Sounds like a reasonable solution. |
Thanks for all of your responses. I am going to take a combination approach of filling the stands and moving them to a safer location when not in use. |
It's simple enough to change a system to be child proof. Use midgrade or already cosmetically trashed electronics, a locking sealed cabinet with mesh airflow and floorstanding speakers with trashed or replaceable cosmetics (like vandersteens).
Kids and phono cartridges, exposed tubes or tippy speakers don't mix at all. Wait, didn't I own that stuff myself when I was a kid ? Hmmm... |
Small children and complex audio systems do not mix. Once a child attains a certain level of mobility, their natural inclination is to poke, grab at, slobber on, pull at, bite, etc. It's not a question of good/bad parenting. In most interactions between a child and an audio system it is the system that will sustain the damage. However, given the sharp edges, high heat and heavy weight inherent in most audiophile designs, there is always the potential for injury to the child. The solution is to prevent the child from having access to audio system. It maybe inconvenient, but it is foolproof. |
Dan I know you meant no harm, but with all due respect, some of us ARE contending with bigger issues. Issues that prohibit the expectations that you take for granted. Issues that are increasing at an alarming rate. And here's the important part, issues that usually aren't discovered untill after the age of two years. Even my most guarded attempts have not saved my child from some misfortunate accidents. Even if one is dealing with typical children, I honestly believe that a child should be within arms reach in the face of potential hazards or remove the hazard. It is my own opinion that it is unfair and cavalier to expect reliabilty during the learning stages. Pardon me if I prefer to err on the side of safety, I was only trying to save others the misfortune of dealing with a preventable accident. With that said, I do sincerely wish you and your family as well as all fellow Audiogoner's and their families health and happiness. |
I don't have any kids, but I do have a fat ass that smacks my stand mounted speakers now and then. Kinda like Godzilla wackin' a building with his/her tail and the building don't topple over. My stands are completely filled with steel shot and weigh about 40 - 50 lbs. Each monitor rests on four giant snot-ball sized pieces of silly-puddy-like artist's kneeded eraser which work great at anchoring speakers to stands. An added bonus is that when you pop the speakers off the stands and remove the flattened gray mini-pancakes, they leave zero residue on the fine wood of your speakers. |
Sand does not have near the weight of the fine lead shot, and sonically is not as good either. If you had not already purchased the Revel stands, I would agree to try another higher quality stand such as the one suggested. The M-20s actually have threaded screw "mounts" on the bottoms that bolt into the top plate of the original stands, so an adhesive is not needed. Microbearings would be less toxic for sure, but availability may be a problem. The small holes drilled in the bottoms are very secure with the duct tape due to the texture of the stands on bottom. I put some epoxy in the hole as well just to be sure when the stands were upside down after filling, then put the heavy tape on as well. The stands have special feet which can be mounted on the bottoms of the speakers as well when being used off the stands on a bookshelf etc. If you sell the stands, you will also have to sell the feet with them... the stands are fairly useless for other speakers. Revel could have done something a lot better in quality than these, especially for the price... |
Sell the kid on ebay and upgrade your preamp with the proceeds.....:-)
Sorry to interrupt a lucid thread.
Just kidding. |
I don't mean to bring into question anybody's parenting skills, but Unsound seems to have the perspective that kids are incapable of being taught restraint, respect and just plain good behavior.
As I said, I have a four-year-old who grew up with my system and now have twins who are going through toddler-hood and there's never been an issue. Granted, I would not want my system to be a hazard to them - so the tube cage stays on, the speakers are bolted to their dedicated stands which are filled with sand, etc. To think that you'd have to "tether" everything to the walls as Unsound suggests would indicate that you've got some bigger issues to contend with than top-heavy speakers.
Furthermore, I'd really hate to think that it'll take "luck...and...a couple of years before they can be reliably taught to respect adult toys." Parenting should be more than protecting children from themselves and accomodating them to the point of allowing them to run our lives. There's a hierarchy in a family and children need to be lovingly taught where they fit in the family structure. And here's a hint...It's not at the top of the pyramid.
As I said, I don't mean to offend anyone, nor bring into question their parenting skills. I'm just trying to offer a bit of perspective based on my real-life experience(s).
You can have your system and responsibly raise your children, too. Now...whether or not you'll have the time to listen to it is another matter altogether ;>) |
When my son was this age he could easily knock down 67lbs. floor standers. These children are only going to get bigger and stronger and more daring and rambunctious. I would avoid any and all possible toxic substances. My son either broke or thought through any and every childproof device and gate we tried. I suggest raising all electrical devices high and STABLE, hide all wiring behind heavy furniture and tether any thing that could be hazardous to corner/walls. With any luck it will only be a couple of years before they can be reliably taught to respect adult toys. The only other responsible option is to have a locked dedicated room to escape to while your child is under appropriate supervision elsewhere. One of the biggest dangers is large monitor TV's on typical TV stands ( especially ones with "turntable platforms". These stands are notorious for tipping onto little cruisers! These are special times, enjoy them as much as possible. Your recordings will be there latter. |
Fishing line or some sort of loose 'emergency' ceiling suspension system -you could hide it within some ceiling suspended fake plants or ??. Might be a way to make it look ok.
