Digital Trends

StudioTech U-22T April 18th, 2006 | by Ian Bell

Setup and Use

We opened the packaging and laid the parts out onto the floor so we could get to work. We noticed on one of the pieces that there was discoloration that looked like water might have damaged the wood. Thankfully, the wood was not warped or damaged, and the spot was easily removed with cleaner.

As you can imagine, we were a little put off with having to install this ourselves. Most of the time when you get furniture that must be put together; you are challenged with an incomplete manual or missing part. To our surprise however, the U-22T manual turned out to be incredibly easy to read and follow. The English is very well written and descriptive and the illustrations proved to be very detailed. You can download a copy of the manual directly from the company's Web site if it is missing or lost. Each component is labeled and matches the illustrations, and the screws and hardware came separated into little packets so you know exactly what to use. 

The water spot was easily removed and did not damage the wood

Sometimes, even with expensive furniture, you are forced to use predrilled holes that are into the wood pieces in addition to cheap wooden pegs, glue and the like. StudioTech uses none of that in their furniture. Instead, we found actual metal female plugs already predrilled into the wood so that the screws go into the metal hole rather than directly into the wood itself. As you can tell from our pictures, there are actually very few parts that you must use and because everything is predrilled with the locking cams already embedded, you do not have to worry about stripping the screws or ruining the wood.

The shelves use rubber-tipped pins to rest on so you do not need to worry about scratching the wood pieces. The European hinges come in pairs that attach to each door part, and then snap together. Everything lined up perfectly and the doors closed flush. StudioTech puts a strip of soft synthetic nylon Velcro-like material on the top of the door to prevent it from scratching the top base of the unit while closed. Of course, if you are perfect and can put the unit together without any mistakes, then theoretically you can do without the strip. The middle door has a black metal tab that hangs from the top rather than a handle like the two side doors. The tab allows you to open the door while keeping the piece out of view. We recommend that you put a component in there that you do not need to constantly fiddle with, like the media box for your television or storage for your DVDs or remote controls.