Hi,
I have VP150 and it's in the TV stand now. I need to put it up above the my Sony SXRD tv since i don't have enough space for new coming gears.
Any ideas of shelf or stand do you recommend? Pictures would be greatly appreciated.

thanks.

This is what I did to support my VP150 a tiny bit above my DLP without putting any weight on it. From the front, the speaker floats a fraction of an inch above the TV and in all practicality looks as though it's sitting on top:

This is awesome! Look neat and great. However, i am not handy as you're .I'll probably look for some sort of shelf to hang in the wall behind the tv.

Try doing a search for Omnimount. They have various stands that attach to the top of a tv that might serve your purpose. Sorry I don't have a link
Mel N.

Mark is one talented dude.

::runs away beaming::

Mark, I'd like to place an order for an AV stand.

Good stuff.

I'll place an order for a set of stabilizers (the white ones) for my M80s. How long is the wait Mark?

Yes, I'll take a pair of FO stabilizers, please. Cherry M60.

I hear the wait is shorter at MSJ_Dude than at AV123. Also shorter than the wait for JP's mix CD.

OP: You could also mount the VP150 on the wall behind the TV using an Axiom FMB.

Now, back to your regularly scheduled threadjacking.

can't see the image here at work (assuming it is photobucket)

Mark: If you are the one who built the custom stand that can be used to place a center channel on top of a RP then I want one! ( i remember seeing it a while back)


I need to invite my carpenter/handy man friend over and have him help me manufacture something. My center channel is pretty low to the ground, and I think my coffee table is in the way of the sound sometimes. Everything sounds pretty clear- but I bet If I put it on top and aimed it down it would be even better.

Thats pretty slick Mark. I like your fancy workbench too.

HA! If I turned the camera around, you'd see a 24' long workbench constructed of 2X6s! (Plus that table was a temp; I built an island workstation where the table was!)

Right now, I would be happy just to have the clear space that table took up. Its a pita building anything larger than a canoe seat in an apartment.

So Fred.....
At last my suspicions have been confirmed and you have revealed yourself as the famous Canadian Superhero of lore....

Mr. CanoeHead


"He was struck by lightning!"

Man, all of these pitas around are making me hungry.

Until the hummus shows up, it's only half a meal.

So which is better? The guy that bent plexi glass to make a stand or this stand? Technical points to the plexi stand and artistic points to this one?

Makes me want to get off my lazy butt and make one myself. My 150 is about 2' behind the TV. But it has a clear line of site to my couch and things sound great so maybe I'll leave it at that.

Kudos on your stand though.

Oooooh! I get technical points? Can I cash them in to buy hummas?

For a shelf that wide, unless you have the proper equipment, its going to be very hard to bend plexi that wide. keeping that width of plexy at bending temperature with a torch would be next to impossible.

Mark, how much to build a stand to hold down my levitating speaker wire? Damn things keep blocking the view...
On a serious hijacking note, have you ever tried or seen a successful attempt to pretty-up some basic speakers? My PSB towers are black on black. I have been dreaming of giving them a B&W 802 or Vienna (Sapele version) type hardwood shell over the existing box. Any thoughts on how to go about such a project? I have access to some very good word workers, but they lack any audio experience so I'm hoping to get a positive vibe before I mess up some nice ($$$$) hardwood and some decent ($$$$) speakers.

I know that someone out in audio forumland has an eD A7-900 sub that he wrapped in Rosewood veneer he ordered from av123. It looks gorgeous.

Here is the thread

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1021774

and just the pic linked

http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/attachment.php?attachmentid=108138&d=1208803745

He bought unfinished I see. I would imagine veneer would be the simplest option, but I don't know if you could find a veneer glue that sticks to vinyl.

If you have someone else do it who has the proper tools, they could probably make 1/4" solid wood pannels that they assemble over the speaker. The front baffle would be an issue because you don't want to recess the drivers. I would imigine that would seriously change the acoustics of the speakers.

