How to Pack Audio
and anything else you want to arrive unharmed
WHY?
you ask, because regardless of the shipper, units are :
dropped, tossed, kicked,
stepped on, slid, pushed, pulled, fall, vibrated, jiggled ...
and any number
of things that can damaged a unit not well packed.
Unless you're comfortable
with pushing the box off the table and letting it hit the floor,
it's not
packed well enough.
A few of my mottos for audio that apply very
well to packing.
"nothing exceeds like excess" "bigger is better"
"more is not enough"
Here
are some examples of things I've shipped
A
DIY 6336 amplifier. This one had a lot of iron underneath and was 75 pounds before
boxing.
On
the left a Marantz 2238 receiver and on the right a Marantz 2230 receiver.
A
McCauley 6174 18" Ultra Sub at 36 pounds before bolting to the board and
boxing.
A
pair of Altec 416-8C drivers bolting to 1/2" plywood and double boxed.
On
the left a Phase Linear 700B and on the right a Pioneer SX-3900.
On
the left a Pioneer CT-F1250 cassette and on the right a SAE 2400 amplifier.
Carver
A-760x amp: left a lot of high density foam and soft foam for the face. On the
right the last piece cut for the top.
On
the left are vintage JBL C38 speakers shipped to Korea via BAX Global.
On
the right a pair of DQ10 speakers shipped across country via Forward Air.
Packing
101
I
use many different packing materials, usually whatever I have on hand and adjust
accordingly. A lot of common sense goes a long way in preventing damage during
shipping and the general rules stay the same. You can see this in the pictures
above.
The box must be
larger than the item being shipped. How large has alot to do with how much the
unit weights and what kind of material you are using to protect it. The heaver
the item, the larger the box. The heavier or more fragile the item, the heavier
the actual shipping box.
The
item must not shift in transist. So peanuts are not good for audio gear. They
allow heavier items to shift and settle to the bottom or one side of the box.
They can be used in a double box setup where the first box is surrounded by two
inches of peanuts. ( Personally I hate peanuts).
 |
There will always be special cases like
this walnut audio cabinet that I wrapped in styrafoam sheets, reinforced the corners,
stretch wrapped and tied down to a pallet. |
Click here for some other methods send to
me by audio enthusiasts
Packing Disasters
Here are some items
that have been shipped to me.
To say the least, they were not packed well.
Some
cardboard around the outside by itself is NOT enough
protection.
Here
is a DBX 120, a DBX 200 and a SAE P101. All damaged during shipping due to inadequate
packing.
Once
again, box was to small and not enough packing, so you get a Yamaha that's crushed
& punctured.
Same
old story, box is to small for the unit
One layer of crumpled newspaper and
a hand full of peanuts is not adequate.
Here
is a Phase Linear 700 a friend received.
This seems to be a common story among
audio guys.
Yet another box to small and almost no packing material.
Supporting documentation as to my capability to
be an authority on shipping.
I give you feedback from people I have shipped
to.
You can also find this under my feedback on Ebay, which I can not edit.
