Speakers On Wheels?

I think it's better to have a system you can live with than one you cannot.

If they have footers, investigate the thread size, you may be able to get wheels that slip right in.

I just did this today when putting a floor down.  I had made some rolling stands when I was living in a cramped space with little kids.  A couple of 2 foot square pieces of plywood and some little wheels from Home Depot and my speakers are mobile.  At the time I was making cages to prevent damage, it's very possible you could get wheels that screw right into existing threads.  

If you end up building a base, check out butcher block acoustics.  They sell some very solid maple blocks that you could use as a starting point.

@erik_squires and @jon_5912 

Sorry I totally forgot to add that I have four cones threaded into the bottom of my Quads and they sit in titanium disks. They sound better this way than any other option. So I was thinking of a way I might be able to use this same setup but on a dolly of sorts. I would just prefer to make it a little more stylish than a dolly used for utilitarian functions. Also, a dolly that could absorb vibrations although that’s what the titanium disks are for. @erik_squires My entire stereo does take up a lot of space however I can make it work either way. I’m dealing with close to a thousand square feet. Selling what I have for a smaller stereo is certainly out of the question.

I’d try these Herbies Gliders before resorting to wheels.  They make it easy to slide your speakers around, and many people also report significant improvements in sound as well.  I think they offer a return policy so not much to lose in trying.

https://herbiesaudiolab.com/products/threaded-stud-glider

There is also the carpet trick - remove spikes and push the speaker on to a carpet. Then, you can drag it. Whatever you do, get help, be careful with your back as well as the speakers.

I agree with @soix.

I advocate wheels for heavy speakers, slip surfaces for medium sized (sized so speaker doesn't move, but moves with effort).

to help find best and then alternate locations and alternate toe-in

my optional positioning, comments

3 wheels/slip sheets, so it's more weight per wheel, and 3 always finds solidity, avoiding shims.

casters: dual wheel furniture grade have less wobble in their axels than high quality single wheel.

surface mounted versions of wheels is easy to find.

Avoid Tip Over When Moving: flat bottom, no skirt, 2 wheels front, 1 wheel rear, and two anti-tip corner blocks rear, just above, not touching the floor normally, hit the floor if speaker begins to tip.

a good time to consider tilting the speakers back, aim tweeter up to seated ear height, and alter angle of initial reflections off floor and ceiling

mine, lying on their face, the skirt is the anti-tip solution, front block tilts the speaker back.

btw, I'm 75, have used spikes, other methods, they are no better in my experience, and limit movement needlessly, restrictively.

I have used Harbor Freight dollies with rubber wheels. Works well and great to ease proper positioning

@soix I didn't think of the threaded gliders. I do have titanium disc gliders under my cones but it still seems like a lot of work.

@elliottbnewcombjr I certainly appreciate your advice and thorough explanation. Tip over prevention was I something I didn't think of.

And thank you to all who posted.

@tweak1 Yes and carpeted no less.

I have 2 sets of speakers on wheels: one is because the speakers have the tweeter and mid in a stone sculpture, the second because they are 8’ tall line-source speakers. Just match the thread size and order on line. I’ve tried both poly based wheels and rubber wheels. I prefer the rubber as they will not mark the floor. Honestly I haven’t heard a difference when the speakers are on spikes. Makes them easy to position and roll into the background when needed

Get a hydraulic elevator to lower

speakers down into your basement and have a sliding door to over the top of the elevator once they are lowered under the floor into the basement.

Some car lifts are made like this

I forgot to mention, sometimes I need to get the speakers out of the way. Yay wheels.

Holidays, extra leaves in the table, 14 chairs around the table, the speakers get rolled back into the corners to make room to get around the table.

They still work, not ’best’ sound or imaging, but with many people moving about, some music, low volume, but not focused listening, until they get outta here. Thought they’d never leave!

Two things to consider: Hire a piano mover to hoist the speakers up through a window.  Also, if you're not a DIY type of guy, Sound Anchors will custom make just about anything you want at a fair price.  I am very happy with the custom cradle bases they made for my speakers.

get advice from caster specialists

make sure you can return them, until you get the right size/type that works for you.

if sized right, they stay put, until you push hard enough to get them moving. no brake required if sized right.

believe me, you want 3, not 4, more weight per wheel and roll them anywhere no shimming or wobble. add anti-tip corner blocks if needed.

hard floor material: soft wheels

soft floor material: harder wheels may be needed.

mine came with my JSE model 2's

caster central

IF you use a plant stand/dolly, I still recommend modifying for 3 wheels, so look at the bottom frame: something solid underneath, across the back edge to mount a rear center wheel? then solid corners for two anti-tipping blocks?

