child proofing speakers

[madjack]

Hi Guys,
I just got home a pair of B&W 640 floor standers and have a 1.5 yr old kid at home. Pls pls tell me whatever ideas you have for protecting the speakers from becoming a victim of an inquisitive son.. I was cautioned against floorstanders, was told to put it off till he is older,,but I couldnt wait. Now that I am in it, pls give me some urgent suggestions. As of now the speakers stand facing the wall yes laugh all you can..

Anxious madjack

 

[dinyaar]

Hey Congratulations.
You mean the B&W 604 SIII i presume. The same one we spoke about?
What amp are u using? Pull the speakers away from rear walls as much as possible to avoid overzealous bass. Its quite a large FS and not very easy to topple for a tiny tot. I guess in your case i would not put the supplied spikes so that it remains more stable on the floor and liberally use blue tack. Keep the covers on all times and i think u will be fine.
BTW what colour have u got? What cables? Lots of places u will get cheap belden cables for IC, speakers and power if u need. All u need are some decent connectors and soldering skills and u will save some money.

Rgds

 

[madjack]

Hey Congratulations.
You mean the B&W 604 SIII i presume. The same one we spoke about?
What amp are u using? Pull the speakers away from rear walls as much as possible to avoid overzealous bass. Its quite a large FS and not very easy to topple for a tiny tot. I guess in your case i would not put the supplied spikes so that it remains more stable on the floor and liberally use blue tack. Keep the covers on all times and i think u will be fine.
BTW what colour have u got? What cables? Lots of places u will get cheap belden cables for IC, speakers and power if u need. All u need are some decent connectors and soldering skills and u will save some money.

Rgds

ello...I draw my inspiration from you on the speakers...and am relying on you to help me with the cables.
Do let me know where I will get the cables, have to buy them today. I have got a marantz 7200 to try. But because of lack of cables haven't been able to do anything to it.

For the rest of the forum, I would like to thanks Dinyaar for all the support that he has given me in this quest, gone for auditions with me and with ali. Long discussions on concepts and models. He knows the flaws and strong points of most configs that I check with him about. And its only through his contacts that I was able to manage to locate a good deal.

warmest regards
and a drink
madjack

 

[madjack]

Hey Congratulations.
You mean the B&W 604 SIII i presume. The same one we spoke about?
What amp are u using? Pull the speakers away from rear walls as much as possible to avoid overzealous bass. Its quite a large FS and not very easy to topple for a tiny tot. I guess in your case i would not put the supplied spikes so that it remains more stable on the floor and liberally use blue tack. Keep the covers on all times and i think u will be fine.
BTW what colour have u got? What cables? Lots of places u will get cheap belden cables for IC, speakers and power if u need. All u need are some decent connectors and soldering skills and u will save some money.

Rgds

I am not afraid of toppling, more afraid of him poking something into it. For that the front cover will do nothing. thats why am looking for a more innovative solution...any ideas? I will need to live with that for a few years...

 

[venkatcr]

Stick a couple of fierce looking images on the speakers. Or some clever electronics that will growl every time you son goes near them. )

Jokes apart, I don't see how you can do anything unless you are ready to bolt the speakers to the ground. Another way is to keep the speakers in special locked cabinets unless you are using them. That is also impractical.

The only practical way is to get him interested in something else. Even that may not work. I have a nephew's son who just loves to pick up everything in the house. I once caught him dragging the gas cylinder. My nephew is always on tenterhooks when he comes home, but I love kids and I give the boy free reign over the house. He loves water, so we usually end up in the bathroom getting each other completely wet. That usually quietens him down, but I am drained of energy at the end. Strangely he has never shown any interest in my floor standing speakers or my amps. He fiddled with the knobs once, but they were disconnected and I had no issues.

Kids are beautiful, and please don't lose your temper with him. I know audio systems are expensive and that we all fuss over them, but kids are kids and a joy to have around the house.

Cheers

 

[madjack]

Stick a couple of fierce looking images on the speakers. Or some clever electronics that will growl every time you son goes near them. )

Jokes apart, I don't see how you can do anything unless you are ready to bolt the speakers to the ground. Another way is to keep the speakers in special locked cabinets unless you are using them. That is also impractical.

The only practical way is to get him interested in something else. Even that may not work. I have a nephew's son who just loves to pick up everything in the house. I once caught him dragging the gas cylinder. My nephew is always on tenterhooks when he comes home, but I love kids and I give the boy free reign over the house. He loves water, so we usually end up in the bathroom getting each other completely wet. That usually quietens him down, but I am drained of energy at the end. Strangely he has never shown any interest in my floor standing speakers or my amps. He fiddled with the knobs once, but they were disconnected and I had no issues.

Kids are beautiful, and please don't lose your temper with him. I know audio systems are expensive and that we all fuss over them, but kids are kids and a joy to have around the house.

