Customer Reviews

Techcraft HBL52 52-Inch Wide TV Stand (Black)

5 star:		(72)
4 star:		(15)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

As most other people commented, this is an excellent stand, very sturdy, very classy looking. Easy assembly, maybe 30-40 minutes. Before I bought this, I could not find any info on the clearance of the shelfs; I have a high end receiver (Sony STR-DG720) that is about 6.25 inches high, and it wasn't clear to me if that would fit in any of the shelves on this stand. So here is some info on shelf heights and clearance: on the bottom shelf, you can fit anything up to 5.25 inches in height, which is more than enough for DVD player, PS2, PS3, etc., but not a high end receiver. The shelf above has more clearance; units up to 6.5 inches high slide easily in from the front (or back), so my Sony Receiver fits in nicely. Since the glass above (which the TV stands on) is supported by "domed" metal beams, you actually have up to 8.5 inches of height, if you slide any unit onto that shelf from the sides. This is because the metal frames the whole unit stand on cover a little bit of the total height of the second shelf at the front and back, but not on the sides. I actually was almost able to put my center speaker bar on top of my tall receiver on this shelf when sliding it in from the side, there was just a tenth of an inch or so height missing to do that. But since there is so much horizontal space on both shelves anyway, that was not needed (one can easily fit three components side by side on each shelf). So in summary, there is more than enough height on the second shelf for tall electronic units like high end receivers. Hope this is helpful!

So here's the scope:
pros:
-Awesome and sturdy stand. I have a 55inch Panasonic TV on it and it fits great.
-The shelves are tall enough to fit a PS3, XBOX360, and my ATT U-Verse boxes (laying down). The Wii fits but it has to go further back because it's too tall to sit right up front, but still fits and I have no problems. Lol I like video games I guess.
-The design looks very modern and professional and makes your living room look very nice.
-Great price from Amazon and I got free shipping. Other sites had it way over what I paid. (If you just bought a 55inch LED TV, price really matters).
-Not too hard to set up took about an hour (more about that in the "cons").
-Great height. When I sit on my couch (and they're all different, but mine is pretty average) I can see the middle to the tv at eye level so it's perfect. :-)

Cons:
-Package and glass is HEAVY. I had to lug it back to my apatment from the main office (about 400m) and I was smoked. Weighs at least 100lbs. I stopped for several breaks and had several people stare at me lol.
-The WORST part was that the screw that holds back panel did not screw in no matter what I did. It wasn't worth it to pack it all up to return it so I just got a hammer and slammed it in there, but it's not very secure and I just don't use it (don't put cords through the back holes). Since it's a open back, it's just basically cosmetic, but it really bugs me. Make sure you keep the boxes during construction.
-Construction could be confusing to some, but it's pretty straight forward if you've ever seen a screw driver before. The real con of it is it does take almost an hour set up. Have a friend help you because once it's constructed, you'll need someone else to help you move it in place (unless you're the Hulk).
Hope that helps. I gave it the 4 stars instead of the 5 because the screw problem, but if you don't have that, this is HIGHLY RECOMMENDED. Semper Fi.

This stand looks even better than it did in online images. Went together easily, and is very sturdy.

Box it came in weighed a _ton_ - poor delivery service guy brought it inside for my wife (I wasn't there to help at the time). All the weight is in the three large pieces of tempered glass, with the metal frame being easily handled once assembled. For that matter, I can move the assembled stand by myself as long as I leave the top sheet of glass off.

The only problem I had was also noted by another reviewer - the hole for the sheet metal screw that holds the wire-hiding panel on the back is a hair too small for the screw, and the frame metal is too hard to drive the screw into without using a drill or file to open up the screw hole just a tiny bit. I used a drill bit the same size the hole already was, and just wiggled it about a bit to open the hole enough to easily drive the screw home. They give you a socket wrench for the frame assembly, but you need to supply your own correct-sized Phillips screwdriver.

Very good stand for the price. I just wish the mfgr spec's would have included the between-shelves vertical spacing and the load-bearing capacity of each shelf (especially the top one - can I safely put my TV on it, or not?).

This is a great TV stand at an affordable price. It looks great holding my Samsung UN46B8500, which I also bought from Amazon. Set-up was painless and unlike a couple of other reviews, I had no problem with any screws fitting. I posted a picture so judge for yourself. I think it looks great.

When I browse on Amazon, the first thing I usually do on a product page is look at the user review. They are really helpful, insightful, and usually gives you a glimpse of what you can expect from the product yourself. After buying this stand, I felt I had to help out my fellow shoppers!

First things first, the stand is heavy. I am in the military and in pretty good shape, but I still needed one of my buddies to help me transport it to my place.

The next thing is the assembly. When you first look at the pieces and the instruction manual, you may think that assembling the stand will be hard work, but it really isn't. One thing you will need that is not included in the package is a simple phillips screwdriver. Other than that, everything you need is in the box. And trust me, assembly is really not as hard as it looks. Everything is clearly marked with numbers and the pieces fit logically, so it is kinda hard to get confused setting it up. I had a buddy help me out and it took us 15 mins to put everything together. You can do it by yourself no problem, but if you have a friend close, might as well have them help!

Now, when the stand is assembled, it is simply beautiful. It looks much better than it does in the pictures, which is crazy because it already looks good! I have a PS3 and a Xbox 360 and they both fit comfortably on one of the shelves. However, my receiver did not fare as well. it is possible I could have squeeze it in on the bottom shelf, but I really didn't feel like trying to make it work. So if you have a large receiver, that may be a sticking point for you; wasn't for me. The stand also has holes in the back in order to route your cables through them to eliminate clutter, which is useful, but since i don't have many things hooked up, i haven't utilized that feature.