@bondmanp Funny, two nights ago I was dreaming about a piano mover bringing my speaker through the window. It may have been raining. But no, I’ll have to recruit a friend to help me bring them up the stairs on a hand truck.
@elliottbnewcombjr I would have thought four wheels are better than three. I still don’t understand why four wheels would create a problem. Anyway, I can put these dolly’s together myself so customization won’t be an issue.

If your floor is perfectly level, four wheels should be fine.  If not, three gives you a better shot at your speakers being stable.

I don't know how heavy your speakers are, but in my experience, if you are going to make a dolly of your own, just be sure to correctly size the casters so they are robust and can easily take the load.  Years ago I built a stereo component rack using stained shelves with threaded rods on casters and "cheapened out" on the casters.  Needless to say, I found myself having to replace them with ones more suited to the task. Avoid the headache and do it right the first time. 

@soix +1 on the Herbies rec. I use the Giant Gliders under 3 sets of speakers that I slide in and out of a large closet adjacent to my listening room. I think they sound good. And they certainly make moving heavy speakers on hardwood floors extremely easy.

Make sure that two out of the four wheels are lockable in place

peter_s

1,314 posts

05-09-2024 at 04:55am 

Make sure that two out of the four wheels are lockable in place

Or if using 3 wheels, that 2 of the 3 wheels lock in place. No speakers spinning doughnuts, please 😉

if you speakers weigh 100 lbs.

4 wheels = 25lbs/wheel

3 wheels = 33 lbs/w. that's + 1/3 MORE weight/wheel, thus less likely to move/vibrate.

...........................

any floor, even a hard flat one, can have imperfections from dead flat.

to avoid shims, even very thin ones, to keep weight equally and heavier on the 3 wheels, to keep the positioning you chose: use 3!!!!!!

@peter_s  +1; also make sure wheels are rubber. Not sure those from Harbor Freight are big enough. If not, you can affix wooden platforms to them and upgrade the wheels to solid rubber

HTH

aside from the cabinet's rigidity, you want stability.

My speakers, 3 wheels (firm dual wheel axels) the tops are slanted, some of Donna's favorite things on top. It doesn't matter where I move them, they are stable, nothing vibrates/moves even a speck.

three alternate positions and toe-in

I’m sure that good caster wheels are as stable as spikes or anyhing else, but they won’t have the sonic benefits of good modern vibration draining footers that are available today. These things really make an amazing difference in making perceived cabinet noise disappear. Wheels can’t do that. I do understand that some people need to be able to roll their speakers around for one reason or another, but I’m just saying that there is a loss sonically.

That said, I make a similar compromise because I don’t use room treatments because I don’t like the way they look in my room and they would get in the way of some furniture. We all have to make our choices.

Roller Ball Transfer Bearing Casters - 5/8 Inch Diameter, M8 Ball Transfer Unit for Transmission,Heavy Duty Stud Mounted,Thread Stem,Bearing Steel & Carbon Steel,540 Lbs Total Load Capacity,Set of 6 https://a.co/d/iTZDkSp
 

I literally just installed these in my 2905’s and they work great on carpet and hardwood.  Hopefully that attached link works. 

@fish23geeks Thanks for the link

fish23geeks

glad they work for you, but ball bearings would definitely make tracks in my wood floor made out of 3/4" thick oak. More of them, to avoid making tracks, would move more readily than my 3 dual wheel hard plastic casters (photo/link above).

It is a challenge to get the minimum ’number of wheels and amount of wheel surface’, i.e. diameter of the wheel. to maintain stability yet permit movement when a good amount of force is applied. Avoiding marks in/on the floor is part of the game. The contact surface of a ball bearing is very small.

After changing so much in my system, I decided, "I should up my casters game". Research (not enough), high quality sources, high prices, make sure you can return them, I returned about 5 sets, went back to my furniture grade hard plastic dual wheel. Ball bearings do not rock, a big advantage, IF they will not make marks in the floor.

The primary thing I learned about all the wheel attempts is lack of movement in the axels is critical.

Hi Everyone!

I’m really appreciative for the responses I’ve gotten here. I went to Harbor Freight today to buy a Ball Joint tool and looked at the casters they had there. I couldn’t get the ball joint on my car loose but building a dolly seems simple enough. The only logistical dilemma I’m having is that I want to set the speaker on the dolly while using the cones and the Herbies Titanium disks. My thought is to drill a 1/2 inch depression in the dolly with a bit the size of the disks so that nothing moves around. Anybody with a better idea or rather any idea at all, please clue me in. Again thanks!

+1

Drill a 1/2 inch depression in the dolly with a bit the size of the disks so that nothing moves around.

Or… you can get a pair of LRS+ Maggie’s, which are “light as a feather,” and sound better than most anything out there (a lot like ESL 57’s)… and… avoid all of that!