Three Wall-Mount Speaker
Brackets: OmniMount Systems 20.0, Sanus Systems WMS2, Monster Cable MM1UMK
Judging from my mail, I'm not the only person around who
believes that stacking stuff on top of other stuff is the best way to decorate a room --
or do I mean desecrate?
No matter. I get letters from readers asking, where do I
put all the extra speakers in my home-theater system; who has the room?
There are two answers to this: 1) None of us has, and 2)
Look up!
As attractive as the theory of a dedicated home-theater
room is, few of us are that lucky. We have to live in our houses between movies, after
all, and that requires stuff: shelves full of stuff, piles of it, even paths through it.
How do we jam an extra pair (or two!) of surround loudspeakers into that mess? (I'm only
describing my housekeeping, you understand -- I'm sure your place is all
neat'n'spiffy.)
Look up. See all that blank space on your walls? That's
prime surround loudspeaker real estate -- and it isn't hard to utilize, either.
Mount, mount, my soul! thy seat is up on high
You'll note that this review isn't about a specific
product, but lists three of them. There are a few reasons for this, not least among them
that most speaker manufacturers now incorporate standardized threaded inserts on
their surround speakers, which means that any of these will connect to them.
All three models are articulated so they can tilt and
swivel and you can aim the speakers where you want. All three are widely available at A/V
stores and they all come in both black and white.
They aren't identical, although the differences among them
are minor. Weight ratings, for instance: the Monster Cable MM1UMK should be used with
speakers weighing 8 pounds or less, the Sanus WMS2 with speakers weighing 15 pounds or
less, and the OmniMount 20.0 with speakers under 20 pounds.
The OmniMount has slightly different models for wall or
ceiling mounting, the Sanus is wall-mount only, and the Monster can be used for either.
Cosmetically, there are small differences among them. The
MM1UMK is possibly the least obtrusive, but it only has to support 8 pounds -- I
personally don't mind the brawniness of the other two, since it means my speakers won't
come tumbling down.
They shall mount up with wings as eagles
That's an important issue, obviously. You want to install
your speaker brackets carefully. The absolutely best way to go is to screw the
brackets into a wall stud. That means you need to find the stud -- and, if you're
really lucky, there'll be a wall stud where you need it. But what if there isn't, or you
have a masonry wall?
All isn't lost, but you'll need to be very careful,
or, better yet, hire a pro to do it for you. Even expensive contractors generally cost
less for a simple job like this than replacing your speakers (and part of the wall) will.
But if you insist on doing it yourself, do it right. There
are a wide variety of wall-anchors available. At the light end of the scale, you can probably
get away with common plastic expansion anchors, especially if you're wall-mounting a
speaker where the force is focused downward, but for heavier loudspeakers (or if you are
mounting them on the ceiling), you should probably utilize molly bolts or toggle bolts,
which expand on the other side of the wall and spread the weight over a broad area. You
need to be careful when using expansion bolts, however -- they will only be as strong as
the material they are mounted in. Thin drywall cannot support heavy speakers no matter how
secure the mounting bolts seem initially.
For really heavy loudspeakers, either use a stud, or
consider major surgery on the wall to install a brace between studs (costly and
complicated, which seems to defeat the whole cheap'n'cheerful aspect of wall-mounting).
Most surround loudspeakers aren't all that heavy, however,
so mounting them safely should not be too complicated.
The dwarf sees farther than the giant, when he has the
giant’s shoulder to mount on
The other big question is where to mount the
speakers. Placement of surround speakers does not require the same level of precision that
placement of the main channels can, but there are some guidelines you'll want to observe.
The really good news is that you want 'em high --
above ear level by a couple of feet. That makes wall- or ceiling-mounting a perfect
solution.
The type of surround sound system you have -- not to
mention the type of surround-sound speakers you have -- will dictate the best
positions for your surround speakers.
If you have a 5.1-channel setup, you're best off mounting
the surrounds on the side walls (the term rear-channel speakers is a
misnomer in this case). If you're using dipolar surrounds (which don't radiate sound
directly at the listener), you'll want to put 'em to the sides of your preferred listening
position. If you're using bipolar or direct-radiating surrounds, locate 'em a few feet
behind your preferred listening spot.
For Dolby Digital EX or DTS-ES, you'll also have true
rear-channel speakers (either one or two). These should be centrally mounted on the, ummm,
rear wall at the same height as your side surrounds. Again, if you're using
dipoles, try to focus the sound to radiate toward the side walls to spread the sound
around (you never want to hear direct sound from a dipolar surround); if you're
using bipoles or direct radiators, just center 'em (put a single speaker smack dab in the
middle; spread a pair equidistant from the sidewalls and each other).
Pure and ready to mount to the stars
If all of this sounds complicated, well it simply sounds
that way. Wall- and ceiling-mounting your loudspeakers is no more difficult that
stand-mounting them -- and it frees up more floor and shelf space, always a true benefit.
There aren't really any functional differences between the
three models of bracket covered here -- choose the Monster MM1UMK, Sanus Systems WMS2, or
OmniMount 20.0 based on availability, price, or appearance; they all work just fine.
If you're oppressed by surround-speaker clutter, keep your
chin up. You just might spot a good location.
...Wes Phillips
wes@onhometheater.com
Monster Cable MM1UMK
Price: $34.95 USD/each
Monster Cable Products, Inc.
455 Valley Drive
Brisbane, CA 94005
Phone: (415) 840-2000
Fax: (415) 468-0311
E-mail: webmaster@monstercable.com
Website: www.monstercable.com
Sanus Systems WMS2
Price: $59.99 USD/pair
Sanus Systems
3785 Lexington Avenue North
St. Paul, MN 55126
Phone: (800) 359-5520
Fax: (651) 636-0367
E-mail: info@sanus.com
Website: www.sanus.com
OmniMount 20.0
Price: $41.95 USD/pair
OmniMount Systems
8201 South 48th St.
Phoenix, AZ 85044
Phone: (800) 668-6848
Email: info@omnimount.com
Website: www.omnimount.com
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