looking for some suggestions on how to mount my rear speakers...

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
UPDATED POST - 4/2

i posted this over on avs but figured i'd also ask here as well.

Okay so I've changed my plan on how to mount my speakers on the wall. Instead of building the shelves with the L brackets, which I've now wasted about $50 on since I've already painted all the parts, I ordered some Peerless CRT TV mounts that I'm going to mount on the wall. I'm going to see if those things will work for what I want, and they mount to a single stud and are 14" wide, so I plan to have it hanging 6" over on each side since I'm going to place them sideways.

I now have some questions about where to place them.

I've taken pics from opposite sides of the room, pretty much lined up with the seating area. I'm looking for recommendations on which stud to mount these too. And keep in mind, that is where the center of the speaker will be. Also they won't be 100% symmetrical on each side but can be close based on which studs I put them on.

Also in the pics, note the drop ceiling and where it lines up on the walls, to see where the equidistance on each side is.

On my one side of the room that is further away from the seating area, I am not sure why but there are 2 studs that are 27" apart. Since I did not finish the basement I really have no clue why it is like that in that one area, since everywhere else in the room is 16" apart. Here's a pic of that one.

http://cdn.avsforum.com/8/8c/900x900px-LL-8c61d43f_S5VKQii.jpeg

Here is a pic of the other side where the 3 studs are 16" apart each.

http://cdn.avsforum.com/a/af/900x900px-LL-af06d6ea_YSi23Jf.jpeg

Right now I'm personally leaning towards 1 on the left side, and 3 on the right side. That will however put the one on the right side slightly behind the one on the left side. But I checked and there will be a direct line of sight to both speakers if I were to put them on those studs.

The second thought I had was to put them both on 2, and they won't be 100% evenly placed but again, it will be close. But I wasn't sure if that was too far in front of the seating area.

So again, really just looking for opinions from those of you who are more experienced than I am with speaker placement. And since I don't really want to try out both places, I'd like to ideally do what is best the first time around.

ORIGINAL POST - 3/23

so today i finally completed my 5.2 speaker setup. now i have to mount them.

here's the surrounds i'm using.

http://i.imgur.com/j3qbR32.jpg

they are a little over 2 feet tall, then 13" deep and 12" wide. they weigh 50lbs each.

here is where they are going to go, to the side of the speaker plates.

http://i.imgur.com/JN3gwme.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4AaJJeC.jpg

there is a stud in the wall about 6-8 inches to the side of each speaker plate.

what i was THINKING about doing was putting some kind of shelf on the wall that sticks out like 15 or 16 inches and then setting the speaker on top of it. that way i can change the angle of it easily if i want to and won't be stuck to 1 position if it is mounted to the wall.

i was thinking possibly getting something like this...

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Everbilt...f-Bracket-14835/202824731?N=bcdr#.UU5a51eHuSp

and then mounting some type of wooden board or shelf to the center of that, then setting the speaker on top of it.

i've just never done something like this before, and i am not 100% sure if that would work or if the wood would teeter/topple when the speaker is placed on it, even if the shelf is bolted to the l bracket thing.

so does anyone think this would work? or is there any other ideas that someone would recommend over this? i was thinking possibly 2 L brackets but if i had to put them in 2 studs 16" apart, the speaker wouldn't be placed where I would like it to be.

i also wasn't sure if it would be safe if I used 2 L brackets per shelf, and screwed them to the drywall with a drywall anchor.

i've just never done something like this and looking for some advice.
 
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jimbob200521

Diamond Member
Apr 15, 2005
4,108
29
91
Have you thought about getting speaker stands instead? That way you can move them around if you ever rearrange your living room (or wherever you're putting this setup) and you don't have to drill into your walls.

Edit: You could get some that have woodgrain to them

http://www.amazon.com/Sanus-NF24c-N...id=1364090665&sr=8-16&keywords=speaker+stands

Or some heavy duty steel ones that still look good (imho, anyway)

http://www.amazon.com/Pyle-Home-PST...id=1364090665&sr=8-18&keywords=speaker+stands
 
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SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
82
86
When I had to mount my rear speakers, they were pretty heavy and no mount could accommodate them, so I made shelves, very much like what you're doing.

I painted the shelves to match, secured the speakers to the shelves using velcro. The shelves I made were half circles because my rear speakers also had half circle shape.

IMG_2537.jpg


edit: wrong speaker pic earlier.
 
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minendo

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2001
35,557
16
81
One L bracket in the stud won't suffice for ~50lbs. Nor would 2 in dry wall.
 

jimbob200521

Diamond Member
Apr 15, 2005
4,108
29
91
One L bracket in the stud won't suffice for ~50lbs. Nor would 2 in dry wall.

A good L bracket into a stud should work, as long as he gets it right. Plus he could always add a second using drywall studs to be sure.
 

minendo

Elite Member
Aug 31, 2001
35,557
16
81
A good L bracket into a stud should work, as long as he gets it right. Plus he could always add a second using drywall studs to be sure.

