acme bass
home
forum
humor
science
links
archives

Loudspeaker Handles: A Pet Peeve!

Loudspeaker handles have been a bane of my existence, and a curse of disproportionate significance to what I consider my mission statement, which is to offer a high-performance tool for reproduction of sound.

When designing a loudspeaker for optimum performance, the idea of providing a handle, or handles, for easy transport does not enter into the equation. A handle can be detrimental to performance, or at best, can be performance-neutral, and not do any damage.

It is my experience that any type of handle represents a problem of some type to some people. No matter what the designer offers, some people will hate it, and some will like it. This is the curse of the professional loudspeaker designer.

The recessed handles on the older models were used, in part, to provide an internal point to which the port could be fastened., for structural integrity. Brilliant idea. But in terms of transport, some people hate them. Others don’t. But customers have been after me for years to offer a handle which would enable the user to carry the speaker with one hand.

The Series III models actually incorporate the port tube into the bracing mechanism, which allows the use of a handle with pure ease-of-use as the primary consideration. What a great opportunity, I figured to incorporate a handle that people would love! Little did I know.

At least one person was complaining about the new handle before a single 112 model had left Denver, simply based on a photo, and in fear of a tiny amp not having tall enough rubber feet to clear the external height of the handle. Is that about the amp, or the speaker?

The lesson is that there is no such thing as a handle which everyone will like. If handle considerations are a deal-breaker for you, I would rather you buy a different speaker than complain about the handles.

The single hinged, recessed handle is now located on the top of the vertically-oriented box. It is precisely over the unit’s center of mass, so it will carry easily. If you don’t like it, I don’t want to hear about it, unless you’ve got a better idea.

back to forum