Cheers

Hi Venkat,
Oh no doubt abt liking kids. But my son has come and handed me knobs of my older amp in my hand. the bass, treble and vol knobs have been individually been delivered to me in my hands. He plays with guess what? 25 lt empty cans of bisleri jars (we have bisleri water at home). He plays with those huge jars. I have no doubt he will want to know how the driver cones respond to prodding with steel spoons, ice, food etc. I just dont have to money to provide for such a expensive test bench...hence I am looking at drastic measures. I was considering hard covers for the speakers..for this reason. But not sure how it will affect the sound. So, do let me know what else comes to mind.
thanks..
btw he loves music. every toy given to him is first tested for its musicality by banging it on the floor, if it sounds good, then it passes the test. lol

 

[Kamal]

Hi, I quite understand your concern-the little son of a friend of mine poked in the silk dome tweeters of his ProAcs promptly when they arrived.
Suggestion-the easiest wld be to slide the cardboard cartons the speakers came in onto the speakers when not in use(of course!)-that way, the sweet little fingers won't be able to damage the drivers.When you want to listen, it would the work of a moment to whip them off.No need to face them agnst the wall/keep repositioning them.
If that would look too "industrial"/wife wld not agree to the ugly printed cartonsperpetually in sight, get plywood polished boxes made which could be slid on/off easily.
BTW, congrats on you rpurchase-these are lovely speakers.

 

[saikat74]

One idea would be to cut steel mesh (can be found at hardware stores) and stretch it on a 2-3 mm plyboard frame and fit it inbetween the drivers and the supplied removeable front grill. You could try it yourself if your're a DIY enthusiast or get some carpentry help.

I once got a Wooden cube frame made and stretched steel mesh in front to protect my Audiuoengine A2s (which do not come with front grills).

Best of luck!

 

[dinyaar]

Hi again madjack,
Thank u. No problem at all. I think u will get the sound u are after.
Will surely help u in whatever cables u need. Please dont go buying cables and spending money at this stage. How much distance is the speaker from the amplifier? I will have speaker cables for sure. U can use till u buy or i will get u all the 'fancy' cables used from friends. Please use stock power cords for now.
Will speak to u later sometime today and take it from there.
Rgds

 

[madjack]

Hi again madjack,
Thank u. No problem at all. I think u will get the sound u are after.
Will surely help u in whatever cables u need. Please dont go buying cables and spending money at this stage. How much distance is the speaker from the amplifier? I will have speaker cables for sure. U can use till u buy or i will get u all the 'fancy' cables used from friends. Please use stock power cords for now.
Will speak to u later sometime today and take it from there.
Rgds

Thanks again. I will call you in the evening today. The speakers are about 4 feet on one side and 10 feet on the other..

 

[spirovious]

You have options of putting extra plastic grills on speakers available in local markets.
You can put all equipments at some height which will be beyond reach of child.

 

[madjack]

You have options of putting extra plastic grills on speakers available in local markets.
You can put all equipments at some height which will be beyond reach of child.

The amp I am keeping at a height. That is easier to handle. Can move the huge floorstanders anywhere. Too heavy to think abt a stand. They are already 3.5 to 4 feet high, any higher will make them unmanageable. Its not they will move, just the drivers getting poked is my fear. Abt the plastic grill, how do I fit it to the front of the speaker without spoiling in? any ideas?

 

[dinyaar]

Hi,
Raising these big floorstanders is a NONO. Some better way of covering is all u can do really.
God one side is 10 ft and one is 4 ft. That is a problem as i have all equal lengths. Let me go home in the evening and see. I surely have some supra classic 2.5 and 4 sq.mm and some VDH but i dont know the length. A friend has four pairs of this tin coated supra classic in 6 sq.mm for sale at half price but that is also a 2 or 2.5 m pair and wont suffice.
Rgds

 

[spirovious]

The amp I am keeping at a height. That is easier to handle. Can move the huge floorstanders anywhere. Too heavy to think abt a stand. They are already 3.5 to 4 feet high, any higher will make them unmanageable. Its not they will move, just the drivers getting poked is my fear. Abt the plastic grill, how do I fit it to the front of the speaker without spoiling in? any ideas?

Grills can be winded by elastic material & can be covered with fabric net.

 

[venkatcr]

Oh no doubt abt liking kids. But my son has come and handed me knobs of my older amp in my hand. the bass, treble and vol knobs have been individually been delivered to me in my hands. He plays with guess what? 25 lt empty cans of bisleri jars (we have bisleri water at home). He plays with those huge jars. I have no doubt he will want to know how the driver cones respond to prodding with steel spoons, ice, food etc. I just dont have to money to provide for such a expensive test bench...hence I am looking at drastic measures. I was considering hard covers for the speakers..for this reason. But not sure how it will affect the sound. So, do let me know what else comes to mind.
btw he loves music. every toy given to him is first tested for its musicality by banging it on the floor, if it sounds good, then it passes the test. lol

This is really good. I was roaring with laughter trying to imagine your son handling you the knob of a expensive amp, and the look on your face. Reminded me of the wonderful days when my son was a kid and how he would make me and my wife shake with dread what he will do next. Fortunately we did not buy any expensive stuff at all those days.

