[Oddball]

I'll be going to college this fall, and I have some reservations about fitting everything (i.e. audio equipment) into my dorm room. I know that these are some ridiculous questions, but please consider the extenuating circumstances.

The first question: audio fidelity heresies aside, would it be a terribly bad idea to store a fullsize CDP underneath my bed (using risors)? If it's do-able, what sort of things should I keep my eye out for?

The background: The best digital source I've listened to is my Denon DCP-150 PCDP. Sure, it's an amazing PCDP, but I really feel like it's time for me to finally upgrade. This fall, I'll be going to college and I'll be living in a dorm room. I know that a lot of the college head-fiers have no problems fitting an entire rig into their rooms, but there's one key difference for me: I'm a girl. Essentially, I might end up with a girly-girl roommate and I don't want her to murder me for having cables and electronics everywhere. So, I can't stick my future rig on my dresser, and I'm thinking of trying to store my future CDP under the bed.

The second question: is it feasible for me to store my turntable under my bed and only take it out when I'm playing records, or would this kill the turntable set-up? I have a Goldring GR1.

The background: My hypothetical girly-girl-worst-case-scenario roommate hates the fact that I play the gargantuan ugly black discs on an even uglier gray spinny contraption and doesn't let me put my turntable on a counter. Much like the first situation, but I'll actually have to move the record player out from under the bed to use it. Since I'm going to Princeton and will live near the Princeton Record Exchange (http://www.prex.com/) I would really like to bring my record player, but am cautious that I won't have enough space to store it. I don't listen to any valuable records, but I'd still like to keep them in decent shape.

Of course, all my problems are instantly solved if I somehow have enough room to put an audio rack in my dorm. Or if I use my DCP-150 as a transport for a dac. But I'm really curious about what you experts think. If the CDP-under-the-bed idea is that horrible, I'll just get a dac even though I'm craving a fullsize CDP. And I don't know what I'm going to do with my record player. The reason I'm asking for opinions now is that I'm hoping to upgrade my source in the next month or so.

If anything, I hope you just found some amusement in my circumstances.

 

[granodemostasa]

Under the desk.... that's where my rig is.

 

[vorlon1]

Forgive me if I'm terribly out of the loop (went to college in the pre-digital age) but won't you have your own desk space in the dorm? Why not put your rig on part of the desk, which is what we did back in the "old" days.

 

[tennisets]

Look, you have your own space in your dorm room. If your hypothetical girly-girl-worst-case-scenario roommate doesn't like the way your stero stuff looks, well then too bad for her! She can't make you hide the stuff; it's yours to put in your space. Just put it on your desk or dresser (you do have your own dresser right?). Don't worry about your rommate. In the grand scheme of things, there are a lot worse possible roommate quirks than having audio equipment on display.

 

[Oddball]

Thanks guys...maybe I'm being a little too melodramatic with my mental images of a psychotic roommate. Turntable on the desk or dresser is probably the pragmatic solution, but is there anything fundamentally wrong with a CDP under the bed?

 

[Meyvn]

When it comes to the turntable, since it has a lot of movings parts, does it have a "lockdown" mode? Whenever I move my Yamaha, it's got these screws I can put it in to keep the suspension system from being harmed by motion. If you're taking it out and putting it back to play records, you should probably consider getting a turntable with that ability if yours doesn't. And, just finishing up my freshman year at college, I can tell you this: I got lucky with a great roommate and a great dorm, but you have no idea how grateful I'll be next year for my own bedroom; him listening to speakers and pounding sub + me listening to open headphones = bad combo. Also, I really, really miss my vinyl, and will have it in my apartment's living room next year for sure. Honestly, I think vinyl can look sexy if it's done right. Then again, the GR1 is a bit plain looking to say the least.

 

[tennisets]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oddball ]but is there anything fundamentally wrong with a CDP under the bed?

Not really, but dust tends to be a problem in dorm rooms, so there is that to consider. Plus wouldn't it be kind of a pain to have to reach down there to change discs, and to aim the remote to change tracks? It seems to me you would be better off with CDP on dresser/desk and turntable on top of CDP.

