Moving/manoeuvring heavy floorstanders…

Has anyone got any tips on moving/manoeuvring heavy floorstand speakers?

Currently got my PMC OB1s on a wooden floor and need to package them up but never found a straightforward way to handle them… any advice most welcome.

Chiropractor :blush:

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I use a sheet of hardboard (4’ x 2’ or 1200mm x 600mm) which I slip under the item e.g. fridge/washing machine/sometimes speakers, making sure the shiny side is down and there’s no grit between this surface and whatever flooring is involved.

So long as the item in question can be rocked a tad, I find it’s quite easy to get the board underneath.

Failing that, I can walk my ~65KG Art 'speakers, I just make sure the wood floor is covered with towels/other coverings to prevent marking.

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Try and twist them across the floor, alternating one side at a time. This is how I moved my 26 Kg PMC Twenty5 26 and how I now do 36Kg ATC SCM40A speakers - ouch :blush:

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There was a thread last year that suggested using air wedges with heavy speakers. Widely available and cheap. https://community.naimaudio.com/t/titan-606/12174

Never thought of air wedges - will investigate. Many thanks.

Get some of these from Amazon! diy doctor furniture sliders. Work great on washers,sideboards etc
image

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Which feet?

They are only 21.5kg so hardly very heavy. If you are trying to get them in the original box the easiest way is to put the top packing pieces on the speaker, put the box on from the top and then turn it upside down. Take off the spikes and the baseplate if necessary, add the packing pieces and it’s done.

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I tilt my 48kg 1.2m tall speakers onto two spikes (leaning in the opposite direction to the direction of travel, then “walk” them.

My previous speakers weighed over 60kg, but had castors! As I’m not getting any younger, if I ever changed my PMCs for the sublime MB2SE, 58kg but 75kg on their stands, I think I would fit castors to the stand, but ones that can be raised to engage the stand spikes.

21.5Kg is not overly heavy, but it is heavy enough to do you damage if you lift it badly. A surprising number of injuries are caused by lighter objects because people don’t take appropriate care when moving or lifting them. I learnt this the hard way, despite doing lifting and handling training when I worked in the NHS and sometimes had to lift people, never had any problem with that. It was when I lifted a box of about 15KG that I did the injury.

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  1. Get a helper.
  2. When I lay the speakers down, I have a soft blanket down on the floor to rest them on.
  3. At 21.5kg, you plus a helper if you are both reasonably healthy should be able to move them into their boxes without difficulty.
  4. If you need to slide them, furniture sliders are great. But at that weight with one person on each end, you should be able to just lay them down on their backs or sides and get them into the boxes just fine.

My wife and I got good at boxing up our Magico A3s (110 lbs). My current Magico S5MkII speakers are over 200 lbs each and thus too heavy for us to deal with. To get them here into the house I hired local movers – 2 men came, plus one gentleman with the dealer came to supervise the moving and to do the setup. A significant advantage to keeping speakers at or under ~100 lbs!

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Herbies gliders
Perfect

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Another vote for Herbie’s gliders, will make them sound better too.

I have Klipsch Forte III’s which are pretty heavy. They are on a carpeted floor so can be moved by carefully sliding them across the carpet, inches at a time. For hard floors get some thin furniture gliders. Not need for Herbie’s lab - they are expensive in comparison and you will only be using them to move the speakers. As for packing simply place the packing pieces on top, slide the box over the speaker from top down and then turn then right way up.

A word of caution. DO NOT attempt to move or lift them on your own if they are too heavy. You can do yourself serious injury. This is no joke - I have suffered a hernia which required surgery and believe me it is not a laughing matter. If in any doubt at all then pay for professional help.

Herbies gliders under my kudos Titan t88s
$24 per glider
Sounded as good, if not better than Fraim chips
Moving these 65 kg speakers is easy and not a mark on floor
David
Ps- floor scratches from Fraim chips , since replaced by the herbies gliders

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