Moving speakers that weigh more than you!
By Roy Gregory
One of the serious problems with reviewing audio equipment comes down to simple logistics. Not only is the equipment often improbably heavy, but doing the job properly means having plenty of other, alternative equipment on hand. To make matters worse, each and every piece of said equipment arrives in a box, crate or carton at least twice as large as the product itself. Simply storing all the boxes is a significant challenge. In fact, even moving some of them presents a puzzle that demands more than one person to solve. Welcome to the glamorous (and in this weather, grubby and sweaty) world of audio reviewing.
But dealing with the packaging is invariably easier than dealing with the products themselves, not so much during the review, but either before (during the installation) or after the event, when there’s a pressing need to clear the decks. With a pair of speakers that each weigh 225kg dominating your listening room/workspace; with a second set of equally large and nearly as heavy speakers arriving imminently, just how do you set about shifting them?
The problem of course is that they aren’t just heavy, they’re also fragile, with easily damaged finishes. Some speakers (notably the Wilsons and now the larger Stenheims) come with wheels. But increasingly I’m seeing speakers arrive in wheeled crates, which is fine, just as long as you’ve got the two or three people available that it takes to get them horizontal and into the crate – or into the crate and horizontal. Even providing wheels isn’t necessarily a solution, as you also need to provide a means of transitioning from spikes to wheels and vice-versa. Once again, Wilson have that nailed, while Stenheim’s first attempt at a solution demonstrated just how wrong you can get it. The bottom line is that most speakers (and amplifiers for that matter) tend to work on the assumption that you are going to have plenty of willing hands available when it comes time to move them about. As most reviewers will attest, for audio journalists that simply isn’t the case, a reality that all too often applies to owners as well, who might need to relocate their systems for any of a number of reasons (re-carpeting, redecorating, reassessing, reinforcing – floors that is – auditioning an alternative, or any of a host of other demands). The fact is, that sooner or later, people who own big heavy speakers are going to need to move them – and quite often, move them on their own. With just such a scenario looming, it seems like a good time to discuss the various approaches to this problem that I’ve evolved over the years.
But first a disclaimer: a disclaimer I’m going to make no apologies for repeating throughout this piece. Moving anything that’s as tall as you and weighs twice as much is never a trivial task. Doing it on your own is best avoided and, if you are going to do it, understand the risks involved and the measures you should take to keep you and your loudspeakers healthy. The process I describe here is simply the way that I do it. It works for me and has done for a number of years. But if you choose to follow these steps, the outcome is entirely your responsibility and you do so at your own risk: just as I’m responsible to both myself and the manufacturers whose products I work with.
Tools for the job…
Like any job, moving speakers about is made considerably easier if you have the right tools. My collection is many and varied, partly because it has to embrace every conceivable option and situation. I’m going to list the essentials, but if you are dealing with a single set of speakers, you can probably limit the necessities to a more specific kit.