Also, if you can devise any way to lock your turntable with the cover down, that might not be a bad idea. I didn't bring my TT this year since I didn't know what my roommate would be like. My roommate next year is my best friend and I know it won't be a problem with him, but I'm probably going to try to devise some sort of locking mechanism anyway, just in case.

 

[shplorgh]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oddball Since I'm going to Princeton and will live near the Princeton Record Exchange (http://www.prex.com/) I would really like to bring my record player, but am cautious that I won't have enough space to store it. I don't listen to any valuable records, but I'd still like to keep them in decent shape.

Not really on topic but you'll love the Princeton Record Exchange!

 

[Alu]

I'm probably moving together with one of my best friends next year as well. And I'm already training him to become an audiophile! I'm making him listen to my cans when I can, and I made him want KSC75s. He also has Shure E2Cs thanks to me, sadly those are a torture for my ears, but he seems to get along just fine with 'em.

And herein lies the solution to your problem: You don't need to hide your high-end stuff (there really is no need to be ashamed or whatever of what you like), let your roomie bask in the glory of "audiophilia". Convert them all!

 

[granodemostasa]

what i've never liked about putting components far away (like a player under a bed, and an amp on a desk) is the length of the ICs involved...longer ICs usually cost alot more....that's why a small pile under the desk (where the PC tower is suppose to go-[btw, this is one of the reasons why laptops rock])-i think is a good solution.... but do try to make it look good-one of the things that annoys be about most dorm rooms is now bad they look, everything is all over the place, and in terrible order-with bear walls. A large rig doesn't need to be ugly or messy, look at the various towers people have built on this forum...most of them are well ordred and look good.

 

[doobooloo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by hungrych Not really on topic but you'll love the Princeton Record Exchange!

Second that.

 

[BradJudy]

I vote not to put anything you care about under a bed in a dorm - too often things get thrown under beds (or intoxicated people climb under them) and stuff gets broken. On top of a desk/shelf is best with some sort of spill protection if it's below chest level.

Oh, you already mentioned risers, but just to reinforce, never place anything worth much directly on the floor in a dorm. When I was in the dorms, there was about a one in ten chance that during a year, some idiot would trigger the sprinkler system and ruin a ton of stuff.

 

[Born2bwire]

When I was in the dorms, I bought a entertainment center from Target. It fit in absolutely perfectly. On one side of the room was closet->bunk bed->desk. On the other it was closet->mini fridge->entertainment center->desk. The nice thing about the entertainment center was that it had a lot of shelving. So we had a TV, microwave, VCR, Gamecube, CDs, headphone amp, and CDP on it. With regards to a turntable, I would have put the turntable where the microwave was and put the microwave ontop of the mini fridge. Remember, number one rule for dorm rooms is that vertical storage space is your friend.

And what the hell is this about a dresser? We didn't get that much space. Stupid 40+ year old dorms.

 

[Oddball]

Quote:

Originally Posted by BradJudy Oh, you already mentioned risers, but just to reinforce, never place anything worth much directly on the floor in a dorm. When I was in the dorms, there was about a one in ten chance that during a year, some idiot would trigger the sprinkler system and ruin a ton of stuff.

Oh geez...good point.

So pretty much now, I've decided that I'm absolutely taking my turntable...must sacrifice study area for music...the Princeton Record exchange seems like entirely too much to miss. And I'll probably sacrifice clothing storage for record space. As for my CDP, I'm back to square one--I'd love to have room for a nice equipment stand (and solve all of my problems), but I might just get stuck in a really small dorm room. This is probably my cue to buy a dac. Or just do as tennisets suggests and just stack the TT on the CDP. And warn my roommate about ever touching my TT. And taking out renter's insurance on all of my stuff. If I'm lucky, my roommate won't be a diehard iBud fanatic and just scoff at all my stuff and spill nail polish remover on it.

 

[grandenigma1]

This is my desk at school (well not currently but close enough)... trust me it is more then worth it.... I have a wireless keyboard so I still have "some" desk space should I need it