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Thread: 170s against wall? What bad effects?

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    4

    Default 170s against wall? What bad effects?

    Hi,

    I'm wondering just how bad it is to block the back port of the 170s (by mounting right up against a wall)? Does it cripple the sound, or just muffle it a bit, or is it only discernable by a golden ear? These would be used as rear surround, so some hit on quality might be acceptable, but too much would not...

    Also, I see two scews more towards the bottom than the top of the 170. I assume this is where the Omnimounts would go, but I had a very hard time even getting one screw into the cinder block of my basement wall for the current surround. So I'm suspicious of my ability to do more than use the current screws. SO... has anybody used picture wire between the two screws and hung the 170s upside down? Any sound tradeoffs involved??

    Thank you in advance for your help!

    Dan

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Posts
    913

    Default

    I have one of my rear 170s mounted basically against the wall (using an omnimount) and it does fine for surround duty.

    Ascend actually recommends mounting them upside-down if they are going to be mounted high on the wall. This minimizes the reflections from the tweeter by getting it away from the ceiling.

    I can't answer the picture wire question - it doesn't sound that stable to me, but it might work.

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2004
    Location
    Charter Oak, Iowa
    Posts
    579

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    Get your hands on a hammer drill and some TapCon concrete screws to attach speaker mounts. The hammer drill will make fast work of drilling the holes. The picture wire approach will probabaly work if you are careful to create a good attachment to the bolts.

    Randy
    Last edited by Lou-the-dog; 04-30-2006 at 01:37 PM.

  4. #4
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
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    Dan...the way I read your post is that you want to be able to cover the port....place it against the wall. I do not think that is advisable, the 170's need at least some room for port to breath.

    By the way, my 170's for surrounds are mounted upside-down.
    -curtis

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jul 2005
    Posts
    4

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    Yes, Curtis, that is correct. As kindly reassuring as he was, I suspect Brad is getting some distance (maybe 2-3+ inches) from using the Omnimount, and I assume Ascend wouldn't sell them if they brought it too close.

    I'm also assuming that hanging upside down with wire from a hook/nail won't give the back port much space from the wall....

    So what negatives would occur by having the port very close to the wall?

    And Lou, thanks. I've emailed a friend about a hammer drill. My reg drill has really tough going, even with a special concrete bit.

    Thanks, all,

    Dan

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Aug 2003
    Location
    Manhattan Beach, California
    Posts
    7,032

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    I would think that if you impede the airflow to the port, the speaker would lose some mid-bass response.....but I would give Ascend a call to make sure.
    -curtis

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