There's always the risk that a tall tower or floor-standing speaker can fall or be tipped over by pets, young children, and guests. So, what can you do to reduce the risk of damaging the speaker or, God forbid, hurting somebody? Here are ways you can secure and stabilize floor-standing speakers.
If you have carpet and your speakers are sitting on a carpet, please consider moving to spikes. And the reason is that those spikes will penetrate through the carpet, into the floor material underneath, solid surface, and you'll have a better chance of being able to make sure that that floor-standing speaker doesn't rock.
Now, it is also critically important to make sure the speaker is entirely and perfectly level. I don't necessarily mean putting a level on it.
What you want to do is try rocking the speaker front to back, side to side, and diagonally from corner to corner, front to back. Your speaker shouldn’t wobble in any significant way. Yes, you might get a little bit of movement, particularly if you have a wood or laminate floor with underlayment below, but it still shouldn't be wobbling.
Let's say your cat jumps on top of the speaker, and it's not perfectly level. Well, that could set into motion the speaker rocking, and, heaven forbid, it falls over.
Bases, plinths, or outriggers expand the speaker’s footprint, whether it’s just side to side or front to back, or both. And why is that important? Well, you're going to get more stability the further out the contact points are. Again, if you're using either rubber feet or spikes, moving those further apart is going to give you more front-to-back and side-to-side stability.
We offer outriggers for our floor-standing loudspeakers. Many companies do, and they can make a vast improvement. You should consider it if you have young children or pets that tend to jump up on your floor-standing speakers.
What if you have speakers that a manufacturer doesn't offer a base or something like that? Well, if you or know somebody handy with woodworking, you can have it custom-made.
Floor-standing speakers usually come with threaded inserts for mounting spikes or rubber feet. You can create a template using the speaker’s base and make a larger plinth that screws into those original mounting points.
And again, if you're handy with woodworking or have a woodworking friend, you can make a DIY wooden base with a contrasting black finish or match the grain and shade of your speakers for a streamlined look.
Some people bolt their speakers on a heavy concrete or stone base. It may sound very extreme, but if you have large dogs that run around the house, this method is an iron-clad solution to ensure that the speaker is not going anywhere.
If you don't care about your floors, you can always build an extended base or plinth that's outside of the speaker and directly bolt it to the floor. We recommend you put something compliant between the wood and the floor, the bottom of the speaker, the bottom of the plinth base, and the floor. Otherwise, there's a chance, at some frequency, you're going to get buzzy vibrations.
Safety is paramount when it comes to floor-standing speakers or any tall object.
There are many options you can do to secure and stabilize floor-standing speakers. But you should always start by ensuring the speaker is perfectly level. If it wobbles at all, you need to make some slight adjustments to the feet so that it doesn't rock anymore. And, keep in mind that even if you have a level on it, there will be inconsistencies. So, it’s crucial to practice precautions.
