How to Mount Your Speakers and Receivers

So you finally received your speakers that, after reading our article on how to select speakers and receivers, are the perfect setup for your upcoming party this weekend. You've plugged them in, bumped some beats, decided everything sounds good, but now you need to figure out where to put them and how to set them up. Bottom line is, you don't want your speakers and receiver just sitting on the floor or in an area where they or the wires are particularly susceptible to getting kicked or spilled on. That is, unless they're tower speakers in which you really don't have another option other than the floor. And subwoofers are likely going to want to stay on the floor as well. But for most everything else you should be able to use the methods below with ease.

First off, you need to establish how much speaker cable you have. These days you can get a decent sounding 100' spool of 18-gauge speaker cable for only twenty bucks. Speaker Cable Example.*Always check the manual of your speakers or look up the model online so that you know exactly which gauge cable you should be running.

So, it is worth spending the extra five bucks to get enough cable that you can place your speakers and receivers, pre-amps, amps etc. in exactly the place where you desire.

Location, Location, Location

Next, pick out where you would like to place your speakers. We suggest at least 4-5 feet off the ground so they are at ear level with most people in the room. Also, if your speakers are ported, also known as a bass reflex system, then you'll want to make sure the back of the speaker enclosure is at least 8-12" out from the wall. The reason is that these speakers use the sound from the rear side of the diaphragm to increase the efficiency of the system at low frequencies, and therefore need sufficient air flow behind them to work properly. In general, it's a good idea to have at least a few inches of space in between any speaker enclosure's backside and the wall or piece of furniture that's behind it. Also, try to make sure that your speakers are facing towards open spaces and not another wall ten feet directly across from it so as to avoid reverberation. I know we're not exactly setting up a recording studio here, but depending on how loudly the music will be played it can make a difference for you audiophiles.

How to Hang the Speakers

Once you get all of your speakers wired up and measured properly it's time to prop them up. If you don't already have a bookshelf or something else sturdy to place your speakers on then this is where some creativity comes in. What you'll need is:

• 2 (two) L Brackets for each speaker you want to hang
• 1 (one) 1.5 to 2" thick wood plank that's 1.5x the footprint of your speaker's base or bigger.
• Electric drill and screws (potentially sheetrock screws depending on wall)
• Optional 2"x4" if you don't want to drill into your walls.

Now, if you have walls that you don't care about drilling into, then you can drill the L brackets directly into the wall and place the wood board (platform) directly on top, screwed in as well, of course.

If you have any sort of exposed beam or other protruding structure in the house that you can also drill into then you can use the 2x4 method, in which you're suspending the speaker platform from the drilled-in 2x4's.

Thirdly, if you prefer to locate your speakers in a corner, then you can build your own shelf based off the diagram below and use the same L Bracket method to screw it into the wall, as displayed below. (*Note that it says to use 2x4" lumber drilled into the wall for support, which is feasible as well, but the L Bracket is simply easier to install if you're looking to save time and minimize effort.)

Lastly, it's recommended that you place some sort of foam insulation or even a folded-over towel underneath the speakers. This simply insulates the speaker vibration from the wood platform (see pictures above for example). Once again, it's not a necessity, but just good practice when trying to set up any type of system on wood.

So there you have it, the basics to set up that newly acquired speaker system for optimum efficiency. Certainly there are more aesthetically pleasing manners of setting up your speakers, but from a practical and relatively cheap standpoint - which is what we are all about - this should fit your needs. And as always, post any success or failure stories in our forums, pictures of your before and after installations, and mostly, enjoy your music!

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