Can you move your wall-mounted rack closer to the amp? If that will solve the problem, you don't need to depend on stud placement-use two horizontal, wooden cleats attached to two studs, cut to a length that will place your shelf at your desired location. Attach your shelf to the cleats. For best looks, the cleat length should be cut so that there is an equal amount exposed on either side of the shelf, predicated on hitting those two studs.
Help Turntable too far from preamp
I just moved, and I decided to put my Rega P25 (with its RB600 tonearm) in my office where my computer is, because I will otherwise not have the chance to listen to records very often. I installed my Rega wall shelf where my stud finder said there were studs for all three screws, but this places my turntable right around a foot too far from where my integrated amp is, which is on top of my desk. The desk cannot be moved, and I can't put a stand closer to the turntable because then the desk drawers can't be opened. If I turn my integrated amp around so the front of the amp faces the rear of the desk, then the tonearm cables reach my amp, but my wife would not be very happy to see all the wires in plain view, not to mention the inconvenience of changing the volume or turning the amp on and off.
So the question is, what can I do about this without spending a lot of money or degrading the sound? (Eventually, I'd like to get a standalone phono preamp so I can use the tube amp currently hooked up to my TV, but right now I don't have the money to buy one as good as the one in my solid state integrated amp. I have a MM cartridge, so my fantasy solution of getting a MC transformer would not work, because then I'd have to buy a MC cartridge to go with it.) Should I get extension cables for my tonearm cable? If so, which ones? Any other ideas?
So the question is, what can I do about this without spending a lot of money or degrading the sound? (Eventually, I'd like to get a standalone phono preamp so I can use the tube amp currently hooked up to my TV, but right now I don't have the money to buy one as good as the one in my solid state integrated amp. I have a MM cartridge, so my fantasy solution of getting a MC transformer would not work, because then I'd have to buy a MC cartridge to go with it.) Should I get extension cables for my tonearm cable? If so, which ones? Any other ideas?