This rack is beautiful to look at. It holds my HEAVY amp easily(Adcom 7500 @ 56 lbs!!) It is infinitley changeable, and it was CHEAP!!

Can be scratched VERY easily, so don't scratch it, simple enough

I can't belive people would complain about this rack.

Except for the black finish being easily scratched, there is nothing wrong with this rack. Even then, just be careful when loading/unloading components, and don't store your keys/tools/other crap on the shelves or run around the house with knives and scisors (which you arn't supposed to do anyway) and this isn't even a problem.

As for the "unstableness" others complain of, the review below hit it on the head. OF COURSE it won't be as stable as a stand supported on all sides with bracing!!!! Again, just don't mess with then you have no problems!!

And I can't belive the moans on setup.... as the other review said, use a level. Yes it probably takes a little more time (or alot if you're a perfection freak like myself) to get all the shelves equally spaced and perfectly level, but once its done, its done. You have total control. This is a total plus not a minus.

So in closing, the stand finish could be a bit more resistant, but given the price I paid ($275 for a factory boxed refurb that had only TWO small scratches outta da box fixed with permanent marker) you will not find a nicer looking, more versitile, cheaper stand, anywhere.

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my desk, my floor just kidding...

Well....I needed a rack for my new system. I needed something that looked good, and can handle heavy weight. So...I looked to Bell'Ogetti. Big Mistake. This rack was featured on Stereo Reviews 1999 Buyers Guide cover, so I said, it must be good....Wrong. Just plain crap!
Puting the shelves together is a horror show, especially if you want to adjust at a later date. It wobbles worse than a fishing boat during a tornado. I spent lots of money on this, and now I am looking further....Please, save your money! This rack is just so horrable!! I have to give it 1 star, since this site does not allow 0 stars.

When I took this out the box, I knew I had the best. At first, it was a little hard to assemble. Two people can put this together with no problem. Once I got my wife to help, assembly was a breeze. This rack is in a class of its own. It will make your HT system look very classy. You can adjust each rack to your liking. A steal from J&R at $350. Retail for $500.

One of the comments below states that the AR-880 wobbles. It does if you want to make it wobble by pushing on it. Anyone purchasing a piece of audio furniture like this should know that when have only 2 slanted steel posts with no back support it will less stable than a more plain Billy Bags design for example (common sense). But with many other stands you are stuck with a fixed height for audio equipment. This is a real downside especially if you buy and trade on the internet from time to time and replace gear. In contrast, the AR-880 is incredibly flexible. You can easily move shelfs up and down unless you have had heavy equipment in place in which case you can get the shelfs started moving with some taps from a soft rubber mallet. Once you hand tighten the shelfs you have some extremely robust shelfing. I have two racks. One with a Threshold SA4E (81 lbs), NAD 208THX (38 lbs), 20 amp power conditioner (30 lbs), and Forte 1a Pure Class A amp (30 lbs. Another has 8 shelfs for supporting various source components (ARC etc) and additional power conditioners, a Maughanbox Bass Filter for my B&W 801 s3 Speakers. In addition, since my amps run in pure class A and need air it is great the the shelfs are perforated steel and slate back so the rear of one amp is only midway back on the amp above it. This should be a major consideration for anyone wanting to increase operating life of extremely high quality tube of Class A amps and do not want to use cooling fans. I use the standard platform feet instead of using the optional casters for added stability. Also, I have my stereo in a finished poured concrete basement so floor vibrations are not a problem. The stand may produce unwanted resonances if placed in a home with weak flooring. Also as far as stands go that can truely handle >60lbs per shelf (of course you need to take care in securing the shelfs with extra tight hand tightening but I have had the amps on these racks for about 5 years with absolutely no problems) these are dirt dirt cheap. You can get them below $400 for the 5 rack model just by having www.jandr.com and www.soundcity.com fight against each other for price (its great to use Corporate America to your advantage). In terms of rock stability for the whole unit I would give the AR-880 3 stars (it is just as important where you place a advantgard unit like this one, I don't recommend this unit for homes with weak/wobbly floors. I would recommend it for lowest level dry basement or similar stereo locations however where resonances via floor transmission are a more fundamental issue), flexibility deserves 5 stars, built in provision for advective air cooling gets 5 stars, stability/strength of individual shelfs gets 5 stars, WAF (wife acceptance factor) gets 4-5 stars, value gets 5 stars, legacy of product (been around for years) gets 5 stars (sometimes this means better parts support, however this is only theoretical so I would get the shelfs and feet/casters you think you might ever need now). On balance for practical considerations, in particular in my stable basement environment, I would give this rack 4 stars. In part to offset the 1 star rating of another individual I am giving it 5 stars for real world common sense. Of course I would rather have $3000 rack. But would rather take that money and use for interconnects or other more meaningful upgrades. Get real. This high end audio stuff is too often over hyped by those who have a vested interest to do so. Perception is often 99% of what you hear or what you want to hear. Personally I would rather retire 10 years earlier than constantly satisfying someone elses moving target of "Class A" status.

well designed,strong,good looking

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this unit is rock solid if you take the time to set it up properly.[use a bubble level]apparently some clumsy goats don't know how to do this.i've got a 55lb power amp on one shelf...

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