MantelMount MM340

I bought the refurbished product, which pretty much looked new except for the pulling handles which was slightly damaged. The quality of build and sturdiness is apparent as soon as you open the box. Very impressed. It's solid, but that also means that it is a bit painful to install (and rightly so). You definitely need 2 people to mount this with the gas piston actuating mechanism attached to the wall bracket. DO NOT EVEN CONSIDER mounting this directly into the drywall with anchors...bad bad idea. The mount itself is crazy heavy, so the anchors will not hold them. As you can see from my pictures, the studs behind my fireplace wall were located such that I had to mount the wall bracket off-center, which is not a problem at all. You can then center the gas piston so that your TV remains centered. As someone else has mentioned: the installation instructions are pretty decent, but they do need some work, as some parts are a bit ambiguous. Improper grammar or emphasis can alter the meaning or the capabilities of this mount. It took me some figuring out to realize that it's perfectly fine to install the wall bracket off-center. Only other item I can think of pointing out for installation are the tools: you will need drill/drill-bits, a ratchet with a socket set is also super useful. I highly recommend having a drill with the right socket when mounting the wall mount onto the studs. That thing is heavy and you want to get the anchor bolt in as fast as possible and given it's length it will take you forever if you are using a ratchet. I used my power drill to get it about 75% in and then went with a ratchet the rest of the way to finish off and to prevent over tightening. You will need an socket extender to adjust the gas piston settings. Including some of the tools like the socket and the drill-bit would be a nice touch, but I am not going to hold it against the manufacturers. I have a small bubble level with a magnet that sticks to the mount during install which was absolutely invaluable when I was installing the wall bracket whilst trying to keep it as level as possible. I definitely recommend that Mantelmount consider including that with the purchase. The primary issue for me (and this is not a con of the product, but more my particular setup) is the forward motion of the mount when moving it down. This is a MANTEL mount....meaning it's travel orbit is designed to avoid hitting the mantel piece present in most fireplaces. My fireplace does NOT have a mantel piece, which makes things less complicated, but the forward motion also creates an issue specific to my living space. My living room isn't the biggest, as a result of which moving the TV down to eye-level also means that it is now closer to our couches/seating arrangements, which can be a problem when you have a large TV (we just got a 65")...this is the ONLY thing about this mount that is bothering me. I am not happy with the fact that the TV is so close to me when it's moved down to a comfortable position. What I really need is a mount that limits the forward motion and keeps the degrees of freedom down to vertical and swivel. I don't think such a product exists, but I wish Mantelmount would provide that option.....that would be a fantastic buy. All in all: I would buy from Mantelmount in a heartbeat....this product exudes quality.

By far the best mount I’ve ever owned. Takes a bit to get installed but fits great and performs amazing.

Nice product. Assembly and instillation make it more complicated than needed. Would like it to be a little more low profile when pulling down. An idea to slide more down than out. Sticks out further from the wall than I would like.

Great product if you're constrained with a higher than desirable bright for your TV. The system provides the ability to lower the TV and create a more comfortable view. Great range of motion, the fit and finish is impeccable, I used it on my 55" TV with no issues. I also added a soundbar bracket below the TV, it fits without problems. I really like the cable management system, the system comes with zip ties and anchor clips. Self levelling: plenty of options for you to correct the level of the TV. Interference with possible outlet: in my case the top of the carrier arm was exactly where a recessed outlet box was -- no issues there there is a half inch gap between the wall and the arm itself. The only downside or important items to consider before purchasing I can see are: * Weight: the system weighs more than the TV (I want to say 35 lbs) * Install takes 3 hours end to end * Make sure to measure twice and drill once, your going to need to have 4 anchor bolts drilled in the studs. Overall super happy with this! Well worth the effort. I put some pictures up for folks to see what it looks like and how low the TV can go, it's quite impressive. Happy building!

