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Sanus Systems Ffmf2A-Sb1 Platinum Furniture Series Medium Flat Panel Tv Stand (Black) |
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| Price: Too low to display |
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| Editorial Reviews: | | |  | | The Sanus Flat Panel AV Foundations FFMF2A is a TV pedestal for medium flat-panel TVs. Its sleek lines and custom-blended finish are a stylish alternative to wall mounting. The features include open architecture, a large wire management channel and two durable smoked-glass shelves to hold components weighing. Sanus Systems' Virtual Axis 3D technology allows mount to tilt and swivel with fluid motion in every direction possible while adjustment knob maintains tension for the perfect viewing angle. Keyholes on faceplate slide onto TV and into place for effortless bracket alignment and easy installation. | |
| Custom Reviews: | |
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| A lot is right, a little is wrong | |
| | I was searching for a minimalist media stand with an extremely small footprint that would provide mounting for my flat screen TV and allow it to sit low in the room. This is basically the only option for my needs that I could find.
The minimalist stand helps make small spaces feel larger, and the low positioning of the TV enhances that effect. For small urban spaces this stand is ideal -- the mounting is especially useful in earthquake prone San Francisco. The footprint is extremely small -- the base is only slightly wider than the amplifier I placed on top of it.
The parts don't feel or look cheap. However, the packaging needs a major upgrade. When I received my shipment from Amazon it was haphazardly taped together with clear packing tape and the box was falling apart. The base suffered some nasty damage and a part was missing. Customer service from both Amazon and Sanus was exemplary. Sanus immediately shipped out the missing part and a replacement base.
Be sure to CAREFULLY read the specifications of your TV's VESA mount. I assumed they were all the same, but there's a big variety and this stand only supports the smaller mount sizes. My TV used 300mm x 300mm. The mounts included with this stand are 100x100 or 200x200. Sanus makes an adapter that will work with this stand, allowing it to support 300x200. Using the adapter I was able to jury rig this to fit 3 of the 4 points on my TV's VESA mount.
As with the previous reviewer, I found the friction on the adjustable mount to be insufficient to hold my TV in the correct position. With a bit of experimenting, I was able to address the problem - I stuffed some very thin cardboard in between the plastic pieces to increase the friction. Worked like a charm.
The shelves and base should be just a bit deeper. The ports on my TiVo and amp are almost touching the mast that supports the TV and shelves. You may find it tricky to get your various cables connected and still be able to position your electronics where you would like.
Cable management is so-so. While there is a place to run cables on the back of the mast, there are no holes big enough to run cables from the front of the mast. So all the cables must wrap around the mast before being able to be inserted in the track behind it.
If you want a minimalist stand with the smallest possible footprint and you want a lot of bang for your buck, you've hit the jackpot. If you have a bigger budget and a bit more space, you should take a look at the larger versions of this stand called the PFFP or the "SANUS SYSTEM Flat Panel TV Stand Platinum Furniture ( Black )". With the larger stands the shelves have more range and the mount supports a much wider range of VESA compatible TVs.
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| | This is a robust and carefully designed stand over all. The heavy black base is some sort of dense plastic so far as I can tell, with a sturdy aluminum frame hidden beneath to which the aluminum mast attaches with bolts. (By the way, the Amazon illustration makes it look as if that mast is black or dark gray; it is instead a silver, matte aluminum, at least in my stand--a very solid extrusion.)
There were a couple of issues. 1) The ball mounting between mast and the bracket that attached to the back of the tv didn't provide enough friction to keep my 32" LCD TV level, even with its thumb screw tightened down. This may have been because my TV includes a built-in DVD player and thus is heavier on one side. However, the TV also tended to tilt forward. The fix for the unwanted tilting cost me $0.72 for hardware plus the time for a little figuring and drilling. 2) While the two shelves and the TV mount adjust up or down by about 6" via slots in the mast, I wanted the TV mount and one shelf to be lower. Cost was a little time to drill a couple of holes in the mast and relocate the items. The shelves are tempered, smoked glass. They and the bolts & brackets that anchor them are quite sturdy, with the shelves cushioned in flexible, clear plastic to avoid cracking.
The assembly diagrams are simple but clear. All the possible brackets, bolts, nuts, etc. for various permutations of mountings are included, packed in clear plastic sleeves with numbers corresponding to the numbers in the assembly instuctions. One bolt was misnumbered, but there was no real confusion since the assembly diagrams include full-scale drawings of each nut, bolt and washer. When standard assembly is completed the TV will tilt and pan by maybe 30 degrees (my modification reduced this). The TV is positively attached to a stand that would be quite difficult to overturn, even if one tried.
The wire guides are heavy cardboard that one bows and then fits into slots in the back of the mast extrusion. I would say that the jury is out on their durability. Customer photos that I have seen of Sanus's larger stand show dangling cords, which suggests to me that the guides are not of the best. I may replace them with plastic sheet cut to size--or just use duct tape, which would fit within the wire slot and match the mast. Update: I have tried the wire guides out some more, including a lot of pulling on them, and they actually seem secure. It may be that users are not willing to flex the guides as much as required to install them. It seems like they should crease permanently, but they do not and so work well.
This is Sanus's medium size stand, according to the box, and I would recommend paying attention to weight limits and upsizing to the large stand if you have a really big tv or even one near the upper limit. Any reasonably handy person should have no trouble assembling the stand, especially if they don't have the off-balance TV problem that I mentioned. Even standard assembly will take a while, but that is because of the care taken to make the stand sturdy. A non-handy person probably should avoid or find a handy friend.
To sum up, I am quite happy with the stand.
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