Ask the Wife! Do you really think your going to get aesthetically pleasing advice from a bunch of GUYS who think it 'would be nice' to put 400 lb wilson maxx's in the middle of their living rooms ? |
My two cents: Blu Tac is not epoxy! Although it makes a good sonic bond with the stand, it is very easy to break that bond just by pushing. No way would I bet on Blu Tack vs. a toddler in a wager to keep a monitor on its stand. |
Rives - If the lead were truly "sealed" inside of the stands, I would agree. Duct tape, on the other hand, is hardly a reasonable option. I'd rather risk a broken speaker or a physical injury than brain damage from a known toxic substance. I have 14 month old twins and a 4 year old and have used monitors almost exclusively since my first child was an infant. If you have heavy solid stands that can be filled (sand is nice and safe...cheap, too!) and have your speakers mounted (blu tack, screws, bolts, epoxy resin, whatever) they will be incredibly stable. I would recommend a pair of the Osiris stands that are being blown out by a couple of vendors here on AudiogoN. These are 42lbs each unfilled. Put some sand in them and you're up to about 65lbs. If you want more weight, you can buy some "Micro-Bearing" which is very fine steel pellets from Star Sound (http://www.audiopoints.com) and make them even heavier. Also, these stands have enormous brass cone feet which aren't the greatest for piercing carpet, but would be absolutely perfect on hardwood floors. Finally, I agree with what others have said about setting boundaries for your children and using the art of distraction to minimize temptations. |
You might consider an audio rack with doors. The knobs are just way too much of a temptation. |
Rives:
Excellent proposition regarding the toys!!!!
This is an audio forum but we have houses, wives, kids, less than perfect non dedicated rooms etc. i. e. real world.
As a matter of fact my living room doubles as music room and have a soon to be toddler in the house and my components are layed on the terrazzo floor actually I have large floor standers but was thinking about some kind of (aesthetic fence ?) to keep my kid outside trouble. |
I think Shutterbug is right. You can also attache the speakers to the stands. Blue tack will work okay, or you can use something more substantial like 3M double sided tape (the thick stuff--not the transparent stuff). Keep in mind the 1 year old will probably be more interested in your speaker cables than anything else. As to the Lead issue, someone needs to explain to me how lead inside a sealed enclosure is going to have potential toxicity problems. Don't fill it around your child and be sure to clean up very well. You could get lucky--I have a 2 year old and speakers on stands with Cary tube mono blocks under them. I have told him they aren't a toy and not to play with them--and there's never been a problem. One of the keys is making sure they have things in the vacinity that they are interested in--it makes your speakers much less of a target (and change the toys around a lot in terms of location--it makes them seem new--like they've re-discovered something). --sorry got off track--this is an audio forum. |
Dont use lead, it is toxic.
Especially around children!!!!
Hello...anybody home???
There are many alternatives....sand being a good one. Vader |
Hello Brad!
I have the same speakers with the original Revel stands, and the same baby problem as well, but with twins! I have found the following to work just fine, and also it has helped a good bit with the sonics as well:
Take the speakers off the stands and flip them up-side down on a cloth. Get a strong power drill and drill a 1/2" hole in the middle of each "leg" of the "T" shaped bottom. Purchase 3 25lb. bags of fine lead shot from a local gun shop (~ $60-$75 total cost). Using a small plastic funnel and disposable cup to pour the lead shot with, carefully fill the bases. When finished, use a 2" x 2" piece of duct tape to cover the holes...it works just fine. Then, flip the stands upright, unscrew the top plate, then fill the 3 legs with the remaining shot as well, all the way to the top. Replace the top plate, and you are in business! They speakers will now be MUCH more stable, and you will find them to have better bass and solidity as well. They are not the greatest stands, and I wish Revel had given them more thought, but the speakers are FANTASTIC at the price point and well beyond... Enjoy! |
Quite frankly, I think bolting them to the floor is a great idea. Not only will they sound better than before, you'll save your children from getting hurt. The only other option I can think of is to use stands that can be filled with 50-75 pounds of weight. That way the unit won't be top heavy, and you shouldn't have an issue with tipping them over. Hardwood floors can be fixed without too much trouble, I would just want to make sure you had your postitioning right when you did it. Good luck |