Two in studs would be ideal, but he is talking about 1 in the stud and then balancing a shelf on it. Too much risk in my opinion.
 

SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
82
86
Two in studs would be ideal, but he is talking about 1 in the stud and then balancing a shelf on it. Too much risk in my opinion.
When I did it, I put the main one in the stud, and two very small ones on the outside in the drywall with anchor to balance it.
 

DaTT

Garage Moderator
Moderator
Feb 13, 2003
13,295
118
106
One L bracket in the stud won't suffice for ~50lbs. Nor would 2 in dry wall.

Incorrect. You can get plugs for drywall rated up to 50lbs. I typically use ones rated for 30lbs.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
When I did it, I put the main one in the stud, and two very small ones on the outside in the drywall with anchor to balance it.

probably going to go this route actually. that is a very good idea that makes the most sense.

what kind of screw do you need to mount the bracket to the stud though?


will brackets that aren't as long as the shelf that is going to sit on it be sufficient? cause the speakers are 13" deep so the shelf is going to be deeper than that.

Did the previous owner move the coax? Or is it just the pic

yeah he did. he also told me that he has some drivers that are from other jtr speakers that he said he could send me if it is actually messed up.
 
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SSSnail

Lifer
Nov 29, 2006
17,458
82
86
probably going to go this route actually. that is a very good idea that makes the most sense.

what kind of screw do you need to mount the bracket to the stud though?



will brackets that aren't as long as the shelf that is going to sit on it be sufficient? cause the speakers are 13" deep so the shelf is going to be deeper than that.
I used long wood screws, drilled some pilot holes and screwed right into the studs. You don't need a bracket's lateral length to match the shelf, as the load is vertical, just make sure that it is longer that 60-65% of the shelf's width. And to be honest, your shelf doesn't need to be much longer than 13", just need to be long enough to clear the space for your banana plugs.

Oh, screw the brackets onto your shelves first, then mark the holes on the wall.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
I used long wood screws, drilled some pilot holes and screwed right into the studs. You don't need a bracket's lateral length to match the shelf, as the load is vertical, just make sure that it is longer that 60-65% of the shelf's width. And to be honest, your shelf doesn't need to be much longer than 13", just need to be long enough to clear the space for your banana plugs.

Oh, screw the brackets onto your shelves first, then mark the holes on the wall.

alright cool man thanks. i think im going to go to home depot in a little bit and check out what they have.
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
large expanding wall anchors and or molly bolts have huge weight ratings in 3/4" drywall as well, if you get 1 bracket in a stud and use them you could support well over 100 lbs

ive used the 150 lb wall anchors in pure drywall to mount things in the 50lb range with good results
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
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so yesterday at home depot i bought 2 heavy duty L brackets (1 for each shelf, that will mount directly to the stud) then 4 smaller duty L brackets (2 for each shelf) to put on near the edges of the shelf and use drywall anchors for those. i had some extra wood i'm going to use for the shelf from when i built my other stands.

i couldn't use the wooden ones because of how they mount to the wall (they don't mount to studs, there are 2 holes on each side of the main wooden bracket. basically they would screw OUTSIDE of a stud)

i plan to either paint everything black or the same color as the wall. i'm just not sure how using the paint i have for the wall will turn out if i paint the metal brackets with it, since they are, you know, metal heh.

i actually am not 100% certain i am going to go this route though. but i do have all the stuff but there is chance i MAY see if I can just find a floor standing shelf to put it on. and just get 2 of them. the ones linked above at ikea actually wouldn't be a bad idea, however the height on them is too tall. the ceiling right there (where it drops down because of a beam) is 6'9, and my speakers are 26" tall. so i will have to find the perfect ones for this to work, but i am going to start searching a bit before i build these wall hanging shelves.
 

MonKENy

Platinum Member
Nov 1, 2007
2,026
3
81
the white screw things I linked are for drywall out side of a stud. You screw those into drywall and than you screw the screws into them

They will hold 50lbs each alone. 2 together will hold 65-70lbs

I use them all the time. Ive held shelves up with things alot heavier than your speakers with them
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
the white screw things I linked are for drywall out side of a stud. You screw those into drywall and than you screw the screws into them

They will hold 50lbs each alone. 2 together will hold 65-70lbs

I use them all the time. Ive held shelves up with things alot heavier than your speakers with them

yeah those are what i got for the outer L brackets.

as far as just using 2 of the wooden ones to hold the shelf on the wall, and having them to the drywall with nothing to a stud, i am a little concerned about it, regardless of what the rating on them is.

if it was a 50lb picture that was flat against the wall, then i wouldn't be concerned. but since this is going to be a shelf that is about 14" sticking out from the wall, with the weight all over it, it's not really pulling straight down like a picture would be. it's more out and down, which just causes a little more concern to me.

