protecting speakers during move

[crazycat]

I need some advice on how to protect several sets of speakers (AR-9's, AR-11's, Klipsh Forte) during a move. I recently accepted a job in my homeland of Tennessee :banana: and will be moving soon. The new company is going to move all my stuff, but I'm concerned about speakers and electronics. I plan to move several pieces of tube equipment myself, but don't really want to tackle the speakers again.
The bass speakers on AR-9's are especially susceptible to damage. Any recomenmdations on how to protect speakers from moving company damage. I plan to take lots of photographs, just in case.
Thanks
Robert

[yamahammer]

rent a van take them with you wrap them in moving blankets (the movers will do this for you ) they can tow your car behind the moving van or have someone else drive your car (family member) send them back by bus or train or airplane (friend) think outside the box for a minute does this sound ok or weird to you ?????

[OvenMaster]

My family had more damage done to our household goods in one moving company adventure than in all the ten or so U-Haul moves we did ourselves over 40+ years combined! This includes the piano, the glassware, the dishes, mirrors, televisions, and yes, stereo gear. The "insurance" the moving company offers is a cruel and useless joke, let's put it that way.

If you want it done right, do it yourself. For speakers, treat them like the finest furniture if you do not still have the original shipping boxes (I kept mine even after I junked the speakers years ago for other storage use). Put the speaker faces against each other, separated by heavy cardboard or a blanket. A combination of blankets, appliance straps, and cardboard appliance corner protectors should then do the trick. Prayer helps as well.

Tom

[RetroHacker]

When I moved I didn't have any problem with broken stuff on the other end - the movers were great, and packed everything very well. I think the only things that got damaged were a couple of glasses that got broken, a table got a gouge in it, and an old 15" Apple monitor got broken. Not bad for two moving vans full of stuff, moving from Indiana to New York, and having the stuff in storage with the movers for a month or two. The movers were friendly and did a great job on both ends, and the moving company promptly paid for damages, and sent someone out to repair the table. If you ever need to move, go with New World Van Lines.

As for protecting speakers, I agree with OvenMaster - put the speakers face to face seperated by cardboard, wrap in blankets, etc. If you can find a large box, pack them in there - I think some of my speakers arrived here, packed by the movers, in dish pack boxes, wrapped in plenty of paper with paper all around. I would probably suggest something more than paper, but that's what the movers used, and when it's all packed up, they're remarkably well protected. If you put each speaker in it's own box, still try to put cardboard over the face of it, so that shifting packing materials don't push in on the woofers.

Good luck.

-Ian

[electronjohn]

This may sound weird, but I was once told speaker damage could be minimized by shorting the terminals before shipping. Kinda makes sense.

[luvvinvinyl]

If your bass drivers are sitting in the usual, 'face-forward', or, vertical, if you will, orientation, a sharp bump, like a pothole in the road, can cause the magnet to shear off. If you remove them, and pack them, face-to-face, well wrapped, and sitting on one of the two magnets, in a horizontal orientation, you can minimize the chance of damage occurring.

[OvenMaster]

What if you lay the speakers together face to face, but one on top and the other on the bottom? Just a thought.
Tom

[crazycat]

Thanks for the igood deas. I had not thought about removing speakers and moving seperately. I am planning on renting a cargo van and moving stero equipment, computers and fragile items seperately. At 135 lps each, I really don't want move the AR-9's again.

[Clarence]

Just packed my dynaco st-70, plenty of bubblewrap and peanuts. hIII's are going back in the box, and I will be hand delivering the shipment to NY from detroit. there will also be a 42" plasma riding shotgun. no problems so far.