subs and cats (1 Viewer)

[William_Gravem]

Hi,

Again, I am very new to this so, please bear with my naïve questions.

I am trying to build the best 5.1 system possible given two constraints: budget (of course), and a pair of active cats (claws and all) that I cannot control while my wife and I are at work for much of the day.

I am counting on mounting rears near the ceiling, and plastic reinforced grills to provide protection for my speakers, but I am concerned about my sub. I would love to get an SVS PB1 Plus, but I am concerned about the gap between the down-pointing driver and the integrated bass plate. My cats love to reach into small spaces, and while I have no doubt the sub can take care of itself while in use, I’m very concerned about the hours I’m not there and the sub is turned off.

Would it be possible to attach a grill around the gap between bass plate and body of the sub, or would that ruin the bass? Or should I just go with a front facing sub that has a plastic reinforced grill like some Velodynes? Or perhaps I should get one that just sits on the floor like one of Boston Acoustic’s subs?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

---Bill

 

[Allen_N]

De-claw the cats

 

[William_Gravem]

Probably should have mentioned, de-clawing the cats is not an option.

 

[JohnSmith]

Too right William, agree you on that.
You could place a towel around the base of the sub, then remove before watching a film.

 

[KeithY]

My cats were nosing around the base plate of my pb2+, a little concerned that they might crawl in. They stopped
putting their nose where it didn't belong the 1st time I fired up a bass heavy movie. Same with the ports, as soon as the rush of air hit them in the face they never went close again. Now they just sleep on top of it, movie or not.

 

[William_Gravem]

Thank you all for the input.

Even though the sub may defend itself just fine, I'm still looking for a more definite solution. The towel idea is good, but not aesthetically pleasing (translate > my wife would never go for it.)

Is the PB1+ that much better than a similarly priced Velodyne or Boston that it's worth the risk?

 

[John Tami]

Cats can learn.

1. Have a DVD que'd up on a nice track.

2. Kitty nose around sub.

3. Un-pause DVD.

4. Remove Kitty from ceiling.

5. Repeat as required.

Cat's aint dumb, they'll learn real quick.....Though I cant much understand having indoor cats with front claws. (having grown up with them over the last 45 years)

 

[ScottCHI]

yeah, well, some of us can't understand declawing them just to keep 'em indoors.

which makes more sense to you?

 

[SethH]

I'm sure you could rig up something using either a mesh or speaker-grill material to go around that bottom gap. If you used a light mesh it wouldn't look too bad. If you use speaker grill material and get a black or gray SVS you probably won't even really notice it.

 

[Allen_N]

That's why I got a dog Of course when he was a puppy he would chew through wires but he doesn't do that anymore.

I would go for a non-permanent route like the towel. Maybe black styrofoam or a piece of wood that would fit inbetween there?

 

[William_Gravem]

Allen, I think I may be too lazy to be consistent with a non-permanent solution... but while it may come to that, I'm considering that a last resort.

Seth, speaker grill material, if durable enough, would probably be an ideal solution b/c there's no chance of it rattling. Do you think I could get SV Subs to sell me a PB1+ w/ some sort of cover?

I am assuming the answer to "is this sub worth having to cat-proof it" is an emphatic yes. I've heard nothing but great things about all of SVS' products. It may be b/c I am such a novice, but it seems rare (and encouraging) that they're so popular yet I can't go to a store and listen for myself.

(sigh) I'm going to wind up with the reputation of "freaky cat guy," aren't I?

 

[ScottCHI]

nope. there's some freakier cat guys here.

 

[Robb Roy]

William,

One of my cats likes to sleep on top of the sub, but otherwise they ignore my pb2-ultra (as they did the 2039PC+ before it). We have four cats (I have one, my wife has 3 more). They have their claws, and they have never gone after the sub. You might want to check with SVS, but I don't think they've ever had a report of damage to a sub from a cat.

-Robb

 

[Kevin C Brown]

Get some of that cat repellent spray. Cats learn. They go near there once or twice after you'ved sprayed, and they have just learned.

I have 3 cats, but a non SVS sub (for now), and they don't bother with it at all.

For those that suggest declawing cats: it's just like removing your finger at the last knuckle. Not just the claw, it's amputation. Not pleasant.

 

[Mike_J_Potter]

Another thing you could try if the cat is trying to claw the sub is put some clear tape temporarly (packing tape) on the spot the cat tries to claw. I had a problem with my cat digging into the carpet on my stairs and a single strip of tape on the edge got her out of the habit before the carpet was ruined. If you don't have a scratching post in the same room as the sub it might also be a good idea to get one in there, especially if you put it in before the sub arrives.

 

[Burklund]

just put the cat outside!!

 

[Jon W.]

Heh, This one hits close to home. We have 3 cats and can't de-claw because we have a kitty door and they come and go as they please, which is great (no litter box). They have nosed around my mains and subs a few times but have never bothered them. Hopefully they never will.

Some perforated metal grill around the gap done right might look kinda cool. I wouldn't think it would hurt anything as long as the air could still move freely.

 

[William_Gravem]

Sorry if I am coming across as paranoid but I have some reasoning here.

My wife and I got a new sofa, and dispite sprays, double sided tape, squirt guns, coins in glass jars, and a scratching post and a cat tree in the same room, the cats still scratch the sofa. Worse still, one cat loves to go under the sofa, flip upside down and crawl by pulling himself along the bottom of the sofa, tearing up the underside. He also does this to our bed. The only thing that worked to stop him, was to put a cushion under the sofa so he couldn't get under it anymore, but he still tries along the sides. My wife and I both work, so when we're not home, they pretty much do what they want. Where we live it's pretty urban, so the cats are indoor cats 99.9% of the time.

Also, my father had a front facing subwoofer that was torn apart by their second cat. Now, granted, he wasn't using it very much, so the cat never "learned better", but I'd rather be save than sorry.

I notice nobody is recommending getting a Boston Accoustic down firing sub that sits on the floor or another sub that has a plastic reinforced gill like some Velodynes. Are SV subs just that much superior? I've never heard one.

 

[PaulDA]

I have a Boston Acoustics PV900 subwoofer and I like it fine. It is my second subwoofer and is a significant improvement over the first (still doing duty in the secondary system). Outside these fora, I've found my sub to be highly respected, even in stores that don't carry them, but here Hsu and SVS seem to rule the roost. I too have never heard one, so I can't speak to their quality. Maybe I'd like an SVS better, but I'm quite happy with what I have now. Perhaps when I have some more coin to spend, I'll try one out and kick the Boston upstairs.

 

[CalvinCarr]

Put them in a diffrent room.