Custom Home Theaters

Custom Built Turntable and Audio and Command CenterProgress Report – Part III

The Turntable and Audio Racks are finished! Next step will be to crate and ship from Thailand, working on the logistics now.

This is a project that we started several months ago with FLOWbkk, using beautiful Acacia wood and using the natural edge of the wood as a design feature. If you haven’t had a chance to see the early reports and images, check out Part I and Part II.

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In addition to the two racks, Michael and Valentino Tachavirat have built a beautiful platform, with casters that I will be able to use for the turntables sent to me for review. The platform was designed, size-wise, to my specifications, but can be made any size.

Over the past month, the racks have been sanded and finished. The process involved the final sanding and application of 3 coats of sanding sealer. The final finish uses FLOWbkk’s industrial semi-gloss lacquer which provides the necessary protection as well as showcases the live edge wood with a natural finish. Three coats of the lacquer finish are applied by hand sprayer with sanding between each coat. I should also mention that there is no wood stain; the beautiful result really showcases the natural wood.

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To recap, the two racks will sit side-by-side and will house the turntable, Pass Labs phono preamplifier (two units), OPPO and SONY players, BAT Preamplifier and BAT Power Amplifier. The turntable rack will also house some of my vinyl collection on the lowest shelf.

Audio Rack

Turntable Rack

I am very eager to receive these beautiful racks, hopefully to arrive in next several weeks. My final report will be of the racks in place with all of the components.

I am very indebted to Michael and Valentino from FLOWbkk for working with me on sizing the racks to my specifications and for their meticulous work from selecting the perfect wood slabs to the careful finishing.

John E. Johnson, Jr.

Editor-in-Chief Emeritus. John E. Johnson, Jr. founded Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity in 1994, shortly after publishing a hardcopy book of the same title. He served as Editor-in-Chief of Secrets of Home Theater and High Fidelity until 2022. John has been involved in audio and video for more than 50 years, having built radio transmitters, amplifiers, turntables, and speakers from scratch. He was also one of the founders of the Northern California Audio Video Association, now The Bay Area Audio Society. John holds four university degrees, including a Ph.D. in Neuroscience, and has published numerous scientific books, along with dozens of scientific articles on biomedical research topics as well as imaging technology. He was the founder and Editor-in-Chief of two medical/scientific journals for 20 years. John holds several patents, including one on high resolution image analysis and one on a surgical instrument. He has been affiliated with NASA, The National Institutes of Health, The Johns Hopkins University, Stanford Research Institute, and The University of California at Berkeley. He is President of the consulting firm Scientific Design and Information, Inc., which is based in Redwood City, California. John resides in the San Francisco Bay area with his wife and multiple kitties! His daughter, Cynthia, who was an integral part of SECRETS for many years, resides in San Francisco.