I'm putting my home theater back together today and was able to place my M60 up on my entertainment unit's bridge that spans between the two piers on other side of the TV. My VP180 will be in tomorrow so I thought I'd test it with the M60 to give me an idea of how it'll look.

It held and seemed to bear the weight but I swear it sagged a touch. And damn me if it didn't look absolutely huge. I guess I knew it was going to look huge but it looks absolutely monstrous once I got it up there. And the VP180 is actually a couple of inches longer and 10 lbs heavier. Yikes!

I'm actually scared for my new TV quivering below it. I'm going to give the VP180 a try tomorrow but I'm not holding out hope that it's going to find a permanent home here. It's just too friggin' huge and heavy.

I just hope it doesn't sound significantly better than my VP150 so that I don't have remorse if I have to send it back

I can send you an address to send it to.

I'm confused by your placement, where did you put the m60's and vp180? Are they above you when your seated? Ideally, you want the tweeters at ear level when seated for best soundstage.

Thanks, Randy! I appreciate it!

I think I'd keep the speakers and get rid of the flimsy furniture.

Agreed.

Let me try to explain without a picture. I should probably take pictures and post them - project for after the rebuild.

Anyways...TV sits on typical TV stand (60" wide). Flanking the TV and stand are two entertainment units/piers just under 6 ft. tall and just under two feet wide. Flanking the entertainment units are the M60s, placed on the floor as floorstanding speakers about 10 ft. apart on center. Spanning the distance between the entertainment units and directly above the TV is a shelf/bridge, supported by the two entertainment units. The center channel (currently a VP150) comfortably sits on this shelf/bridge, approximately 5.5 ft. high. I typically angle the VP150 downwards towards the seating area as it is a couple of feet above ear level and the height of the tweeters of my M60s.

This was the only arrangement possible before purchasing the new TV/stand as I had a CRT RPTV and could not mount the VP150 below the TV.

My plan is to replace the VP150 with the VP180 but I'm not sure the shelf can withstand an extra 30 lbs. over a long period of time. I think it'll initially hold but I'm scared that the shelf will give out over time and come crashing down onto my TV. I knew it was big and heavy when I ordered it but I thoughts I'd give it a try.

I suppose I now have the option of placing it on the TV stand but I'd have to build some kind of shelf to raise the TV above it. I'm not sure I like that idea as I just dropped a few hundred on the TV stand and I'm sure the wife would not be keen on some kind of home made shelf to raise the TV so I can accommodate some beastly speaker.

Bryan, be confident! I bet that your TV won't be "quivering" one bit!

Edit: but just in case it is, Dean's suggestion of adding a reinforcing section to the "bridge" seems to make sense.

One possibility: build a shelf that has plenty of wood to mount to 2 or 3 studs, that's flat against the wall, then a shelf that angles down towards the listening area that has a sturdy lip at the bottom that holds the speaker in place without fear of falling.
Either Paint the shelf the same color as the wall, or to match the speaker or other wood work in the room.

The lip: metal that's screwed into the shelf in an L fashon, running full length of shelf that then goes up enough to keep speaker from falling, yet allows the magnetic grill to stay in place.

W/o a picture I’m assuming you think the shelf itself will collapse but not the entertainment units? If that’s the case can’t you just add another piece of wood across the top of the bridge that spans the full length of the entertainment units to beef up the bridge portion itself?

CatBrat - I'm not that skilled nor that brave to start building shelves as you've suggested. I'd love to have you over to build it, though - if you'd like to take a road-trip

grunt - no, not concerned about the entertainment units - just the shelf collapsing. It's kinda hard to explain without a picture. The shelf is pretty sturdy considering how it's attached to each entertainment unit. Not sure its 60lbs sturdy thought.

I am considering your idea, though. I'm also considering adding a brace that will sit behind the TV, using the TV stand as its support and running up to the shelf to support it from behind. This may also be beyond my wood-working skills but I think I might be able to find someone to help me out (like my father-in-law).

Or I could stack a few dozen pucks to use as a support. They're black and wouldn't be noticeable - and I think I'm skilled enought to stack pucks. That's hockey pucks for anyone wondering what a "puck" is I've only got a couple hundred sitting in my shed begging to be used.

Is the VP180 really worth the upgrade to go through the hassle of augmenting my shelf to support it? To be honest, aesthetically I still think I like the VP150. The VP180 looks so big Maybe I just need to get used to it.

One thing's for sure - I don't think I'll be able to squeeze this upgrade by my wife. There's no way she won't notice it immediately.

Bryan, I'll take a look and help you out when I come over this weekend, the 180 should be staying if not at your house ......you ordered it in light maple right

Can you pre-test the shelf by having a couple of small children bounce on it?

Bouncing small children is my go-to advice, much like duct tape is to others.

That's for you to decide.

I bet the bridge is made of some sort of MDF partical board, meant only to support knick-knacks and the like. The VP180 is one hell of a knick-knack, indeed.

I think the cheapest, easiest and probably best solution would be to go to your local hardware store (Home Depot or whatever) and buy a piece of solid, unpainted wood, 1/2 thick should do, that spans the gap. Just laying this across the span should reinforce the span enough to prevent sagging.

You could probably even hide the piece of wood by moving it rearward on the shelf so that only the back of the speaker lays on it. In this configuration, the VP180 will be pointing more downward, as a result of its tail being placed higher in the air, on the piece of reinforcement wood. I would then insert a couple of short screws into the back of the speaker cabinet (careful to avoid going too deep into the speaker cavity and causing havoc), and run some picture hanging wire from those screws, to attach to the shelf to prevent a sliding disaster.

Is it a law or something that every Canuck have a cache of hockey pucks laying around?

What the puck are you guys talkin' about?

I used an aluminum U channel that wraps around my 3/4 in MDF shelves. If you look close enough at the picture you can see it. Not the same color as the shelf but it's in the back.

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Great solution ND.

That U channel looks really good. I bet they come in different gauges depending on the load, too.

Nice touch with the channel support ND, my cabinet is almost identical to yours using the 3/4" MDF but because there is not an access to the back I used heavy duty sliders for each shelf.

Effing brilliant.

Where did you source those?

I picked up the U channel at Menards (Home Depot might have some too). Menards has a small selection of metal pieces. I also needed to get some aluminum L channel for my bar that Menards didn't carry. I got that at a local trailer manufacturer. They had all kinds of aluminum to choose from.

That U-channel aluminum is aesthetically pleasing besides functional, great idea.