I recently rebuilt a pair of ESL-63s, and printed some 5 degree tilt back feet, but I don't like having the sound beamed up at my ears from close to the floor, so I designed and built some stands using 1"x1" and 1"x2" t-slot. The stands lift the speaker about 350 mm off the floor, and they are sturdy and center the weight so they aren't easy to knock over.
Details and link to CAD file here. Extra bonus: they are high enough that my cat will probably stop using them as a scratching post.
Details and link to CAD file here. Extra bonus: they are high enough that my cat will probably stop using them as a scratching post.
Anything can be built with 80/20. I keep thinking of putting together a design for a small dipole sub that is also a stand. sort of like the old gradient, but with a ripole sort of concept and smaller drivers than the old gradients.
I built a short stand for my sub using t-slot, too. It lifts it about 100mm off the floor so the robot vacuum cleaner doesn't bang into it.
If you use 40mm t-slot you can fit an 8mm thick panel in the slots to mount the drivers, or use something much thicker and attach it to the t-slot with t-nuts.
If you use 40mm t-slot you can fit an 8mm thick panel in the slots to mount the drivers, or use something much thicker and attach it to the t-slot with t-nuts.
Made these for the 988 a few years ago. I took the metal base off and made it to just sit inside the perimeter of the plastic base
of the quads.
I played around first with heights on blocks to get the best balance of bass and transparency.
The higher you go the better they get
of the quads.
I played around first with heights on blocks to get the best balance of bass and transparency.
The higher you go the better they get
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AVWERK,
I have a pair of 988's but I like your stands much better than my cheap IKEA hacks. I used two Ikea wood boxes sitting under two pieces of wood to end up with the speakers 8 inches above the floor. I was recommended this height by Keith McCollum of esolutions, who upgraded/repaired my speakers.
I have a pair of 988's but I like your stands much better than my cheap IKEA hacks. I used two Ikea wood boxes sitting under two pieces of wood to end up with the speakers 8 inches above the floor. I was recommended this height by Keith McCollum of esolutions, who upgraded/repaired my speakers.
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Are the 988s built to be more stable than the 63s? The 63s are very easy to knock over if pushed from behind because the COG is close to the front feet. I extended the feet on my stands forward of the speaker to make them more stable, especially since I was raising them up so high.
I am not sure they are more stable than the 63's. They are slightly tilted back from being perpendicular to the floor. I think they could have been better engineered with more weight in the back part of the base (behind the speaker panel). When I first got the speakers and was not used to them, I accidentally knocked one of them over by bumping into it from behind. That may have led to damage -- about 6 months after buying them (I bought them used) I had to send them in for repairs.
Mark, just noticed the SVS subwoofer in your photo. Are you using it with Quad speakers? I continue thinking about buying a pair to use with my 988's but, hate to take a flyer on that purchase without any possibility of hearing the combination before I buy. I guess I could always resell if I don't like them. Also my local audio store would probably let me take an REL sub home to listen.
Yes, I use the SVS 3000 Micro with the Quads. I have it set to 50 Hz, 18dB/octave roll-off, -25 dB volume. That xover point seems high, but when you lift the speakers up off the floor their bass output drops off a little. I also have a pair of B&W 703 S3s connected to the system. The roll-off frequency for the sub as it is set is a little high for the B&Ws, but the level is low so it isn't usually a problem. I've seen some reviews of the SVS 3000 Micro that talk about the limiter and size of the drivers making it unsuitable for high volume listening in large rooms.
I live in a condo and my listening room is as below. It's kind of L shaped, and there's a long hallway. The ceiling is 3.4m H, and has large, thick rafters. There are also some huge wood beams and a wood post holding them up. Both the Quads and the sub easily play louder than I want to listen and more than loud enough to disturb the neighbors.
The top edge in the drawing has a large window facing south (2.8m W x 2.2m H) and the left side faces east with two extremely large windows (4.2m W x 2.2m H each). There are heavy velvet curtains that cover most of the east side when they are closed.
Back in the mid 90s I had a pair of ESL-63s and biamped them with woofers in dual chamber boxes. I used a LR 4th order crossover, 120 Hz crossover point, and it was really good. The Quads can play much louder when you keep the lowest frequencies out of them.
I have an extra set of the ESL-63 drivers and I'm considering using the bass drivers to turn the 63s into into 989s.
I think SVS has an easy return policy if you don't like their stuff.
Oh, as a post script to my first post at the top of the thread, my cat still uses the Quads as scratching posts. It's OK- she has no front claws.
And another post script: In case it isn't obvious, the stands I made screw onto the bottom of the speakers, so they can't be knocked off the stands.
I live in a condo and my listening room is as below. It's kind of L shaped, and there's a long hallway. The ceiling is 3.4m H, and has large, thick rafters. There are also some huge wood beams and a wood post holding them up. Both the Quads and the sub easily play louder than I want to listen and more than loud enough to disturb the neighbors.
Back in the mid 90s I had a pair of ESL-63s and biamped them with woofers in dual chamber boxes. I used a LR 4th order crossover, 120 Hz crossover point, and it was really good. The Quads can play much louder when you keep the lowest frequencies out of them.
I have an extra set of the ESL-63 drivers and I'm considering using the bass drivers to turn the 63s into into 989s.
I think SVS has an easy return policy if you don't like their stuff.
Oh, as a post script to my first post at the top of the thread, my cat still uses the Quads as scratching posts. It's OK- she has no front claws.
And another post script: In case it isn't obvious, the stands I made screw onto the bottom of the speakers, so they can't be knocked off the stands.
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