I've got a fairly standard cheap interior plasterboard/drywall wall that I'm going to install my W3s and W100 in. The wall is made from hardwood studs and 10mm plaster without any insulation.

My plan is to strengthen the wall without removing any plaster by-

1. Gluing (Liquid Nails) and screwing a strip of 16mm MDF either side of the opening on the inside of the plaster
2. Filling the cavity on all four sides of the the opening with expanding foam (Sika Boom AP)
3. Filling the screw holes and repainting the wall, which we want to do anyways.

This dodgy MS Paint diagram shows what I'm doing... The studs are red, the speaker mount black, the MDF yellow, the foam orange and the plaster not shown. There will also be foam behind the MDF.



Good idea, bad idea?

I think it will add a lot of strength and vibration suppression to the wall.

I see the carpet matches the drapes. (Sorry! That's the first thing that came to my mind when I saw your picture.)

I don't think the extra damping is at all necessary. Your wall isn't going to vibrate much if your studs use standard spacing. That being said, I don't think what you're planning would harm the sound at all. If you're set on doing it, why not put a couple lengths of 2x4 horizontally between the studs above and below the speaker bucket. That would give you more localized strength/stiffness than the MDF. Also, instead of the semi-permanent expanding foam, I'd use mineral wool or polyfill in the cavity.

putting much more than MDF strips in there is a problem as i have to do everything through the hole the speaker mounts in.

I was thinking of putting fiberglass batts in, but again getting them through the hole will be a pain.

You have a point. After looking at the rear of a W3, I'm not even sure you'll have enough room to get the MDF pieces through there.

I say forget the whole idea. The difference it will make is likely negligible.

Its not too bad in reality. The hole width is just over a third of the gap between the studs, so i can make the mdf wide enough butt up against the studs, and the foam will attach them to the studs.

Luke, I'd agree with Peter; don't bother. There are relatively few W series owners, but there haven't been any reports of problems with structural vibrations. The main energy of the speaker, by far, is projected outward similar to the result from a free-standing speaker placed near the wall. Axiom prizes its neutral sound character highly and it seems probable that testing in a typical room didn't adversely affect that character.

Sorry for encouraging Peter.

You guys have no sense of adventure. I BOUGHT A CIRCULAR SAW DAMNIT, LET ME USE IT!

Does it have a laser cut line?

haha, no, if I put a v-tech sticker on it will that help?

I have w22 - even thought they are heavier, I have no issues with vibration, etc. Keep in mind the whole speaker will slide up and out no problem so you can always retrofit later should you feel you need to.

I have had my W's for about threee months (well, actually using them that long, had them about six months) and there are no vibration issues at all. I would at least try it first, the bracket is pretty big and secure.

They are all in now, as shown in the gallery. all I ended up doing was squirting some foam in beside each speaker if it was more than a few inches from the stud. The 10mm plaster and the brackets supplied work very well and feel and sound very solid.

We need a "thumbsup" smiley!

There's always the posting icon.