I purchased the MM340 mount for my Sony 65", 54.4 lbs X90L to mount over the fireplace. The installation is a bit cumbersome with numerous things to consider and not all Mantel Mounts fault. For one thing one of my 2x4 studs (right of centerline) was not space 16" apart but 16-3/4". A second and third issues- the 2x4 stud is at the CL (centerline) of my fireplace mantel. And the 120VAC receptacle and the TV cable conduit is mounted left and right of this center line 2x4 stud about 17" above the mantel. Therefore the 4" wide lifting arm would have block the AC plug or RG-6-HDMI cables. So the centerline of the TV ended up about 3" left of mantel centerline. I wish the wall plates was longer than 28 inches , 33 inches would have been ideal to screw in the four lag bolts on the two 2x4 studs left and right of the center line 2x4 studs. Also when mounting the brace extender per instruction, I could not get the extender handles to 1" below the TV bottom but it sits at 2" below the TV bottom. So I figure the minimum bottom wall frame should be 4" above the motel. I wanted to TV as low as possible. So I mounted the lifting arm about 3 inches left of centerline to prevent the lifting arm from interfering with the cable conduit and the 120VAC receptacle. The remainder of the install was easy. I triple check the exact 2-1/2" lag screw location (because of the overall weight -probably the most critical part of the install) The tension bolt did not need any adjustment (zero). I went up and down easy and held the TV at any position. I'm very please. I love how it smoothly lower or raise to any position. Good general detail instructions (hard to cover all scenarios). Hardware and material is heavy duty and mostly functional. So overall the MM340 is a Five Star, highly recommended. I did call the help line but the tech rep just repeated the written instructions and didn't concern himself with my specific needs.

Great mount to use over fireplace to bring to eye level. Not too difficult to install but recommend watching YouTube video showing step by step. Be prepared for a heavy mount as well. Make final adjustments for smooth movement.

Easy to use. Good product. Seems durable. Enjoy having (almost) proper viewing height and soundstage (where voices are not placed below screen). If your mantel sticks out it's kind of a pain to get installed to the lowest possible drop. Measuring many multiple times did not get to where I wanted. After second failed install attempt I found it was easier to install the safety bolt that retains the dropped position and man handle it to find the best height that way. Faster and better placement that I wish I'd done in the beginning saving a lot of time. Stupid me reading instructions. It's heavy though so normal sized people might need a helper with this. The fact it can't angle the screen is a pain if you have a reflective screen (like OLED) because it reflects your room causing viewing issues. Solution? Use long bolts in top VESA mount with thick washers to permanently angle screen down. Bit scary snap up with OLED as I worry that since it's all glass it might crack. (Yes it's adjusted to minimum gas shock strength). You need to hold mount when raising to avoid issues. Young kids can't be trusted with fragile tv's. Should have a soft bumper or additional gas shock to resist sudden shock when raising, but no manufacturer seems to offer this. The rails on the rear are visible behind the mount and look ugly with the multiple bolt holes looking like industrial racking. Should have snap on plastic to cover rear workings like my previous mounts, that were less visible due to not being drop down. Strange they didn't think of this. Or maybe you like the industrial look? Avoid using supplied bolts. They're thick and require predrilling giant holes. Get something like GRK RSS (Rugged Structural Screws). Smaller holes in your studs due to greater strength, they drill their own hole when installing and have a washer sized head. Plus, since you can see them in the mount, they are less obvious and look better. I still recommend this product! Just see room for improvement to make perfect.

Best decision

This TV mount did the job exactly as advertised! The measurements provided were bang on during the instal process. You can’t see the mount when it’s in the down position. It has been up for about a year and still working great, we move it a couple times a week for watching movies. Or to get the swivel function to see it better from the kitchen.

We're very happy with the product now that it's installed. It's well constructed and feels like a good quality piece of equipment. The installation was more work than I expected, and I wouldn't recommend trying it without carefully following the instructions. I found the instructions to be clear enough, but they're so complex, some people will find them frustrating.

I've used this for about a year and love it. Installation was a bit of a challenge, only because I was mounting on a very uneven stone wall above my fireplace and mantel. Works great. Solid TV mount. Recommended.