Wall mount JBL S36 or not? (1 Viewer)

[Mark Hedges]

I have recently upgraded my HTIB with a JBL S-centerII and 2 JBL s-36ii's for the mains. I am trying to decide weather to wall mount the S36's or not. Does anybody here have any experience with wall mounting these speakers? Does it improve the sound?

The best thing would be for me to just try it and find out for myself, but I cannot drill holes into the living room wall just for a test .

Thanks!

Mark

 

[David_Rivshin]

Mark,
I have S36's wall mounted for my surrounds, but I don't know about wall mounting them as mains. When they are wall mounted they angle down slightly, which is great for surrounds above ear level. However, I believe for mains you generally want them to have the tweeter about ear level and vertically straight (could toe in horizontally according to preference).

Also, you're going to want them not any farther away from you than the center is, as that tends to hurt the front soundfield. I would assume that if you wall mounted them the center would be forward a few feet of them. That might also cause various objects (like a television) to reflect some of the sound causing poor imaging and the like.

In any event I don't think there would be a big difference between wall mounting them or stand mounting them. They may gain a slight bit of bass loading from being so close to the wall, but their response dips far enough below most HT crossovers anyways.

So I guess the long and short of it is: wall mounting is not what I would do for mains.

Happy Listening
-- Dave

 

[Adrian_S]

Hi David, I was wondering if you would mind showing me a picture of the S36's mounted on the wall? I am currently debating on getting the s36's to match my front sound stage (see link) (S-Center and S38's), but I haven't been able to get a perspective on the size of the s36's. I was considering going with the N36's because they are smaller, but I would like to keep all my speakers matched....

Thanks

- Adrian

 

[Hank_P]

If you are just looking to get a perspective of size... it's about the height/width of the S38 (maybe an inch less all away around), only about 4 inches deep instead of 9.

I have the S36 mounted on my walls as surrounds, and they are wonderful. Very heavy for surrounds, make sure you are mounting to a stud or they'll be hanging from the speaker wire.

 

[Mark Hedges]

I think I am just going to leave mine on the TV stand and not wall mount them. I would like to be able to get a little more separation between them, but that concept has been vetoed by the boss.

I got the S36's instead of the S38's because they are so much smaller, particularly in depth. When I move into a bigger place I plan on moving them to the back and getting something bigger for the fronts.

Mark

 

[David_Rivshin]

Adrian,
I don't have a digital camera at the moment so it'll be hard to get you a picture of my surrounds, but a visit to your local Best Buy (or similar) should give you a good idea. Just for an anecdote, most people who come to my apartment never even notice I have surround speakers, until I point them out (or they notice the surround effects during a movie). And that's with black speakers on white walls, about 6-7 feet from the floor. I actually find it quite amusing, since I, of course, notice them everytime I walk into the room

Hank,
While JBL does instruct you to have at least one half of the S36's screwed into a stud, I don't think that's necessary. You can pick up some wall drywall hangers/screws from your local hardware store which support a dozen or two pounds each easily. I have my surrounds mounted with them (no studs where I wanted to put them) and they hold up wonderfully. Infact I could probably hang myself from them if I were more adventurous

-- Dave

 

[Adrian_S]

Thanks for the info Dave, I went and took the plunge and bought 4 JBL S36II Studio Series 6" 3-Way Speakers for r/l and back surrounds to replace my fluance. It came out to 459.95 shipped.

These should sound much better with music too when I use Logic 7. Does anyone know if these can be angled? You know, pointed toward the listing area? Do they come with brackets?

Thanks!

 

[Hank_P]

They come with brackets for mounting flush to the wall. I puchased some Omnimounts made for the S36 so I could do as you described. The brackets were about $75 I believe and they worked perfectly.

 

[Mark Hedges]

Hank -

What was the part number for your brackets? I searched omnimount's website but I couldn't find anything specifically for the S36.

Thanks!

Mark

 

[Adrian_S]

Yes, part number please!

 

[Hank_P]

They are model “53 RST UMK” made by “OmniMount Systems”. They mount perfect to the wholes in the bottom of the speaker. I apologize for using the word "made for", but it's mounting brackets and hardware are perfect for it.. no drilling new holes and is made to support up to 15 lbs each.

I'd be happy to email you a pic of what mine look like. Email me at [email protected] and I'll send you a pic.

 

[Adrian_S]

Yes, please email a pic.. I am scheduled to receive my speakers Friday, and would like to have the wall mounts ready. A pic would really allow me to get an idea.

Thanks,

Adrian - Email: [email protected]

 

[Hank_P]

I'm going to take a few close up tonight and send them out in the morning. I thought I had a few pics here at work, but it doesn't show any detail to the mounting bracket.

 

[Hank_P]

Okay, this is what they look like:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...category=23786

 

[Adrian_S]

Ok, so I got my JBL surround speakers and they sound awesome - way better than the Fluance surrounds I had.

Anyway, I mounted my SL and SR flush on the wall. I'm just trying to find a deal on the Omnimount 20.0 since the mounts I have are for 8lbs and the S36II's are 11 pounds.

In the mean time, I have the Surround Back Left and Surround Back Right on to the wall too, but I want to get the Omnimounts so I can point them toward the listening area like HANK_P.

BTW, many thanks to HANK_P for the photos, they look great!

 

[Adrian_S]

I finally got my rear surrounds mounted using the Omnimounts. See pic:




I was scared for awhile there, since I didn't know how well these mounts would hold. Just for the record, these are the Onmimount 20.0.

Again, thanks to Hank_P for the idea...! Now to find another pair for the sides...

 

[Hank_P]

They look great!! ..and I'm glad I was able to help.