Thermaltake Mozart VC4000 HTPC Case

The retail packaging of the Mozart case is what I’ve come to expect from Thermaltake – vivid, with plenty of photos, and an almost comical grasp of the English language. I wonder – is there a shortage of good English translators in China? For a while, the tendency of the Chinese to butcher English speech and writing was a bit endearing, but it’s no longer cute. The box for the Mozart case seems reasonably sturdy. I’ve seen my share of floppy Chinese cardboard, but this is better than most. The rear of the carton displays photos of the case’s notable features.

The case itself is wrapped in a plastic bag, and securely held by two Styrofoam blocks. The package contains all the essentials – the case itself, the instruction manual, a bag of screws and accessories, and a microfiber cloth for wiping off any fingerprints or smudges you may leave behind while assembling the machine. This would have been a nice addition to have with the gloss-black Antec Solo, but smudges and fingerprints are far less noticeable on the Mozart’s silver “Pithy Aluminum” finish.

I removed the case from its plastic bag, and the front door promptly fell open. Unlike the previously-reviewed NZXT Duet, this case lacks the mechanism that softens the opening and closing of the door, so it can fall open with a thud. The styling of the case itself is similar to high-end stereo components made by Class&eacute Audio, though the Mozart’s front corners aren’t as dramatically rounded, so the case won’t look consistent in a stack of Class&eacute components.

In the raised, black-anodized panel near the middle of the case, there’s a tinted plastic window behind which a VFD can be installed, though it isn’t included unless you specifically pick up the Media Lab version of this case.