[Bizarroterl]

I'm trying to finish a big remodel.  Once done I can (finally) assemble my av123 LS6 cabinets and GR drivers.  The recent earthquake in Napa got me to worrying. 

I live in earthquake country and I really don't want to have the experience of finding my LS6s laying on the floor.   

Anyone here with line source earthquake experience?  I thought of attaching them to the wall, but that seems like a recipe for transmitting sound to the wall (probably not a good idea).
I though about bolting them to the floor, but after laying the elaborate floor myself, I really don't like the idea of drilling holes in it.

Maybe a granite base?

thoughts?

[Danny Richie]

Heavy or over sized base with floor spikes.

Either that or move to Texas.

[nickd]

Have some Oversize (much wider) bases made from 1" steel plate. It is not too hard or expensive in CA to find shops that laser cut or plasma cut heavy steel plate. Hit it with a sander and have it powder coated black. Most shops will drill and counter sink the mounting screw holes and even drill and tap holes for your adjustable spike feet. you can bring them one of the old AV-123 bases for the hole template.

No Guarantee a 6.0 or bigger won't topple them, but the mass and extra width should help stabilize them.

[Skiman]

I like the oversize/heavy base idea. But before you attach the new bases, first try listening with the speakers positioned in different locations to determine the best response. You don't want them too close to the front wall for example.

[randytsuch]

What about lead or some other heavy metal thrown inside the speaker on the bottom?

Never tried it.  I live in so cal, have monitors, and the stands for my monitors have sand to weigh down the bottom.

Randy

[SoCalWJS]

I have friends with LS6 and LS9 speakers who live near the Napa quake - neither had any problems. I've been through a couple of minor shakes w/o issues. Stock bases on all of them.

When the big one hits, I figure the roof is coming down, so it's not going to matter much if the speakers were upright or toppled over when the house collapsed on top of them. 

[Bizarroterl]

I'm leaning towards a heavy base.  I always thought granite would be nice.  The cabinets are rosewood, so I'm considering 3cm of this:
http://www.arizonatile.com/RED-DRAGON-P531.aspx

Lifting the cabinets, installing the granite, and then placing the finished speaker may be a bit too heavy for my back.   

[bdp24]

I like the idea of moving to Texas better! I have friends in Austin and elsewhere, and they all love it.

[Cheeseboy]

I live in Sonoma the next valley over from Napa.   Gracie our Rat Terrier now nicknamed "FEMA" woke us up a minute before the quake hit.  I went into the living room to see why she was barking.   Then it hit.  My first thought was the LS6s in the living room.  Nada Zip Zero problems.  They weren't even rocking or moving.   If you are super worried you could attach two steel wire lines to the ceiling and to the back on the speakers.  Just make sure they are tethered to a stud in the ceiling.  You had better be sure that's where you want them. 

Enjoy the music.

[*Scotty*]

The 5.8 magnitude quake that happened in Virginia in 2011 and caused substantial damage to the Washington Monument and National Cathedral also damaged the exterior facade of the 16 story condominium building I live in. Frequently damage was directly related to the height of the structure. My condo unit is on the 12th floor of the building and there was apparently some movement as some books fell off the top shelf of a couple of bookcases.
 My 56 inch tall floor-standing loudspeakers did not fall over which was the first audio related thing I thought about when the earthquake happened.
One of the possibly mitigating factors that prevented any damage may have been the design of the footers used under the the speakers. They are a ball and cup design which allows a controlled amount of lateral movement through 360 degrees in the horizontal plane.




Flange-Mount Ball Transfer, Standard, 1" Steel Ball, Steel Housing, 135 lb Capacity
The size of cup shown above will a 1inch diameter ball. picture courtesy of McMaster Carr part No. 5674K61
Obviously if there is too much shaking nothing will help but this is another approach to helping with the problem.
This is similar to the design used under sky-scapers in quake zones to prevent toppling.
The trick is to get a suitable size cup to work with the available Ball Transfer caster sizes. Mine were supplied with my loudspeakers.
Scotty

[Bizarroterl]

I've lived in Texas before as well as almost every state west of the Mississippi.  Every one has something going for it.  CA just includes most of the plusses and less of the minuses.  Plus the LS6s are too big to move so I guess I'll just stay where I'm at.

[Bizarroterl]

I live in Sonoma the next valley over from Napa.   Gracie our Rat Terrier now nicknamed "FEMA" woke us up a minute before the quake hit.  I went into the living room to see why she was barking.   Then it hit.  My first thought was the LS6s in the living room.  Nada Zip Zero problems.  They weren't even rocking or moving.   If you are super worried you could attach two steel wire lines to the ceiling and to the back on the speakers.  Just make sure they are tethered to a stud in the ceiling.  You had better be sure that's where you want them. 

Enjoy the music.

That's the feedback I was looking for.    thx Cheeseboy

[Bizarroterl]

Scotty,
That's an interesting idea.  As long as the ball didn't displace over the edge of the cup it would work really well.  I suppose the only way to get the machined cups is to have a machine shop make some.


One idea I've been toying with is to do the granite (IMHO, much better looking base than the stock "X" one) and using some of these:
http://www.slipstick.com.au/slipstick-sliders/cb250o/
They make the LS6 movable for earthquakes and cleaning.  The one issue I can see is would the normal day to day vibrations result in them moving on their own?   

And by using something like the cups or sliders I'm losing the advantages of coupling the speakers to the floor.  Then again, I'm not a volume nut and maybe that minimizes the advantages of coupling.

[Danny Richie]

Looks like Scotty has the best real answer. Good thinking. 

[Hank]

I like the idea of moving to Texas better! I have friends in Austin and elsewhere, and they all love it.

Too many people are moving here - Austin is the fastest growing city in the country - 400 to 700 people a week.  It's outta control!  Traffic is bad and we'll be gridlocked in a couple of years.  Property taxes are high and climbing because of the number of new schools that have to be built every year. I'm going to lock the gate as soon as I find it.
Scotty's idea is the answer.

[Cheeseboy]

Hank,

They move to Austin because it is an awesome city full of energy and positive vibe.
If I had to relocate I would consider Austin in a heartbeat!

[bdp24]

You would save the cost of shipping on your next Rythmik order!

[Bizarroterl]

You would save the cost of shipping on your next Rythmik order!

Just bought a couple of the amplifiers (subs from Danny).  They're already here so I missed out on that!

[Bizarroterl]

I was in Austin a few years ago.  There sure were a lot of police w/radar.  Speeding was very risky, esp compared with CA where just about anything goes.    Other than that, it seemed to be a nice place, and growing fast.

[*Scotty*]

Bigger balls and bigger diameter cups would accommodate greater lateral motion. The ball transfer device in the cup as a footer works almost identically to the DARUMA type "isolation products as well as AURIOS type footers. They are very effective at reducing boomy bass that occurs with suspended wood floors.
 If I was really concerned about the speaker toppling over due to seismic events I would also run vinyl coated steel cables from the ceiling joists down to the speakers with enough slack to allow the speaker to freely but restrain it from falling over.

Belt and suspenders!
Scotty