Agreed. I'm thinking of .5 to .75 inch hardwood plywood - birch, mahogany or cherry. Like the B&W 800s, I was thinking of leaving the front baffle as is, and wrapping the speaker from the back - think of a taco shell with the front baffle sticking out the top. That should keep the harmonics of the baffle the same. My hope was that the shell would only make the box more inert, thus not harming the sound. If I am going to do it, I'm going for the 800's curves, with the Vienna's or Sanos Faber wood patterns.
I don't want to upgrade my towers just for better boxes, but my appreciation for wood work and lack of fondness for black boxes is driving me to change. This could keep the cost down – if it works!

Thanks Jake, glad to know I'm not too far out on a limb here.

Actually, I have been toying with the idea myself which is how I came upon the sub pics. I have natural maple in my basement and the light maple doesn't match close enough for my wife's liking. It's either a full trade up for ~$1000 or I try this idea of doing a veneer myself. As you are covering up the outside anyway the vinyl can be removed with a heat gun and some patience, even if the outside gets damaged a little, it won't matter. Then the veneer could be glued on as usual.

I can't see why that would not work. My goal is a bit more problematic in that I want to change the shape of the speaker cabinet. Thus I need a frame to add curves to what is now a rectangle. But in your case, if you can get better vinyl or real wood veneers that match you other woods, it should not be that hard to permanently attach those to your cabinet. And it should look great, as those photos you found show. At worst, it should not cost too much for a local carpenter, etc., to do the job professionally for you. You are not talking about much work to simply add a veneer to a rectangle.

You know Zimm, it might be easier to have new cabinets built given what you want to do. You would need to know the internal cabinet volume of the current speakers.

No need to make it too hard, you just add a few firring strips or newly created outer housing to wrap around the present cabinet to give the outside a new shape, the inside will remain untouched and just apply the new veneer.

That's the plan - like a hard taco shell sandwiching the old cabinet in the middle. The only change to the old cabinet would be the four or eight holes needed to very strongly connect the new shell to the old cabinet. But that is a minor problem if the grand plan works. Thus the sound should be 100% the same, but appearance should be 100 times better (IMO, which is all that matters for this project!). If the plan does not work, I'm going to need some new speakers. Anyone recommend a brand? I hear Bose makes a nice speaker. Any thoughts...on second thought.

Here is my guide, just imagine the sphere in my case will be the rectangular head of my current speaker comming out the top. Not as nice, but similar presence - if I do it right. B&W 800D

Oh, that was you? For some reason, I thought it was from someone who posted those pics and went by the way side!

Somehow, I've missed the plexi one or any link to it!

Zimm, if it doesn't work out and the boxes are destroyed or hideous, simply order new boxes from Axiom in the custom finish you want and swap the parts over, I think this would be a better cheaper option than trying to find a better looking speaker that sounds as good as the Axioms. The HG finishes make the speakers look much, much better, richer, even with the boxy look, IMO.

Come on, at that point haven't I created a good enough excuse to NEED new speakers, with new drivers and all? And I could always use the old components to build new DIY speaker. Perhaps some surrounds, or bookshelfs for the other room?

Tru Dat.

Mark and Jake, if you look at the B&W link here and touch the picture of the frame you will see what I am now thinking of. 803 Frame If I use an MDF frame around the outside of the current box, much like B&W uses internally, I could use a thin real wood veneer to wrap the speakers. That would make the curve easier to achieve and keep cost down as the bulk of the work is with MDF, not hardwood plywood. My question is: do you think a cavity outside the box, as this design would create, would color the sound? I'm thinking that if I keep the skeleton rigid, it should not induce any sound. Any thoughts?

The cavity may still cause some issues but I would doubt it would be much, you could just layer the MDF on the outside and sand it down to a smooth finsih to apply the veneer to, this way it would be solid and not be an issue at all, except heavier to move around and cost a little more.

Looks like I need to go to the lumber store!

I would pack any cavities with fiberglass.

My dentist thinks I'm an ass.

Good point. My wife will kill me as I promised to make a new mantle and a bed next, but this clearly is a priority project.