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Do I expect too much?

Spent Sunday trying to track down an upper midrange rattle in my system - both channels but not necessarily exactly the same from side to side. I suspected loose or corroded connections but needed to move one of my Monitor Audio Gold 200 floorstanding speakers to access the back of my components. When I did I found a screw on the floor. The screw was only part of the footer and while it needed to be dealt with I don’t believe it was part of the issue. But that did get me to thinking about the speaker screws. These speakers have a unique driver mounting system where they are held in place by screws on the rear of the cabinet that physically pull the drivers into place. I checked them and on both speakers they were all significantly loose - one was about to fall out (my 19-year-old says it’s because I listen too loud but that is whole other string). 
So I looked in my MA manual and it didn’t even mention the screws. Next I went to the MA website and their contact us page allowed me to send an email to their North American distributor - Kevro. I asked for the torque spec. I did receive a prompt reply but was told, “there is no torque specification.  They should be tightened finger tight plus 1/4 turn. 
I expected more - am I wrong?  For one thing I am pretty sure my finger tight and oldhvymec’s finger tight are 2 very different things. For another these screws (maybe they are bolts - it’s a close call) have a broad flat head with a 4 mm hex inset - they aren’t really finger tightable (is that even a word?). 
Also any advice on how to proceed would be appreciated. I recall OHM saying he torqued the hell out of all his speaker screws (or some words to those effect). 
Thanks,

Matt
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Showing 1 response by erik_squires

erik_squires
15,911 posts
 
I expected more - am I wrong?


Yeah, most of us would know what that is. Finger tight is not as tight as you can possibly tighten them. It's about when your fingers start feeling resistance and the torque needed shifts from nearly nothing to really something. That range is about 1/8th of a turn.  Anywhere in there is fine.  Get there and add 1/4 turn.

However, if you are worried, mayhaps what you should rely on is not the pressure but Loctite.

Add some to the end that attaches to the driver. You’ll get a permanent lock that won’t strip the screws. If you ever need to remove it, you can, but vibration won't cause them to loosen again.
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