One wild idea. How about covering the whole speaker with a hard grill (such as fine steel or aluminum mesh) into which your son cannot put his hand. You can remove the grill when you listen and cover it again. You have find a way of securing the grill on the floor without touching the speaker.

Another way is to cover the speaker with a simple wooden box made of plywood. Will be cheaper. Again you have to find a way of securing it on the floor and your wife accepting it.

Which ever way you go, you have to remove the covers during use, and place them again when you are not in the room.

Cheers

 

[Shuvc]

Other than lack of funds, my son was the reason I settled on a bargain I got on some used Klipsch equipment. I had decided that till he grows up, I won't get any new equipment that would be accessible to him.

He quickly learned to take off the grills off the floors and the centre. This I've countered by wrapping the speaker with cellotape (yeah I know it looks ugly - will post snaps when I get around to taking some). 3 strips. One at the top end. One between the tweet and the woofer. One below the woofer. I left the bottom as it is .. reason? Well there's a gap between the grill and the box all around. He likes dropping things into the gap from the top. So I've left the bottom without cellotape, for ease of retrieving the 'fallen' items !

Since there's a gap between the grill and the box, it's nice and easy to grip the grill with two small hands and rock the speaker. Now that he was unable to take off the grill, he started testing it's rocking limits ! And pretty soon he discovered he could push them back and tilt-rest them against the rear wall. Everytime I set it upright, he'd push it back against the wall - bang. Now this was also taking a toll on the newly painted walls ! So I did 2 things. First, fixed some foam pieces at the rear top corners of the box with cellotape (predictable huh !?). Second, when not in use, I personally tilted the speakers against the wall and kept it like that all day ! Needless to say, without the incentive of teasing me, he lost interest. Now they stay upright all day.

Of late, he lies down in front of the speaker and the av cabinet, and puts his feet up and tap dances against the grill or the cabinet glass, while watching TV. Plus he has developed a fascination for the centre speaker grill - which he keep banging at all day. For these, I have failed to cook up any deterrents. As of now I try ignoring him and not giving him the satisfaction of getting daddy worked up. I look the other way and pray. HARD.

I had actually considered building a toy picket fence cordoning off the AV area/wall !! Obviously wifey thought I was getting nuttier. Idea scrapped.

For your case, a custom built metal mesh cover would probably work as a temp arrangement.

 

[madjack]

They use metal wire mesh fences to protect saplings on the pavement. You know, the round ones.

In your case you need to protect something from your sapling, but it may just work

Hey Cranky, thats a sweet of saying it..thanks..
But I am thinking more on the lines of a hard cover,,maybe a thin ply polished box of something. yes its going to be mighty painful, but what to do. The grill, he will still poke something thru the gaps. or maybe just maybe if i get a finer mesh, but will I still need to remove the mesh for playing? wont it interfere with acoustics?

 

[madjack]

One idea would be to cut steel mesh (can be found at hardware stores) and stretch it on a 2-3 mm plyboard frame and fit it inbetween the drivers and the supplied removeable front grill. You could try it yourself if your're a DIY enthusiast or get some carpentry help.

I once got a Wooden cube frame made and stretched steel mesh in front to protect my Audiuoengine A2s (which do not come with front grills).

Best of luck!

Sounds doable, but there isnt so much gap between the existing cover and the drivers to insert the steel grill. Will it interfere with the sound if I find a way to do this?

 

[gobble]

As of now the speakers stand facing the wall yes laugh all you can..

Anxious madjack

Muhawhahaha..!!!

1. Keep the paper pins away - he might want to poke one in thru the cone to see how it feels

2.Also do not leave sharpened pencils around, he might want to stab them into the cone

3.And oh yes, he might want to lean against them with all his weight ...

4.Or simply press his Aam Ras stained hands to the cone to prevent it from moving ...

Leave the grill on and teach your child to worship the speakers like god, thats all I can suggest

Cheers and Good Luck !!

 

[madjack]

Muhawhahaha..!!!

1. Keep the paper pins away - he might want to poke one in thru the cone to see how it feels

2.Also do not leave sharpened pencils around, he might want to stab them into the cone

3.And oh yes, he might want to lean against them with all his weight ...

4.Or simply press his Aam Ras stained hands to the cone to prevent it from moving ...

Leave the grill on and teach your child to worship the speakers like god, thats all I can suggest

Cheers and Good Luck !!

ello Gobble,
Are you trying to help me or give me nightmares?? dost dost na raha..yaar yaar na raha....
I have enough fear with what Venkat telling me not to worry if I get the amp knobs handed down to me sweetly, and now u had to remind me of all other possible horrors.
my friend called me today morning to tell me that his 2.5yr old daughter is a budding artist...she last week in the night painted all over his mordant short speakers...
I wonder why he decided to tell me that now ...when the ass gifted a box of crayons to my son..