I just got done with my latest DIY project, building Speaker monitors.
They are bigger and heavier than most standard size monitors and though the stands that are used are solid and the speakers sit on them firmly, a good bump may topple them.
I am presently using Herbies Big Fat Dots under the speakers, but they don’t really anchor the speakers to the stand. Blue Tack can be used but, wouldn’t hold much. I thought of using mirror clips with padding but that would involve drilling holes in the bottom of the speakers.
I'll be placing Harbeths on top of the four wood uprights of an open stand, and was looking at Herbie's fat dots and wondering how "slippy" or not-slip their surface is. I'd attach them to the tops of the stand but wouldn't want adhesive between them and the bottom of the speaker.
The other thing I was looking at was cork, which is not mentioned very much in discussions of speaker/stand interface. Thinking about simply topping the uprights with squares cut from a sheet of cork. (BTW, the adhesive of double-sided carpet tape is also pretty ferocious.) Improvised experiment: pressing down firmly on a cork drink coaster on a wood surface, it seems to me that it's not absolutely non-slip, but it doesn't want to glide easily over the surface, which seems pretty much ideal.
There's 'turner's tape', a seriously sticky double-faced tape available at woodworker's stores, such as Klingspor. 1" w. typically, grey, leaves no residue, typically used to stick wood to lathe plates (albeit generously in that application). If I want something to 'sit and stay' until I say 'move', that's my goto.
If you desire something more aggressive, there's 3M's VHB tapes available from Uline. You can pick widths and degrees of 'sticky', foam or film. BUT...VHB's can Really Be Strong, to the point of permanence. If you opt for a foam carrier, you can slice it apart with a razor blade and rub it off the surface with your fingers (it's a rubber based adhesive that'll 'roll up' like rubber contact cement...but won't be quite as quick to do so...your finger tips will complain about it....)
And there's always a dab of clear silicone adhesive. Acts like the VHB, but can act like a rubber 'foot' if you let it set up awhile first...
Also - I use a concrete patio block (16" square) as the base under the stands and spikes rest on the block - very stable and difficult to knock over - compared to sitting on carpet.
I use some rubber foam mat that I got at Home Depot in a role to cushion the monitors and protect the bottom surface. Think I found this in the carpet area.
Then I use a black nylon strap about an inch wide with a sliding compresion buckle to strap them to the top of the stand. Think I found this in the bungy cord area.
The Velcro alternative sounds good also - though, it would stick to the finish of the speaker and be difficult to remove - if that matters. The holding / bonding strength wouldn't be that crtical since gravity would be holding the monitor down. Applying a 16 lb force from the side would be unlikely... if... your careful around them.
How about using some self sticking feet that are stuck to the bottom of the speaker so that they fit on each side of the top stand plate on the outer edges? What would work is something that sticks pretty well but can be removed if needed later on.
I have found that the interface between the speaker and stand may have a profound influence on the sound. Sometimes not and you need to experiment. With my Harbeth SHL5s on Skylan stands, I preferred a hard interface such as Herbies Ebony Domes, althought this would be dangerous with small children as the speaker could be knocked off the stand too easily. I ended up with 4 casino chips, which gave a good balance of stability and sound. With my Opera Callas monitors, blu-tak sounded best and was extremely stable. A painter knocked one over and the speaker and stand stayed together when I grabbed it before it fell. Like anything else, you really have to experiment.
I use Blue tack, also used flat bungee cords long enough to run from bottom of stand over top of speaker. As donjr pointed out, Blue tac can disrupt veneer.
Short of strapping or bolting the speakers to the stand, I think the best one can hope for is preventing them from sliding off by a mistaken bump or brush of clothing or something. Even if they are bolted to the stands, a hard enough bump will topple the whole ball of wax. In the past I have used a cut up, old style, rubber type mouse pad (4 small pieces per speaker) between the speaker & top plate, it worked well.
Good luck with your new speakers. I have read good things about Harbeths speakers.
The stands have a small metal top with no holes in it. The speaker overlaps the top a lot. Perhaps I should look for a new stand. But, the stand is very bottom heavy.
dill, digsmithd,
It may be worth it to try the Sorbethane and see if it does deaden the sound. I think I may have some pads from my Grand Prix stands to also try.
No evidence of residue on mine...Nothing dead about the way my speaker and stand sound...in fact there really isn't any evidence of a tone that sorbethane makes...just plain works,no mumbo jumbo...has some tack to it (that is what oz was looking for I think)...My ears recommend what i hear...
The stands should be the exact same dimensions as the speaker. Blue Tac will remove veneer so if your speakers are veneered don't use it. I've used monitor speakers since 1979 without anything to anchor them and I've been fine. My current Harbeth's are sitting on little rubber dots. My new Harbeths are being delivered this Saturday and I'm not sure what I'll use but it ill not be blue tac.
Admire your project ozzy...just got done with the herbies myself and found they werent my solution either...did get sticky one side and they didnt move when adjusting though...
I went back to the sorbethane dots that came with (sound anchors) stand...they do grab for some sticky ness as well as being tight to stand for nice transmission between the speak/stand...i did use talc on top so i could move the dam things into position so...what are you going to do...the sorbies are cheap enough not to sweat it huh?
I have lots of Blue Tack so it can't hurt to use this along with my Herbie big fat dots.(love the name). BTW, I super glued the bottom of the Herbies to the metal top of the stand.
You might want to try Blu Tack. I've got a pair of 20 lb. monitors on some light stands and I can lift the speakers and the stands still stay attached. I've got two active boys bumping into them and moving them constantly and they've never even budged. Feels like it would take a good bit of effort to get them off the stands. I used about a quarter-sized piece on each corner. Worth a try for 5 bucks or so and very little effort. Best of luck.
My DIY cabinets are not quite so DIY. I purchased them in a high gloss finish with tapered sides. I mounted dual speaker posts in the back for bi-wiring. To enhance possible future tweaking options, I made custom boxes to house external crossovers connecting them to the speaker posts using cables with banana plugs on both ends.
The DIY portion is the tweeters (Aurum Cantus G1) special 6.5" woofers and a crossover utilizing top of the line silver/gold/oil Mundorf caps.
The stands are the 3 steel pole type but are filled solid with a special mixture of sand and a very fine grade steel shot (more like a dust). They do look great on the stand. It would take a lot to knock over the stands.
I do have some double sided sticky tape to use but I’m not sure if that would hold much. My prototype boxes (that were definitely home made) used some glass mirror clips that did hold the speaker to the stand very well but that involved drilling holes in the bottom of the speaker boxes for the screws.
I also thought about making a wooden platform to then use the mirror clips with screws to mount to the small metal steel stand top. I could make this platform to fit the speaker with a small side lip on the top sides to secure the speaker. But that may look kinda goofy.
I use a little Blu-tack between my monitors and the heavy metal stands. It doesn't secure the monitors fully, but works ok (hardens over time) and I don't hear much sonic change. Just a LITTLE under each corner of the speaker.
I set my monitors directly on their maple stands. The stands were made to fit the size of the speaker and they are fairly secure the way they are. I tired using Herbie's BF Dots but they muddied up the sound. Sitting directly on the stands gives the best results, for me.
I don't have kids or pets around that can knock them about and so far, so good.
I am using Herbie's BF Dots also with double-sided tape. I don't think it will be enough if bumped hard, however I don't think they will slide off. If you don't care about looks, how about a bungee cord?
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