All in all, this is a great TV stand. It looks classy, is very sturdy, and has plenty of space horizontally for a variety of components. The only knock I can think of, is again, the vertical space between shelves, but as long as you don't have a large receiver, you will be fine. And even with that said, I can't knock it down a star because it is so wonderful.

If you are on the fence about this stand, don't be. This purchase is worth it and the price is definitely right.

This TV stand is very solid and goes together easily. I found the quality of the metal and the glass shelves to be very good. The only complaint is the dimensions. Another post gave the clearance for the shelves, but I have a Pioneer VSX-1016TXV, which measures 17.5 inches deep, 16.5 inches wide and 7+ inches tall. It would not fit on the top shelf without removing the feet and putting it in place before placing the top glass shelf on the stand. Once on the shelf, the receiver could be lifted to slip the feet underneath but they could not be screwed on. This is a major failing of this stand. Most better receivers are large units with many connectors on the back. The top connections of the receiver are extremely close to the top bar and difficult to plug into. So be aware of the limitations. A previous post said the receiver could be slid in from the side, but the side opening between the legs is only 15.5 inches.

If I had known the limitations of the unit I would have selected another model. It is indeed well made, sturdy, and handsome, but there are compromises.

Very nice looking piece, easy to assemble. Only caution is measure your components prior to purchase. Some larger AV receivers (like Sony STRDA1000es) have to be dropped in from the top as clearance to slide in from the front is not a large as it might appear.

This TV stand actually looks quite good with my equipment, much better than I expected. Personally, I don't like a lot of the now-popular "modern" style (glass and metal) stands. This piece is different for two reasons -- the color and the support structure.

Whereas most modern pieces are silver colored, this piece is all black, so it blends in nicely with standard A/V equipment and leaves your focus where it should be -- on your TV. For an added touch, the glass shelves have a black coating on the bottom side, so they are not see-through.

For the support structure, the bottom and middle shelves are each supported by an "H"-shaped support, with front-to-back supports on the left and right sides and a side-to-side support running across the middle of the shelf. The top shelf is supported by three front-to-back supports -- one in the center and one on each side (about five inches in from the edge). Rubber bumpers are provided so that the glass does not rest directly on the metal supports.

The two biggest reasons I bought this piece were the price (it's not cheap, but it's reasonable when compared to most stands which are 300 dollars and up) and its openness. Aesthetically, I would have preferred a more traditional closed-box enclosure, but I was concerned about the heat generated by my receiver, so I opted for this open-air stand.

MEASUREMENTS

Make sure you measure your equipment to make sure it will fit. I bought this after seeing the picture showing the dimensions, and assumed that my DVD player and CD player could be stacked (6" total) on the bottom shelf, however this was not possible because the clearance listed is not the actual clearance. Another review does clearly indicate this, which I would have seen if I had read the reviews before purchasing (yes, I was foolish for not reading the reviews first, but the dimensions in the picture are still very misleading).

Clearance between the bottom and middle shelf is about 6-3/8", but the support bar (which runs across the center of the shelf) is 1" and the bumpers are 1/8", so the actual clearance for the bottom shelf is about 5-1/4".

Clearance between the middle shelf and the bottom edge of the front/back frame is about 6-3/8", but the front-to-back supports which the top shelf rest on are vaulted, yielding a total clearance of about 8-3/4" if an item is slid onto the shelf from the side.

Clearance between the floor and the bottom edge of the bottom shelf's support bars is about 2-1/2".

Each of the three glass shelves is 3/16" thick and has a black coating on the bottom side (so it is not see-through), and the rubber bumpers between the glass shelf and metal support are 1/8" thick.

Each of the four feet are leveling feet, so you can turn them to unscrew them a bit if necessary to make the stand level. However, you will almost surely need help doing this because the stand is heavy (you may need help putting the glass shelves in for the same reason). If you do need to adjust the feet for leveling, make sure you don't unscrew them too much (like I did). There is nothing preventing them from unscrewing all the way, and they are very difficult to screw back in once the stand is assembled.

Like most pre-fab stuff, this stand uses an included allen wrench for most of the screws (when will these companies learn that we don't want to collect allen wrenches from every piece of furniture we buy?). You will, however, need a philips-head screwdriver to attach the wire-hiding panel.

Personally, I think this is a great stand. There are only two ways that I would improve it. First, they should have provided a few more rubber bumpers. You only have two bumpers for each of the long shelf supports which goes the entire width of the bottom and middle shelves. If you don't have any heavy equipment, that probably won't be a problem. If you do have something heavy (such as a receiver), then the glass may bend in the middle unless you add another bumper or some other spacer (I cut off a piece of the cardboard shipping material and used that as a spacer). Second, it would have been nice if the wire-hiding panel had some sort of hooks or loops you could use for wire management (even just something that you could loop a velcro strip through). Other than that, this stand seems pretty much perfect to me.

This TV stand is absolutely gorgeous - black on black on black. Very contemporary, extremely sleek. The pictures REALLY do NOT do justice. The glass seems very strong, the construction of the whole frame is metal, and it's very easy to put together. The glass tops are reflective, so they will show finger prints and dust. However, when clean, the reflective look becomes very attractive. The whole setup is a little on the heavier side, but once it's in place, it's all good.

I was just looking for an affordable tv stand, and seeing how other stands can run upwards of $300 this one wins on price point alone. It fits a 55" LED tv perfectly despite the description saying it's for a 52". I recommend having two people put this together since the glass pieces can be a pain to align. The glass pieces are black which match my PS3 and TV. So style wise there is nothing much to criticize. If I had to criticize anything it would be the back support plate. It can be a little flimsy and does not stay flush with the glass shelves. But since it's in the back this probably won't matter much. Overall a neat stand.