Toddler-Friendly Budget Speakers?

Hey insomniac I sent my thoughts on wall mounts and such about when you sent your "no wall mounts" statement. Was not ignoring you! You mentioned bolted stands. One thing you could do would be to follow this idea and include stands with internal cable routing and strain reliefs to prevent curious hands from pulling cables. You mentioned bolted. Does that mean speaker to stand, stand to floor, or both?

Unsound, I was referring to ON-walls as wall-mounts. Needless to say, IN-walls are also out of the question. And yes, I am aware of the difference.

"The piano finish can show fingerprints"

Pledge makes it easy to clean. Advantage of piano finish is that any piano restoring place can fix scratches while it is almost impossible on wood veneer.

I don't think a toddler could tip over a pair of Dunlavy V's, but surely that isn't what you had in mind! :-)

Happy listening.

Insomniac, I would also recommend the Usher CP-6311 as long as you're not worried about the finish getting messed up. The piano finish can show fingerprints. They are also tanks with a massive base that would be very difficult for a toddler to knock over. You can also fill the rear cavities on the enclosure with sand to make them even heavier. To top it all off, they sound excellent and can play low. No need for a sub with music. They loaded my room with too much low end actually and my wife wouldn't let me bring them any further out into the room.

I now have Gallo 3.1's which would also make a good toddler friendly speaker if you use the fabric cage/cover. They are small in height and all the weight is at the bottom of the speaker. The Gallo 3.0 come up used sometimes close to your budget.

Quad 21l2 is a great sounding, inexpensive (in context) and rock solid speaker that can be had for under $1k easily. Relatively easy to drive, great bass and a nice transparent and effortless sound.

Insomniac99, Please forgive me if you already know this, but, there is a difference between in-wall and wall mount speakers.

There is a thread that asks the question, "Does Polk make the best sounding cheap speakers"? Many seemed to concur. I think so. You might check the model numbers they recommended.

why not bookshelves speakers on bookshelves or wall mounts? Need not be much of a downside at all.

Thanks for all the various suggestions on how to approach the problem. However, I'd like to clarify that I've considered many of them already and at this point am strictly seeking speaker recommendations that fit the above criteria.

One person suggested on-walls and while that would be a great solution, installing wall-mounts are not possible at my current apartment. The other recommendations I've received thus far have been the Ohm Walshes and the Usher CP-6311. Not crazy about the former but the latter has somewhat piqued my interest. Just an update.

The only way I know of making childproof home is to make sure they cannot get in. If you anticipate being "visited" - better get rid of stands and anchor heavy objects to walls. Attaching speakers to wall or ceiling with straps might be good solution.

I think you are discounting the effect of "guest" toddlers who may not be as well "trained" as your children. I had a stylus destroyed and damaged driver cones from one little "friend" in particular when my kids were little. An ounce of prevention...

Developmental delays are often not diagnosed before two years of age. Statistics indicate that at least 8% of all children in the US exhibit developmental delays between birth and age 6. Toddlers usually begin walking around age one. You might be expecting learning acquisition at a rate beyond a child's capabilities. Even typically developing children can't be entirely relied upon to behave in an adult manner. Even when they do behave appropriately, their small size might make them more prone to injury from unexpected accidents. Numerous children die each year from toppling TV's. I'd suggest good risk management practices. Until you are certain of a child's understanding and behavioral consistency, I suggest one always leaning towards safety first. Changes can be made accordingly later. A separate room is ideal, in lieu of that I'd suggest properly wall mounted speakers such as a used pair of Thiels SCS's, Linn Kans, etc..

You’d be surprised how quickly toddlers learn not to mess with stereo gear if you're watchful. We always used the term… “that’s breakable” which worked pretty good for identifying stuff not to mess with.

My daughter had twins so we were forced to purchase the above referenced "fencing", although we called it the "baby jail".

My Focals are on four post Sound Anchor Stands which are very stable. I really question if a toddler could knock them over.

A cat-o-nine tails is a pretty good deterrent to prying backsides!!All it will take is one flogging and the little rascal will get the message!!Just don't let the neighbors find out!!

Actually, some visiting kids accidentally tipped over my B&W P6s once. Luckily, by chance, there was something standing next to them that prevented the fall. So yes, accidents do happen!

The OHMs with the sloping veneer are pretty stable and rugged and no delicate parts are exposed. I did accidentally bump into one once in the dark at a fair pace and knock it over onto a thinly carpeted concrete fpundation and it survived just fine. Wouldn't recommend doing that intentionally though!

Can't think off anything else as inherently kid proof offhand. Sound great too!

BTW, I have no affiliation and cannot vouch, but there is a very nice looking pair of OHM Walsh 4s as I describe up for sale. That's a very big sound with a very easy and formidable upgrade path available even if desired for not a lot of money!

[url]http://www.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/cls.pl?spkrfull&1280255323[/url]

Those are pretty heavy also. I doubt a toddler could tip them.

I think Mapman has a good suggestion. Most of speaker except very top is covered in solid sloping wood veneer. You should build respect for your toys with your toddler, but come on, stuff happens...

Mapman - wider at the bottom is good but it would be ideal to have membranes outside of reach or covered by steel mesh (or woofer firing down).

A used pair of older OHM Walshes with the sloping cabinets are fairly hard to tip over, have a fairly small footprint can be had for not much, and the drivers are enclosed in a metal can. Hows that for isolation?

I had narrow floorstanders and planars, both easy to tip, in addition to the OHMs when my kids were young. SOmehow, it was never an issue. They probably just knew not to mess with Daddy's speakers!

And I can only reinforce the above posts. Buy your speakers for what they produce not what they prevent. A change of tone did the trick when my son started to crawl followed by physical removal.

The only thing I would say that I don't agree with "off limits". Respect is what's needed not fear. My sin is now 5. He undestands the basics of stereo:; can distinguish between drivers and likes to assist in cd operation. Funnily enough, he loves music.

Mike

I followed the same routine that Kurt mentioned above with my twins when they were young, and it has worked perfectly for me as well. Start them out when they are young, and if you are lucky, you won't have to compromise too much on your gear choices...

Well, you could do what I did, which was:

One, teach your child that the stereo equipment is off limits. The word "No!" was used freqeuntly for a few months at my house, and then she got the idea.

Two, to reinforce this, get some freestanding child fencing, and put it up in an arc around your speakers and stereo rack. I did this for about 6 to 8 months, at which point she understood that the stereo was not a toy, and not something she could play with. The fencing was relatively easy to fold up and set aside when not in use. (I have never had a problem with her touching my stereo. I did have a minor problem with her touching the TV, but that was a one time event that was never repeated.)

Typical Kid Fencing

My two cents worth.
Good Luck!