Children safety and tower speakers vs. speaker stands

[digitalmallrat]

Are tower speakers generally considered safer than speaker stands when it comes to children? My kids have been around a pair of tower speakers before and I hadn't really been concerned about their safety. I'm looking at buying a pair of ELAC DFR52s. Alternatively, I could get some stands for my DBR62s but am a little concerned at their stability. Are there speaker stands that are sturdy enough or are they not recommended around children?

 

[Eetu]

Generally speaking, I'm more comfortable when the speakers can be bolted to the stands and if the stands can be filled with sand or equivalent.

You could also attach some string to the upper part of the stand under the top plate and then tie it to something heavy next to the stands (radiator, TV cabinet, bookshelf..).

I would also seriously consider getting speakers where the tweeters are protected, either use grills all the time or alternatively where the tweeters are behind metal mesh grille a la Genelec and Neumann. Nothing sinks resale value faster than pokey fingers

 

[digitalmallrat]

Generally speaking, I'm more comfortable when the speakers can be bolted to the stands and if the stands can be filled with sand or equivalent.

You could also attach some string to the upper part of the stand under the top plate and then tie it to something heavy next to the stands (radiator, TV cabinet, bookshelf..).

I would also seriously consider getting speakers where the tweeters are protected, either use grills all the time or alternatively where the tweeters are behind metal mesh grille a la Genelec and Neumann. Nothing sinks resale value faster than pokey fingers

I've read about the horror stories of pokey fingers. Definitely keeping the grills on - I dread when the kids figure out the grills are magnetically attached

Good idea about maybe using furniture-to-wall security mounts on the stands, that could certainly provide some comfort.

I know a lot of floorstanders have spikes on the bottom to better grip on carpet but unfortunately we'll be on hardwood...

 

[GXAlan]

Bookshelves won’t kill kids if they fall. But they can easily get damaged.

Floor standers might kill a kid if they are top heavy. JBL Studio 590 is a great speaker but 70 lbs and top heavy. That’s heavier than an IKEA dresser…

But a floor stander that is bottom heavy is pretty safe.

 

[digitalmallrat]

Bookshelves won’t kill kids if they fall. But they can easily get damaged.

Floor standers might kill a kid if they are top heavy. JBL Studio 590 is a great speaker but 70 lbs and top heavy. That’s heavier than an IKEA dresser…

But a floor stander that is bottom heavy is pretty safe.

Good tip. The ELAC DFR52s are 37 lbs but I can't find whether they're top heavy or bottom heavy or well balanced. Anyone happen to know?

 

[Flaesh]

speakers where the tweeters are protected

one of the most protected tweeters:

, JBL D2 2430

 

[GXAlan]

Good tip. The ELAC DFR52s are 37 lbs but I can't find whether they're top heavy or bottom heavy or well balanced. Anyone happen to know?

Honestly, just push it around and see. The JBL 590 comes with a warning label, but no non destructive way to anchor it to the wall even though they have that recommendation. I have little toddlers so I returned it. I felt like the 590 would have tipped over more than 20 degrees or so.

 

[digitalmallrat]

Honestly, just push it around and see. The JBL 590 comes with a warning label, but no non destructive way to anchor it to the wall even though they have that recommendation. I have little toddlers so I returned it. I felt like the 590 would have tipped over more than 20 degrees or so.

I'll have to try it out and see. Thanks. You're right that anchoring speaker stands is probably a less destructive, simpler solution than trying to anchor a speaker

 

[Zek]

The best way to protect children from falling speakers is to hang the speakers on hangers from the ceiling.

 

[robwpdx]

Look at each risk. If you are concerned about tipping risk, bolt the speaker to plywood painted your floor color.

 

[beeface]

This is something I'd at least expect the larger manufacturers to figure into their designs by now.

It's been a consideration for TVs, IKEA furniture, etc. for a long time. Manufacturers could at least provide tether points so that speakers could be tethered to a wall, perhaps

 

[ehabheikal]

I use bluetack to fasten speaker to its stand and fasten the stand to the ground that should help a lot but is not perfect still. Even floorstanders though they are more stable but could give a lot more damage to a child if it falls on them.

Speakers like klipsch HERESY are by their design much more stable.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

JBL Studio 590 is a great speaker but 70 lbs and top heavy. That’s heavier than an IKEA dresser…

Filled or empty?

 

[Blumlein 88]

I find bookshelves on tall speaker stands much safer around children vs floor standers because children can reach the drivers easier in the floor standers. Or did you mean keeping the children safe from speakers rather than speakers safe from children?

I forget who, but someone around here has shown a speaker stand for bookshelves that goes floor to ceiling with the speaker held in the middle. That might be the safest for speakers and children.

 

[Martin]

When my son was a toddler I had a pair of Paradigm Studio 40 v.2 speakers on stands. The stands were lead shot filled, very heavy and steady with carpet spikes. The speakers were securely attached to the stands with earthquake putty. There was no way a toddler was going to knock them over.

Funny anecdote. When we moved several years later I found a number of hot wheels / matchbox type cars “parked” in the open port on the back of one of the speakers.

Martin

 

[GXAlan]

Filled or empty?

That’s a good point. Once full, it’s heavier.

The recalled models meant that 21 lbs of force tipped the whole thing. Whereas other dressers handled 70 lbs of weight. As they show, in gray, basically a kid first leading to walk who grabbed and leaned away on the Malm4 could potentially be in danger of the dresser wasn’t balanced or empty.

It’s not the best study in terms of torque/angles/etc.

The Studio 590 does stand out as one that was noticeably cheap with its “feet” and surprisingly too heavy. I think as homes have gotten smaller and more households are double income so there is less supervision of kids, it’s riskier.

It sounds great, but is definitely unusual compared to other floor standers.

Off topic, and I don’t know Stereophile’s demographics but it would be great to prove or disprove the concerns. Is this all US legal system CYA or are there some speakers that are genuinely more unstable. Does that have effect on the sound?

 

[hnash53]

Tweeters have a sign on them that says "push me."

 

[digitalmallrat]

View attachment 276737

That’s a good point. Once full, it’s heavier.

The recalled models meant that 21 lbs of force tipped the whole thing. Whereas other dressers handled 70 lbs of weight. As they show, in gray, basically a kid first leading to walk who grabbed and leaned away on the Malm4 could potentially be in danger of the dresser wasn’t balanced or empty.

It’s not the best study in terms of torque/angles/etc.

The Studio 590 does stand out as one that was noticeably cheap with its “feet” and surprisingly too heavy. I think as homes have gotten smaller and more households are double income so there is less supervision of kids, it’s riskier.

It sounds great, but is definitely unusual compared to other floor standers.

Off topic, and I don’t know Stereophile’s demographics but it would be great to prove or disprove the concerns. Is this all US legal system CYA or are there some speakers that are genuinely more unstable. Does that have effect on the sound?

Very interesting chart ... Thanks for sharing!

 

[digitalmallrat]

This is something I'd at least expect the larger manufacturers to figure into their designs by now.

It's been a consideration for TVs, IKEA furniture, etc. for a long time. Manufacturers could at least provide tether points so that speakers could be tethered to a wall, perhaps

I definitely agree. Seems like there should be an industry standard for mounting security hardware without potentially damaging the speakers.

 

[digitalmallrat]

What is the conesus on wall-mounted speaker stands, or even a wall-mounted shelf that you can put a bookshelf speaker on? They would be out of the reach of children and not a threat of toppeling over, but would they impact sound quality?