exactly - I started about 6 years ago (...) 1800hp+ of rack space

300hp/year. With my much more limited experience, that still sounds about right

not convinced about 1u though - it saves 3.5" in vertical height, but can only hold at most a 3rd of the functionality and in terms of build cost (most of my cases are DIY) costs the same 3u...
-- JimHowell1970

DIY is a great idea. I built my own studio racks on top of a table, so not entirely new to it. Those racks were simpler, but it was a good experience. As for the 1U - Intellijel has some great modules, like the Quadratt. I'll likely buy another, they're so handy. Add some multis and I have decent functionality without losing valuable 3U space. On top of that, it's a superhighway for cable routing that's not in the way of the knobs of the "real" modules. It's why I modded my 7U to get the 1U in the middle. For my 7U, it works pretty well. For 1800 U, well, I'll tell you in 5,5 years!