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!
Speakers On Wheels?
Hi All,
Unfortunately I have to move again and the best I could do, is a large studio space on the fourth floor of a 1930’s era building in a sketchy part of town. This should dispel any notion that all audiophiles are wealthy. The most difficult part of this move will be to get Quad 2905 ESL’s up four flights of stairs without banging them around. I was thinking that I would really like to put the Quads on wheels when they’re in the apartment, so that I could back them up against the wall when not using them and then bring them forward and into place when I want to listen to them. It’s of course important that I mark where the speakers need to be when it’s listening time. Also, I may choose to add a large floor rug so that in itself presents another logistical challenge. Any ideas or recommendations in order to make my life somewhat easier is greatly appreciated.
Thanks!
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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! |
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. |
@fish23geeks Thanks for the link |
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. |
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. |
@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 |
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!!!!!!
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Or if using 3 wheels, that 2 of the 3 wheels lock in place. No speakers spinning doughnuts, please 😉 |
@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. |
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. |
@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. |
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
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? |
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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!
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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 |
@tweak1 Yes and carpeted no less. |
@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. |
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. |
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 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. |
