig, and has seen dozens of pieces of gear go in and out of the system. It is solidly built, graceful, and attractive. It has had a couple of amps that weighed in excess of 60 pounds on it. I found the cable management holes to be just fine, and only when the analog sacd bundle goes through does one of them become tight with wiring. I have the black satin finish and it looks sharp with black gear, and my silver lacquer Canton speakers. I bought mine open box for under $250. D2T
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