Trim the bottom of the ikea shelves?

it looks like the wood running vertical is all one piece, and i don't know if i could want to trim it down and possibly fuck something up lol. the 2nd one linked above is the one i was actually liking and the dimensions of it other than the height seem perfect.

my speakers would fit on that one actually, but there would literally be less than 1 inch of clearance, and i don't want them that high up, especially if i can't angle them down.
 
Last edited:

sdifox

No Lifer
Sep 30, 2005
97,032
16,250
126
yeah those are what i got for the outer L brackets.

as far as just using 2 of the wooden ones to hold the shelf on the wall, and having them to the drywall with nothing to a stud, i am a little concerned about it, regardless of what the rating on them is.

if it was a 50lb picture that was flat against the wall, then i wouldn't be concerned. but since this is going to be a shelf that is about 14" sticking out from the wall, with the weight all over it, it's not really pulling straight down like a picture would be. it's more out and down, which just causes a little more concern to me.



it looks like the wood running vertical is all one piece, and i don't know if i could want to trim it down and possibly fuck something up lol. the 2nd one linked above is the one i was actually liking and the dimensions of it other than the height seem perfect.

my speakers would fit on that one actually, but there would literally be less than 1 inch of clearance, and i don't want them that high up, especially if i can't angle them down.

You don't angle the surrounds towards your ear...and you can get shorter ones, by picking the parts.


http://www.ikea.com/ca/en/catalog/products/S29871804/

or get 2 of these. Serve as media storage too.
 
Last edited:

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
i posted this over on avs but figured i'd also ask here as well.

Okay so I've changed my plan on how to mount my speakers on the wall. Instead of building the shelves with the L brackets, which I've now wasted about $50 on since I've already painted all the parts, I ordered some Peerless CRT TV mounts that I'm going to mount on the wall. I'm going to see if those things will work for what I want, and they mount to a single stud and are 14" wide, so I plan to have it hanging 6" over on each side since I'm going to place them sideways.

I now have some questions about where to place them.

I've taken pics from opposite sides of the room, pretty much lined up with the seating area. I'm looking for recommendations on which stud to mount these too. And keep in mind, that is where the center of the speaker will be. Also they won't be 100% symmetrical on each side but can be close based on which studs I put them on.

Also in the pics, note the drop ceiling and where it lines up on the walls, to see where the equidistance on each side is.

On my one side of the room that is further away from the seating area, I am not sure why but there are 2 studs that are 27" apart. Since I did not finish the basement I really have no clue why it is like that in that one area, since everywhere else in the room is 16" apart. Here's a pic of that one.

http://cdn.avsforum.com/8/8c/900x900px-LL-8c61d43f_S5VKQii.jpeg

Here is a pic of the other side where the 3 studs are 16" apart each.

http://cdn.avsforum.com/a/af/900x900px-LL-af06d6ea_YSi23Jf.jpeg

Right now I'm personally leaning towards 1 on the left side, and 3 on the right side. That will however put the one on the right side slightly behind the one on the left side. But I checked and there will be a direct line of sight to both speakers if I were to put them on those studs.

The second thought I had was to put them both on 2, and they won't be 100% evenly placed but again, it will be close. But I wasn't sure if that was too far in front of the seating area.

So again, really just looking for opinions from those of you who are more experienced than I am with speaker placement. And since I don't really want to try out both places, I'd like to ideally do what is best the first time around.
 

Anubis

No Lifer
Aug 31, 2001
78,712
427
126
tbqhwy.com
ideally you should mount them vertically slightly above ear lvl. What BillF is saying on AVS is correct, that man knows infinitly more about ausio stuff then just about anyone.

TBH i dont think you will have any issues mounting them on their sides for rears. placment sounds fine from your post audessey shoudl take care of any difference in distance and output lvl

im still confident you could get away with just useing toggle bolts or mollys and ignore the studs
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,039
5,920
126
ideally you should mount them vertically slightly above ear lvl. What BillF is saying on AVS is correct, that man knows infinitly more about ausio stuff then just about anyone.

TBH i dont think you will have any issues mounting them on their sides for rears. placment sounds fine from your post audessey shoudl take care of any difference in distance and output lvl

im still confident you could get away with just useing toggle bolts or mollys and ignore the studs

yeah i have seen that yoda avatar all over the place over there so i really do take his word for value. usually he's talking about stuff i have no clue about lol.

i'm just curious though if you've ever held a t8 before, because they are larger than i expected, even though i knew the dimensions/weight beforehand. just like with the caps lol.

i guess i will figure exactly what i want to do when i get the mounts tomorrow.

i guess what i'm wondering mainly is will mounting them in the studs, being a little bit off center, be any different than mounting them on the wall so that they can be 100% lined up, even if that means they aren't on studs.

as far as horizontal vs vertical, it really doesn't matter to me i'd rather do what all around sounds better.