Standmounts above subwoofers

silva741

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Hi everyone. I'm wondering if there are many persons using their subwoofers as a stand for their standmount speakers. I'm planning to get a pair of stereo speakers, to create a dedicated stereo system, placing them side-by-side to the left and right speakers of my 7.1 system, and I'm considering placing them on top of the subwoofers (they'll be placed at 25 and 75% of the room's width) - SVS PB-3000.

This would limit a bit their placement, the stereo speakers would necessarily have to stay above the subwoofers, which wouldn't move from their positions, but is there any other disadvantage?

sala 2020.06.jpg
 
Well, apart from it looking like a branch of Currys, there's no reason why not. I assume you won't be running the subs with the music system, but even if you are I would put some non slip matting on the top to help control vibration and stop them tramping off.

Personally I would find some main speakers that you are happy with for music and movies. Unpowered speakers can move in sympathy with the audio produced by other speakers in the system, so they can colour the sound.

For me however the aesthetics of the system would be more of a concern.
 
What he said. You‘re much better off putting the extra money into maximising the front L&R of your 7.1 system And using them for both. What have you got, and what stereo speakers were you contemplating?
 
Previously I had the type of set up you are thinking about. I had a Hegel powering PMC Twenty 26s, and a separate MK sub-sat system for tv and movies. I started off by buying some thick black pads via EBay that had a bigger footprint than the speaker. There are loads of these in differing sizes. Mine were approx 10-12mm thick. These worked ok, but they deposited an oily substance on the speaker cabinet. It wiped off ok.

For personal reasons I sold the ‘HiFi’ system. More recently I picked up some ISO Acoustics Aperta 200 adjustable speaker stands (I’d seen another forum member who used the larger 300? version). Got them from Anderton’s Music in Guildford as their price was good at the time. The design makes them flex (I use the taller set of poles) but are stable. You get the option of two heights using either a short or longer pole. You can also tilt them. They give better isolation from the subs. It’s still not an ideal way to mount speakers, but if you are having floorstanders for music, then it’s not an issue.
 
Thanks for your posts. I'm using 20 years old Monitor Audio Studio speakers on the 7.1 system. The reason I'm thinking about creating a separate system for stereo is wanting a different sound when listening to music, something with more oomph and bass. These Monitor Audio are fantastic speakers, perfect for cinema, but with music I'd like something with more weight. I'm actually still undecided about standmounts and floorstanders, obviously floorstands would almost surely be ''heavier'' sounding.

In any case, and the reason why I posted, is my room isn't very wide (it's only 387cm wide - which is around 12,5'), and there isn't much space available. I need to have there the LCR speakers, the amplifier, media player, and all that, plus 2 subwoofers (ATM I only have one, but I'll almost surely get another in a few months), and eventually the standmouts or floorstanders for the stereo system.

I couldn't agree more that aesthetically it isn't a great solution, quite the opposite, but the alternative is to put the stereo speakers quite close to the side walls. Or switch their position with the left and right speakers of the 7.1 system, and in that case those 2 speakers would be the ones closest to the side walls. Which isn't ideal.

Selling the Monitor Audio speakers isn't on my plants, I absolutely love them for cinema, so it's a tricky situation.

sala 2020.06.16.jpg
 
That diagram layout should work ok too. I had similar issues - small room, doors and windows positioned that only left the front of the room for speakers, subs and equipment. Seems all very familiar :)
 
Would the Bookshelf be on short Stands? The illustration makes it look like the top of the Bookshelf is pretty close to the bottom edge of the Screen.

If setting a Speaker on a Subwoofer, I would put some type of isolation between them to minimize the Sub shaking the Speakers.

But in general, with proper isolation and proper placement of the speaker on the Sub, I should certainly work.

Z Reviews on YouTube has what he calls Doomstacks. He actually fastened aluminum columns to his Subwoofer, and mounted speaker on that. To find video, search Youtube for Z Reviews Doomstacks.



So, in concept this is workable.

However, I would suggest something to raise the speaker up off the Subwoofer. You can get Yoga Block in 3" and 4" thicknesses, and you could place the speakers on these -

Amazon-UK - Yoga Blocks




Steve/bluewizard
 
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Just as a observational note here on this question.. By directly mounting the standmounters on top of the subwoofers you may find yourself sat there staring at the subs the whole time wondering if they are too loud or set wrong... instead of listening to the music/watching the film.

The idea of a sub is that it is invisible to the ear but adds to the lower end of the speaker without drawing attention to itself.. As @BlueWizard stated.. insulating the stands from the sub and speaker is vital to decouple them also
Now for a more closer note to the sound...
Getting them dialled in like this is even more critical for that very reason and the phase adjustment will be a bit squirrelly to nail the "apparent speed" of the sub to the speed of the bass from the speaker
 
Thanks for posting, Steve Stiffler, BlueWizard, and Orobas. The height of the screen is a problem, yes, I think the maximum height the standamount could be is 400 mm (if placed on top of the subwoofers). So, having a small stand wouldn't be possible. Maybe something to isolate the speaker from the subwoofer, but only if it isn't very thick.

But after reading your posts I'm leaning more and more towards abandoning this idea. I think it makes more sense to simply push the (7.1) floorstanders to the sides, and place there the stereo speakers, since music is more sensible to placement.

Or of course, make what was suggested above, to forget about speakers just for music, and use my current floorstanders for that. The reason I think this wouldn't work is because to make these floorstanders sound the way I want it'd be necessary to use a subwoofer/s (I love their sound, but as I mentioned above the bass is relatively weak), and I'm not sure I can do that if using for example a valve amp.

Unless I find a way to make my Marantz 7009 power the subwoofers, while letting the speakers be powered by an integrated amplifier (which I don't have yet, but if/when I buy one it'll almost surely be a valve amp, like Dynavox or similar).
 
Thanks for posting, Steve Stiffler, BlueWizard, and Orobas. ..., I think the maximum height the standamount could be is 400 mm (if placed on top of the subwoofers). So, having a small stand wouldn't be possible....

400mm? About 15.75 inches? Why would that not be possible? I can think of several relatively easy ways to make 10" to 15" stands.







Sorry about the US Prices, I just used the first images that came up on Google to illustrate that Short Speaker Stands are not that uncommon.

Keep in mind, I'm not recommending any of these stands, simply using them as illustrations to make a point.

Or... did I misunderstand what you were saying?

Steve/bluewizard
 
400mm? About 15.75 inches? Why would that not be possible? I can think of several relatively easy ways to make 10" to 15" stands.
I was referring to the total available height for the speakers. The SVS PB-3000 is 557mm tall, and the screen starts at around 960mm, so the maximum height of the speakers needs to be 400mm or less. Or 400 mm for the speakers and stands.

There are many speakers significantly smaller than 400mm, of course, so having stands is possible, but since the main goal of having separate stereo speakers is to have a 'beefier'' and heavier sound, and usually a bigger speaker cabinet means lower extension, I think it'd make sense to search for relatively big bookshelves.

That's why I was saying that given the limitations and the opinions on the posts above, perhaps the best solution is to try to find a way to make the Marantz 7009 power the subwoofers, while the (future) tube amp powers the floorstanders, instead of creating a separate system just for stereo. Sorry if my explanation was confusing.
 

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