Axiom Home Page Forums General Discussion Advice from Axiom Owners Speaker Firmness ?

In an earlier post F107Plus 5 mentioned raising grandkids.My worry with the M60's is one of them pulling the speaker over on themselves. Mine are 1 and 2 1/2. Able to reach the 37 inches, but still not totally steady on their feet, or as likely to want to "investigate" the new thing in the room. Are they steady , or is their some way to fasten them down to prevent this type of thing?( The speakers, though sometimes....) Thanks, Guy

The speakers are relatively steady. They have a decent foot print for as big as they are. I find that mine don't tip over by themselves, if that helps (I know it doesn't).

Anyway, given that there is a risk that, when used as a crutch, your little ones might tip them over, I could recommend the following:

Try inserting an eye bolt (little self screwing ones) into the base of the M60 and also about half way up. Make sure to pre-drill tiny holes to avoid splitting the wood/board. Also, I'd drill (carefully!) close to the edges to ensure that you're drilling into the side piece of MDF, not into the cabinet innards. Then. you could string smow wire through the holes and tack them to the wall and the floor (spread apart a little farther than the speaker base). This would add side to side as well as front to back stability. You're on your own if you think this might color the sound (though I doubt it). It might also look weird. But, if protecting the little guys is the most important thing, remember that the support wires can always be removed later or if company comes over.

Instead of resorting to drilling holes in your precious speakers, I'd go with the somewhat less secure but possibly good-enough solution of Blu-Tack on the base of your speakers. This method requires that you do not install the feet that come with your speakers. Instead, put 5 pieces of Blu-Tack at the base of each speaker -- one near each corner and one in the middle -- and then affix them to the floor in the desired location. This should prevent them from tipping and shifting if someone whould bump into them. It will not, however, prevent a kid who's really intent on pushing them over from doing so.

If you elect to go this route, I'd recommend playing with speaker placement before applying the Blu-Tack.

I have M22s and used this method to keep them from being knocked over by kids and cats. Granted, my speakers are significantly smaller, but the hold provided was surprisingly strong, nonetheless.

Hi Guy: and welcome!!

My Wife; bless her, has come up with a way to "protect" our Grandkids from themselves:!

She insists that we put our rather heavy and moderately stable floorstanders inside of cabinets where, although they may not sound as good as they could(which they don't)but keeps the kids from hurting themselves(which is true) OR my precious speakers(which, they do; safely inside, quite well!)

But you are absolutely correct, at that age the little ones are remarkably quick, and able to get into trouble even faster than a grown-up!!

Oh,...and protect that volume control too!!
Rich.

My kid hasn't shown any interest in the speakers unless the grills are off. He showed more interest in the components, with their pretty lights and such.
He's 29 mos now and doesn't mess with any of the HT stuff - I think he knows how important all that is to our happiness.

To add to Peter's suggestion, you might think of buying some plinths to Blu-Tack the speakers to. A moderate sized piece of wood will do, just something to extend the base out a bit farther. You could go the DIY route and get some wood from a hardware shop, cut it, sand it, and finish it in any color. That way the speakers are not semi-permanently attached to the floor.

Or you could mount them to some chopped car springs. If a kid tries to push them... they'll push back.

Bet the kids'd put on cowboy hats and spurs, climb on, and ride 'em like playground ponies!

...or a tavern mechanical bull!

lol. Hadn't thought of that.

Why don't you just hang them from the ceiling? That way they can't be pushed over. If you make a sling, they don't have to be drilled into for screweyes.


(Thought I'd add a bit to the far out suggestions by getting a bit farther out.....)

Actually, some M60s hung upside-down from the ceiling would be damned impressive surrounds I bet.
Sounds like something for one of the rich fellers to try.

My grandkids would soon learn about circus trapeze stunts with THAT set-up!

Kids are funny; they can devise just about any elaborate method to get into physical trouble with just the simplest of oportunities given to them.

But can't come up with a refreshing new way to devise a book report in the third grade!

Maybe not a sling, more like a safety chain. Run an expanding toggle bolt into the top rear gorilla port then run a thin steel cable up to an eyebolt in the ceiling...

Seriously, though, the M60s do have tapped holes on the bottom for mounting the feet/spikes... why not just take a piece of plywood a couple of feet square (or a wide riser with storage in it), cover it in carpet, and run screws up through the rubber feet into the bottom of the speakers. You would have the stability of a much wider speaker but the good sound and sharp imaging of a narrow speaker.

Or make the kids wear helmets.

Suspending the kids is sounding better all the time.

At any rate, I've got a couple ideas, and a couple smiles as well. Thanks to all. Guy ( although I'm really liking the suspension ideas!! Both types!)

I would also recommend taking plywood and screwing it into the bottom of the m60's. They won't tip over without a huge whalloping.