Salamander Synergy 236 A/V Cabinet (Black/Black)

We got this unit to replace our previous entertainment center because our little girl is getting to the age where she is getting into everything. This unit allows us to have everything, wires included, contained inside, and inaccessible to her little paws. It is a very solid piece of furniture, and not really any more difficult to put together than any other entertainment center we have owned. It's expensive, but I doubt we'll ever have to replace it, as it is definitely built to last. most of the particle board centers sag and crumble after a few years, and we've had this one for almost two years now, and it's showing no signs of wearing down. Oh and I just rememberd that in other reviews they talk about it being scratched really bad when it arrived, and ours appeared to be the same way, but then I realized that there is a very thick, impossible to notice coating of plastic stuck on the outside of every panel, and when this protective coating was removed, it was flawless underneath. It looked just like panels were scratched unbelievably bad, but thankfully I finally noticed that it was just a layer of removable plastic that was scratched, no the unit itself.

Because I recently upgraded my home theater system with some high quality speakers, I thought it appropriate to do the same with a high-quality TV stand where all of this would be housed. I looked all over the internet for one that was suitable for my new system (especially because my new center channel speaker was so large, there were few stands out there that could actually sustain it). Once I found the Salamander TV stands, I thought "Wow!" - these are beautiful and perfect for what I wanted.Yes, I know, they are NOT cheap. But here's the thing, they are WORTH IT! All the pieces are high quality compared to other stands out there. The shelves are INFINITELY ADJUSTABLE (this is not an exaggeration either, they truly are). This means that any component you have WILL FIT, no problems. There are these metallic pieces that fit into the posts, which are actually rails - this is where the shelf supports (metallic pieces) fit and are able to be adjusted (infinitely) to your desired height. The trick here is to use the included leveler so that you know, more or less, how high to place each shelf support. This is a very logical, and smart, way of doing this because it allow the user so much flexibility. All the hardware, screws, and the like, are high quality as well (you get what you pay for, believe me).You can choose your color and style of doors. I chose the ventilated (perforated metal mesh)doors; this allow the amp plenty of breathing so that it doesn't get too hot. What's more, the doors come included with an attachable piston that allows for smooth closure of the doors - the doors will never SLAM shut! You can close them carelessly and they will always close up to about an inch away and then slowly close on their own - JUST AWESOME!Some people have written that it took them a couple of hours to put together. Well, I had my brother help me, and between the two of us it took about three (3). I know, right? That's a long time. Most of that time was dedicated to deciphering the instruction manual; this stand was more complicated that at first thought, but we were able to figure it out. Don't get me wrong, most of the pieces were easy to put together and securely without any missteps. A few others, however, were more of a trial and error type of deal.Now that everything is set up (new stereo and speakers), it looks beautiful and works sooooo well. You will NOT regret purchasing this stand!

Bit of a challenge to assemble, but works perfectly in my space. Great cord management.

Very heavy. It is not real wood. It is coated(Melanie) particle board. At least my black colored one is made this way. That said,it is well made and looks good

Looks great. Extremely versitle and very sturdy. Easy to setup on top of it all. If you want a no nonsense experience and a product that looks good and simply works well, look no further.

I bought a Synergy 236 with black/aluminum posts from an online vendor. They had the best pricing and my stand was custom ordered with side covers and left and right doors with perforated steel. I opted not to get the center door and/or media drawer to allow more air to my A/V Receiver plus I wanted to put my center speaker on top of it. I also bought Salamander Saturn Wheels to replace the supplied foot level stands. Both the Synergy 237 and 236 requires 8 wheels.Before I continue I want to say that I bought this $1200+ TV Stand because of the quality of the parts, looks, shelf adjustability, shelf space, and customization. I was looking at the cheaper stands but the wood was too thin, shelves were in fixed positions, small shelf space, and some didn't have doors and if they did they had poor ventilation and looked ugly. My friends thought I was crazy spending that kind of money on a TV stand and teased me saying "Does it come with a TV at that price?".Shipping took about a week and the stand came in several boxes. 2 of them were very heavy. I installed the Synergy 236 on a weekend and it took me about 3hrs to finish it! That doesn't include installing the back panel to do the wiring. Having the Saturn wheels installed made the rest of the job easier but I did get confused when installing the shelf pegs. I actually thought Salamander forgot to put more pegs but realized I did something wrong in the installation and that fixed my problem.Overall I am very happy with my decision in getting the Synergy 236 with no regrets. If you're thinking about buying and installing the Synergy 236 then my advice to you is that you're going to need a lot of patience, common sense, and a good strong back when installing this stand.