Whenever you come across superior products, you can safely predict that the company that designs, sells and supports them, are also superior companies. But how often do you actually find the superior company first, and then sight unseen, know that their products will be superior. Kanto Living, (www.kantoliving.com), is that rare company that sets the superior standard, and then, through their "everyday" business model, surpasses that standard.
You typically spend hours reading and comparing similar product reviews on Amazon, because you trust their choice of vendors. So Why then, does your fairly routine product and installation inquiry, concerning the best choice of an articulating TV mount for a Master Bedroom, and where best to install it, becomes an extremely complicated nightmare to plan? You conclude after many hours of emails back and forth, that those most popular Companies, have non-functioning Customer Support Depts. Their staff typically lacks the expertise and willingness to help you make the correct choices and become their customer! Apparently, it is beyond their scope to take the time to open their product spec sheets to get an answer, or do some simple math to find the answer, or ask someone more knowledgeable in their Company, for that answer. Instead, when your inquiry will require some though, and a response of more than 3 sentences, they then blow you off with that famous line, "Your questions require the expertise of a professional installer!" "Can I recommend one to contact?"
So imagine when the project has special situations or needs, that are all related, and not very complicated to solve, if you know your products; because the correct mount model will solve every installation issue and viewing requirements, discussed in my initial email.
Issues to be addressed:
1.MOUNT location: to enable viewing the TV from across the 15' width of the bedrooms sleeping area, that is located at the far end of the room, AND,
2.also being able to view it from a sitting area, that's 24' diagonally ACROSS, at the other end of the room, ...WHILE ....
3.dealing with a 21" 1st stud spacing, in the wall you'd like the TV to be, (where all the rest of the wall studs are @ 16")?, ... AND ...
4.wishing to incorporate a Floating Shelf System under the TV, ...WHILE ...
5.deciding whether to actually float it below the TV, (the bare wall space would then need a hidden wire, in wall, cable bridge system), or ending the shelf rail behind the TV to hide the wires that way?, while ...
discussing whose wire hiding, Bridging System, would be best, if floating the shelves?
You would assume that the Companies that show their mounts installed with these shelf systems, and installed with these wire bridging systems, or the Companies that make the Shelf Systems, or the Companies that make wiring systems, would have these answers at their finger tips. Hours of emails back and forth to numerous Vendors, taught me not to make these assumptions!
You would think that when a potential new customer shows an understanding and working knowledge of these products, how they are integrated, and how they are installed, you'd think that the Company Tech Expert would jump to the occasion to talk shop, jump to the occasion to express their expertise, and want to give the best advice possible, about the correct product to use & where to install them? Hours of emails to Vendors taught me that this will get you blown off the quickest!
For example, when asked: Will your mount allow my TV to SWIVEL 80-90 degrees to the side when fully extended?.... How difficult is it to read a figure from the Spec sheet, or to measure the swivel range on the actual mount installed in your showroom, for a 48" Samsung TV, that is 42" wide, (actually, only 21" of its width to be swiveled when centered on your mount), when the mount if fully extended to its max of 22"? This obviously depends on the joint geometry of the single or double arms. Any 1st grader can see that a 21" object can fit into 22" of space....
And, Given the stud location & spacing description/diagram that was also sent, how difficult is it to immediately conclude that a single stud, single arm mount would satisfy every viewing requirement as well as provide a perfectly located and centered mounting; that the dual stud, dual arm mounts I was inquiring about were totally incorrect for my situation?
To make a very long story short, this became a very time consuming nightmare, when every Company whose mounts were rated 4+* by hundreds to thousands of reviews, was sent the same pre sale inquiry and didn't, couldn't, or wouldn't answer the simplistic questions, and then blew me off!
I decided that I'd have to spend a little more and sent the same email to Kanto. They immediately responded with the answers to my questions asked, answers to the questions I didn't yet ask, install manuals, and spec sheets, with references to my specific questions that those sheets explained , AND with alternate suggestions and scenarios to think about. They responded with professionalism, expertise, and with an obvious sincere interest in helping me find the most optimal installation. This is how they treated me as a new potential customer who had yet to make any purchase!
Please meet Jason Z, of Customer Support. We literally became daily pen pals over a 2+ week period, as he quickly became as interested & enthusiastic, as I was, in my project. We bounced ideas, possibilities, thoughts, and scenarios, off each other, ... lots of "What if's,"and he quickly provided the most optimal solution to the different situations we discussed.
I was very undecided on the mount type, leaning towards their PSX650, (double stud, double arm mount that I perceived was what I needed), and had already purchased what I thought was the perfect floating shelf system, the Wali 3 shelf model, also sold under many other names. It quickly became apparent, that KANTOS AVS3 ran rings around the Wali, and every other competing system out there, in shelf size, component support, structural rigidity, esthetics, adjustability, flexibility, and most importantly, **in hiding all cables. ** Bless Amazons return policy!
He finally suggested the PS350 mount, a single stud, single arm model, as the proper solution for my viewing requirements, location needs, and for dealing with the irregular stud situation. It turned out, that the lone, 1st stud, that was 21" from the corner end of the room, just happened to be perfectly centered in the wall space that I dedicated for the TV! It would allow the full 90 degree swivel when extended!
Everything then fell beautifully into place at that point; he then took the time to evaluate the various eye level viewing positions while sitting up, slouching and lying in bed, as well as when watching from the sitting area. He then drew out the exact measurements of where to locate the TV MOUNT, and where to locate the mounting rails of the AVS3, (3 shelves on 2 rails), so that all wires would be hidden, w/o having to cut up the walls for Bridging Systems. He took the time to use my very detailed measurements, including the 1" OFF CENTER offset of the Samsungs VESA mounting holes, to precisely locate where the stud was to be drilled for the 2 lag bolts and the shelf systems 4 screws. His measurements were perfect.
