speaker screw tightness?

[jessejamison]

I had a slight buzzing in one speaker and noticed when i put my finger on the outside frame by one of the screws it stopped so i tightened it up and it was fine but i noticed that none of the screws were in very tight. Is it safe to just screw 'em in all the way or are they supposed to be like that?  

[Fred Cook]

They should all be tight. If any are so loose that the speaker is buzzing you need to tighten them up. Observations:

-- Make sure that the one that was loose was not stripped.
-- Don't over tighten them so that YOU strip one.
-- Tighten them evenly so that you don't warp the speaker cage.

This ain't hard, but get pro help the first time if you have any doubts.

[jessejamison]

Thanks Fred!
Someone told me the screws needed to be a little bit loose to allow the speaker to "vibrate naturally".  I thought that sounded wrong.

[Rocketboy]

The speaker needs to be truly snug against the baffle.  Truly snug means tight enough to not come loose for a year or two, but not so tight as to bend the speaker frame.  If your speakers mount from the cabinet front, over-torque shouldn't be a problem, particularly if you use the correct threaded fasteners.  Always use the correct size washer under the screw head.

[Gwedd]

On 2002-02-16 01:44, Rocketboy wrote:
The speaker needs to be truly snug against the baffle.  Truly snug means tight enough to not come loose for a year or two, but not so tight as to bend the speaker frame.  If your speakers mount from the cabinet front, over-torque shouldn't be a problem, particularly if you use the correct threaded fasteners.  Always use the correct size washer under the screw head.

Hey,
  What a great site to find! I got my first Sunn amp back in 1972, and never looked back.
  Anyway, I used to build speaker cabinets for myself and my band, and I got in the habit of cutting a small piece of thin rubber from a bicycle inner tube and using it as a rubber gasket between the speaker and the cabinet, where the screws go through. I never made a gasket to completely surround the speaker, just where the screw holes were, as a sort of shock mount. It seemed to help hold the speaker on better, and allowed a bit more freedom for the speaker to resonate, but that may be my owm imagination.
 Anyway, I still do it, and haven't ever had a screw back out yet.
  Respects,
  Gwedd