Furniture built specifically for gamer-centric entertainment rooms isn’t that heavy in supply, but NTense is a brand from Ameriwood that aims to fill just that need. Desks and chairs are on offer through the brand, but so are TV cabinets and entertainment centers. I recently took in the NTense Glitch Entertainment Center, built it, and arranged my gear in it. It’s a moderately intense build that ended up offering both a sensible solution to wire clutter and a stylish and customizable RGB effect to boot.
The box and the build
The NTense Glitch Entertainment Center comes in two forms: white and black. For this review, I chose the black one. It was delivered in a long box weighing in at around 100 pounds, so I’d suggest making sure you have a friend to at least help move it. Once I got the whole thing laid out, I found I was capable of putting it together by myself in about one hour, though there was one part where I was mounting the base section to the shelving that I needed a second pair of hands for. It may be good to make sure someone is around to lend a quick assist if need be for those tough parts.
One thing I wasn’t thrilled about is that this furniture supplies all of the parts, but none of the tools to build it like most DIY furniture does. You have to supply your own Phillips head screwdrivers and I would suggest a magnetic tipped one if you can get one to help with strain. I also have to say that one of the steps was a little overkill, requiring me to secure the backing of the cabinet in with twenty screws. I think it could have easily been done with less.
Nonetheless, the instructions on this cabinet are easy to follow and execute if you have the right tools. There’s even a bit of wiring for the RGB that I found surprisingly easy to assemble compared to previous experiences. Overall, I found this build to be only mildly straining outside of the previously mentioned pain points and once it’s put together, it feels quite sturdy.
Four-section organization and RGB lighting to boot
Once I had the Glitch built, it was time to start loading my gear into it. My 60-inch Samsung flatscreen fit nicely on the top of the entertainment center with plenty of room to spare, meaning plenty of room to set up my Elgato capture card and Nintendo Switch as well. Inside, glass shelves divide the interior into four sections. The shelves are sturdy when in place, but can easily be removed to create a larger section of the interior as well. Even so, as four sections, I was able to comfortably fit my PS5, PS2, and several other machines in, alongside my physical movie and game collection and accessories like headsets and controllers.
Perhaps most delightful is that each of the four sections has a hole dedicated to it, meaning you don’t have to wad all your wires through one or two holes trying to make it all fit. I’ve rarely ever had an easier time getting all my cords out to where they need to be with similar pieces of furniture. There’s also a sliding aluminum door on the front of the cabinet for covering one section or the other. It’s helpful for keeping out dust, but there’s only one door, so you can’t close the whole front of the cabinet, which I found to be an odd design choice.
Then there’s the RGB lighting. I actually like this feature as there are a lot of options here. The LED light strips are affixed to the inside top of the cabinet and supply a blend of red, pink, purple, cyan, blue, green, yellow, and orange lighting. It’s powered by a USB-A cable, but you’ll have to supply your own plug to a normal wall or power strip outlet. A remote comes with the cabinet that can turn it on or off and program it to do a variety of effects such as single colors, blinking, breathing, strobing, and shifting effects. Each effect can also be sped up or slowed down. What’s more fun is that with the glass, the light reflects off of it to give an effect of more sources of lighting. Overall, it adds a fun bit of personality to an already sturdy and sleek media center.
Clean style in the living room or game cave
The NTense Glitch Entertainment Center wasn’t without its frustrations or confounding decisions in both the build and finished product, but the drawbacks don't keep it from being a fine and sturdy piece of furniture. The modular nature of the inner sections, the easy-to-reach back cord holes, and the stylish and customizable RGB lighting make it both a versatile and stylish housing for all of your gaming and media needs. Just make sure you’ve got the necessary tools and assistance to bring it all together.
This review is based upon a sample product provided by the manufacturer. The NTense Glitch Entertainment Center is available in white and black editions through the NTense Amazon store page and other approved retailers at a regular MSRP of $249.99 USD.
NTense Glitch Entertainment Center
- Fairly easy to build for 1-2 people
- Sturdy design
- Two-to-four section interior
- Customizable RGB lighting
- Four back holes for easy cable passthrough
- Tools not included
- Only one front sliding door
- Some building steps difficult for one person
- A little "over-assembled" at certain spots
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replyTJ Denzer posted a new article, NTense Glitch Entertainment Center review: Sleek RGB-lit console organization
