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?
 
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!
 
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.
 
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.
 
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...
 
jpaul said:
SOMEWHAT RELATED - SPIKES ON WOODEN FLOORS

for wooden living room floors - I am currently not using the spikes on ku-stone stands, but I know that has been colouring the sound,
so has anyone purchased spike protectors ?

carbon-fiber looks gimmicky, some of the stainless pad's have a rubber(sorbothane?) backing too - alibaba has some suggestions below
42988454980_a93653a7e3_o_d.jpg
Click to expand...

I used to use 2p coins, but upgraded to something similar to the left hand picture as they have a recess in them for stability. I’ve been told the sound quality is better with the old pound coins. The new design with two different metals colours the sound apparently.
 
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