Pics are up! (Quicker than I thought!)
Sheep, as per your request, here are the pics...
Center Channel:
The only easy speaker to 'install,' I'm using gravity to hold it in place. It's sitting atop the entertainment center, over the TV. The speaker's stand has a hinge to allow me to tilt it downwards to the couch area.
Front Left Channel:
A slight mod here, the speaker is lying on its side, as the 4 sat. speakers all have a default upward angle on the speaker. By lying it like so, I can get the speaker closer to where it should be pointing.
Rear Left Channel:
This was the simplest of wall-mountings here, as I was able to directly screw the speaker base to the drywall. The screw's threading was flanged enough so that it was able to hold securely onto the wall without need of plastic anchors. The speaker was offset from the rear wall by about 5", so that it would point directly at the couch (which is just out of frame to the left, along the rear wall.)
The last two speakers would have to be mounted with a little flair, since my apartment is based off non-Euclidian geometry. Go NYC living conditions!
For $20 I bought a quart of flat white paint and a pair of solid wooden shelf brackets, which I would use as bases to mount two of my speakers. These brackets affix to the wall by sliding down onto a large screwhead projecting from the wall. Once they were painted a flat white to match the apartment walls, I went to work...
Rear Right Channel:
As you can see, a window exists RIGHT where I want to mount my speaker, so I make use of one of the white shelf brackets here.
By screwing it into the windowframe, I created a standoff which gives me the proper placement to mount the speaker. The weight of the speaker did make the bracket torque, since the bracket is held in place by only one screw, so I had to use a small nail (not shown) behind the bracket to prevent this...
This speaker cable I then snake under the A/C window unit, along the floor, on its long trip around the room towards the subwoofer. White gaffing tape worked wonders hiding the black cable. I promise there is a cable in this pic! Look near the floor by the door jamb, I left a little black showing...
Front Right Channel:
The most difficult of the wallmounts, this speaker needed to be mounted in the corner of the room at an angle to the wall, but also inconveniently close to the main apartment entryway. Here's how it looks from the front.
I used the second shelf bracket as another base for the wallmounting, but to create the proper angle I needed to somehow prop the end of the bracket from the other wall. Luckily for me, after about 5 minutes of searching through my bits box, I found a doorstopper which is the perfect length! To get the proper angle with the mounting screw, I simply held the finished bracket in place (at the proper angle), then I placed my electric drill on top of the bracket, directly in line with the angle of the bracket itself. With the pilothole drilled, the most difficult part of the mod was already complete. Here's another angle on the mounting:
All I needed to do was finish running the wires around to the subwoofer, up and around the doorway. Can you guess how many wires are in this picture?
4! 2 speaker channels, 1 ethernet cable, and 1 co-ax cable. This white gaffing tape really helps mask all that wiring.
Things I learned:
1)
Buy larger mounting screws!! The mounting screws (which didn't come with the Logitech speakers, BTW) I purchased from the hardware store were a nice stainless steel which matched with the speakers looks. Unfortunately, their heads were a little small to fit the speakers snugly enough. I had no problems with two of the speakers, but on the FINAL mounting, the screws popped out through the rubber grommet lining of the speaker's base. I was lucky enough to find a couple of washers small enough to fit the depressed hole in the base though, (whew!). If I could do it again, I'd spend a lot of time finding the perfect screw! I think mine will work out, but I'll check on them intermittently and exchange them if I notice any wear.
2) Be sure to drill pilot holes for your screws and be sure to use a drill bit that's smaller in diameter than your screw. I actually knew this, but if you didn't know, well, now you know.
3) Think in advance how you will run your wires. "Luckily" for me, I cannot run them through the walls or under the floor, so I was left with gaffing tape to mask them all. BTW: I'm not quite finished hiding my wiring, but when I am, you won't be able to see the speaker wires, like you can in some of the pics.
Hope this helps any modders out there!
JJ