I cannot say enough about the customer service that he provided as a sounding board for my ideas and thoughts and as the expert who properly put it all together, patiently and beautifully, solving every issue. This might seem extraordinary, unusual, but this is their normal business model. That is quite amazing!
Jason gets my 10 Star Review. The end result, could not have/ would not have been obtainable, had I not met Jason and the products made by Kanto Living. A custom installer would never have extended himself nor his time, to optimally solve, plan, then execute, this project.
A special thanks to Nicole B., at Customer Service, who so professionally replied to my initial email, and who referred the latter emails to Jason.
The Products: it's a given that the products sold by a company with such high regard and standards of care for their prospective customers, will design, sell and support products of equal standards:
PS350: 10 Stars, could not be more satisfied!
Packaging is perfect, organized, and well protected, in an inner and outer box.
Drilling Template: Amazing. Thick cardboard, accurate holes location, folded up bottom flap, to catch drilling debris, instructions include "tape the wall location to be drilled"... nice touch .
Design, construction, materials, fit and finish. Very impressed with all: the arms, the joints, the mating surfaces, and bearing surfaces, have a strong, confident, and a very smooth hydraulic feel. Well finished, no sharp edges, excellent machining of the parts, all of which align and fit together perfectly! (when was the last time you ever experienced this!)
Adjustability: Accurate, easy compensation for non straight single studs.
Wire management: wow! Metal, swing out and screw retained, full length, outside covers on both the upper and lower arms, effectively giving 2 systems to route wires through. The I.D. of each rectangular channel is ~.75" x .5", enough room for 3 thick AC/HDMI wires in each run!
Jason specifically recc'ed the PS350, with the H frame tv mount, (over the similar PS300 with the solid square tv mount), bec of the formers open TV frame with lateral adjustability, if needed.
Installation: Easy, quick, and 1 person capable. Center aligning the mount on the stud can be done by 1 person, if both arms are centered, then fully extended. It balanced perfectly, while being held loosely with the top lag bolt only.
Installation: Can be done by 1 person. The wall bracket will hang in place without moving, with only the top lag bolt loosely screwed, if you fully extend the arms and center them. This will allow squaring the bracket to the stud or to the room with finger pressure.
Hardware: Extremely well organized system with separately packaged matching components. Super HQ bolts, various sizes of VESA screws for all TV brands, washers that match the diff diameter screws, multi sized spacers, solid hex key, mini wrench. ***NO UNNECESSARY TRIPS TO HD OR L "TO BUY SCREWS YOU CAN TRUST!"***!!The M8x35 vesa screws, w/double spacers, as per the install diagram, were perfect for my Samsung!
AVS3: 10 Stars, could not be more satisfied.
The design of the 3 separate, 15" mounting rails allow them to be connected and extended, as the wall space allows. Their wall installation, into the center of the stud in line with the PS350, is rock solid. The shelves can be mounted with user decided locations and spacing between them. The clips that retain the rail covering can also be moved to any location to accommodate the shelf spacing. They have the Largest shelves of all the systems; that fully accommodates the SA Explorer 8300 cable box, with space for the rearward extending plugs whose wires also have room to be gently curved, stress free, into the rail to hide them. The shelf mounts are rock solid; these don't release from the rails "when the components are touched too much," or "when kids, or pets bump into them," etc, as per those countless complaint reviews of that other brand.
I'm using 3 shelves on 2 rails, with the top of the upper rail just hidden by the TV. The lower rail ends 9" from the floor; and does appears to float on the wall! The installation looks great with the tv centered 54" from the floor. I have total confidence having a cable box, & DVD player on the lower shelves, and an Apple TV, 2 iPhones and iPad Pro "looking good" on the top shelf, with 2 Cavalier King Charles Spaniels sharing the TV rights, and THE room, with us. In fact the older ones bed was evicted from the floor space that the tv & shelves now reside over, with no complaints!
The wire management allows totally hidden, vertical runs of 3 AC CORDS from the components down to the rooms wall outlet, and their 3 HDMI wires upward, directly to the cable mgmt system of the TV MOUNT. They are also joined by the TVs AC CORD that is plugged into the cable box, and by the TVs IR SENSOR & wire, that also runs down to the cable box shelf.
Each rail covering section, slightly longer than the rail, ends in a graceful curve, that seamlessly butts the curve of the next one. Decorative, curved end caps finish the very top and bottom of the rail covers. The covers are snap on, not slide on, so there are so issues to install them if the rail butts the floor, or butts the TVs wall mount plate. In fact, they can be slid +/- 3.5" up over, or down under, the rails top or bottom location, so if you incorrectly locate the rails in relation to the TV, there is plenty of built in adjustment to shift the covers, without having to reinstall the rails, (and re-drill the holes) to correct any mounting errors.
Most importantly, this very clean & contemporary installation seems to disappear and not overpower the main focus of the wall; which is an 19th Century, hand carved and veneered, ladies dresser and matching wall mirror, ( that's part of the matching bedroom set), that shares this same wall.
Again, thank you Jason, Nicole, & Kanto products, for the most perfect solution!
| Produttore | Kanto |
|---|---|
| Numero modello articolo | PS350 |
| Dimensioni prodotto | 71,1 x 56,1 x 43,7 cm; 6,8 kg |
| ASIN | B0184V7ED2 |
