Stabilising Floorstanding Speakers on the Floor (Childproofing Question)

tom_nieto

tom_nieto

tom_nieto

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We're in the process of getting our front room re-done. As part of this we are wall mounting the TV and will be making the room slightly more child friendly. It would be a shame to get rid of my current hi-fi setup. I could probably fund a decent soundbar from the proceeds of selling on my kit. This would be the ultimate no nonsense solution, but that seems like a shame. The main issue that we foresee is that the current Mission 783's are huge beasts which sit on floor spikes. They are very easy to topple over and very heavy.

I want to run everything from my central media cabinet so want to pre-plan speaker and equipment positions so I can chase cables into the walls.

Has anyone got any experience with fixing speakers to the floor more securely? We've got suspended floorboards so screwing anything into the floor is a no no as I think this would sound terrible! I was thinking of a custom plinth to bolt into the existing screw holes for the spikes. Could even have both secured to one single piece I guess to give extra security.

Any suggestions?
 
I used hard plastic discs under my floor spikes to try and protect the floor, which was only mildly successful. You could make a plinth and so increase the footprint of the speakers, meaning the centre of gravity has to go further to reach a tipping point. I'd be more concerned with inquisitive fingers (or just plain old toddler clumsiness) and the speaker cones and/or bassports tbh.
 
skyripper said:
I used hard plastic discs under my floor spikes to try and protect the floor, which was only mildly successful. You could make a plinth and so increase the footprint of the speakers, meaning the centre of gravity has to go further to reach a tipping point. I'd be more concerned with inquisitive fingers (or just plain old toddler clumsiness) and the speaker cones and/or bassports tbh.
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Thanks, I think the plinth might be worth a try. I'll be keeping the grilles on and I'll work out if I can make them more secure/harder to remove. I have had to replace the midrange drivers before (known issue with leaking ferrofluid) which is pretty straightforward, so if they do get ruined I can do this without breaking the bank. The cabinets are solid but could do with some TLC ideally so I'm not too worried about clumsiness here!
 
I understand what you mean about the floor. Directly coupling the speaker to the floor would turn the floorboards in to giant resonating panels. That's not ideal.

There are a couple of solutions to add mass and lower the centre of gravity. The first is the easiest and also the most WAF friendly. It's ballast added inside the speaker. There used to be a product called Soundbytes (IIRC) made by Atacama. It was little lead clippings that looked to be a byproduct of something like the lead shot fishing weight production process. Wherever they were from, the bits were heavy, inert and didn't attract moisture. There was of course the slight downside that lead isn't exactly an eco-friendly product, but since you won't be playing in it then thats not so much of a real concern.

The product was used either as loose fill poured in through the bass port, or (if you were sensible) bagged in to managable portions and then put in through the bass speaker cutout after removing the driver. Either way, it added mass and helped with improving stability.

Alternatives included kiln dried sand, again bagged, and much cheaper than lead shot.

Be careful when adding ballast not to let it put too much pressure on the cabinet sides. If done to extremes it can open the cabinet joints.

Another variation on the mass idea are marble or granite plinths to which the speakers are secured. Other than the cost and complexity of purchase and then drilling through for a solid fixing, the other thing to watch for is stubbed or broken toes.
 
Thanks @lucid. I'm not sure I fancy adding more ballast to the already heavy speakers! I'd need to do some unscrewing to add it too as I don't think they're designed to be mass filled and the side grill covering the bass reflex port isn't removable without some DIY. I might make some enquiries at a kitchen worksurface manufacturer to see if I can get something custom drilled. I can imagine a leftover cutout from a kitchen sink might be just the thing I'm after.
 
Out of interest OP, what makes you think your 783's at 970mm tall weighing 25Kg each are not child friendly ? I have a pair of Spendor A9's 1030mm tall weighing 27Kg each. Regularly have grandchildren running all over the place. Not one of them yet is anywhere near big enough, heavy enough or strong enough to get anywhere near to knocking them over lol. And when they are.................they will be told in no uncertain terms to keep well away :D
 
I only have q acoustic 1030s however my son has placed at least 2 toys (that we know of) in the bass hole. Strangle my daughter never did this but it's something to watch out for, I've on occasion seen him put his arm all the way in. For reference the internet says mine are 930mm tall and weigh 16kg, however the large plinth does make them more stable. In my experience, I'd be more worried about kids thinking the TV is a touch screen.
 
When our youngster started moving around on his own I mounted the telly high up on a wall and sold my floorstanders, replacing them with wall mounted satellites. It was painful.
 
kitfit1 said:
Out of interest OP, what makes you think your 783's at 970mm tall weighing 25Kg each are not child friendly ? I have a pair of Spendor A9's 1030mm tall weighing 27Kg each. Regularly have grandchildren running all over the place. Not one of them yet is anywhere near big enough, heavy enough or strong enough to get anywhere near to knocking them over lol. And when they are.................they will be told in no uncertain terms to keep well away :D
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No matter what I do with the spikes I can never seem to get the speakers completely rock stable on the floor. I think it's probably wonky floors in the living room! They're quite easy to get moving unfortunately. I can't convince my wife that the child will be strongly advised not to go near the speakers and they'll learn to stay away!

@theone8181 - Lucky for me the grille covering the bass reflex hole is non-removable.

@paintguy - This is what I wish to avoid if possible, but I might have to sell up and accept that my life of fancy gadgets and electronics is over!!

EDIT - I might actually try removing the spikes altogether to see if I can get a more stable footing - this will compromise the sound but it might be good enough for a temporary fix.
 
How old are the children in question? Would they get seriously hurt or just learn a lesson if a speaker were to fall on them?
 
Might have another look at the safety strap option... it is better than getting rid I would agree. They'll look terrible as the way the room will be setup they'll be very visible when the room is entered. The child in question is learning to walk so will shortly be entering the running around without looking phase. A 25kg speaker would do some serious damage if it fell the wrong way unfortunately.

Not sure I could be trusted with a portal gun...
 
tom_nieto said:
Thanks @lucid. I'm not sure I fancy adding more ballast to the already heavy speakers! I'd need to do some unscrewing to add it too as I don't think they're designed to be mass filled and the side grill covering the bass reflex port isn't removable without some DIY. I might make some enquiries at a kitchen worksurface manufacturer to see if I can get something custom drilled. I can imagine a leftover cutout from a kitchen sink might be just the thing I'm after.
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The ballast is to lower the centre of gravity of the speaker. That will make the speaker a lot more stable. In the case of the 783 it'd probably be simpler to unscrew the speaker terminal plate and go in that way.

However, if you're happy to go with the plinth idea - which does have the benefit too of increasing the footprint if you go for a larger size than the existing speaker base - then it should be more effective.


As for getting a solid fixing of the spikes in to the floor, they're never going to grip the floor but you should be able to get enough penetration to avoid rocking when you apply gentle force diagonally. If it does still rock, then in whichever direction there's a little movement, it's the spikes across that diagonal that need to be lengthened slightly.

The alternative is to use crosshead/pozidrive screws in to the floor at the spike points, then sit the speaker spikes in those. I've done that in the past where rooms have been carpeted. The screw-heads disappear in to the pile of the carpet. With a little tinkering with spike lengths, it's possible to get a very stable balance using this method.
 
Rather than get rid of the 783s, what about a temporary solution? I moved my B&W 603s out of the living room and used what were my rears (B&W 601) as the main speakers. I wall mounted them well out of the way of little people.

My son is now nearing on 3 and so far (clinging onto the nearest piece of wood) there have been no incidents with either the 603s or my 50" Panny plasma. Is there an alternative speaker you could use in the meantime?
 
tom_nieto said:
Might have another look at the safety strap option
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some kind of bent 'U' stainless strap, circling, and screwed into wall, depending on speaker proximity to wall.
... speakers seem too tall for pointy corners to be a liability

I have used some Kustone plinths on linn speakers .. is there a gneral market alternative.
 
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