Advice For Boxing Up Heresy's For Shipping

[nola]

Advice For Boxing Up Heresy's For Shipping

I once had a single lovely pair of H Is. Since Hurricane Katrina I have bought 6 more Heresy Is and 2 Heresy IIs in an attempt to "perfectly" match 5 of them for a 5.1 set up that never came to fruition. (Not enough bedroom space)

Of the 6 that were shipped (2H IIs bought locally), I found 2 of the shipping boxes. I have 2 original boxes from my original pair of H Is (~1976 vintage) bought in the late 1980s. Of course, I cannot find those boxes. I guess I threw the other 4 boxes away.

In 2009 someone from the Dallas area shipped 2 H Is to New Orleans. They were likely shipped UPS or FedEx Ground. They were well packed and the boxes arrived in pristine condition - virtually unscathed. All 6 speakers shipped to me were packed differently. In common: they were very tightly packed and I think 1 set was double boxed, which also helps in case the box gets soaked or from possible corner drops and punctures. 1 set was newspaper padded-with lots of folded and rolled and crunched paper. The KL original boxes I think had big and thick Styrofoam molding around the H Is.

The max size for a box on United Airlines is 62 linear inches (L x W x H). So the KL boxes would likely have been too big anyway. The max weight is 70 lbs. After that, the bag fees soar. I found different weights for the H Is on the internet, from 45-55 lbs. H IIs or IIIs are around 40-45 lbs. At the airport counter, the boxed H Is were around 50 lbs on that scale. The boxes from Plano did not weigh much. They were rated 200 lb (meaning they can handle 50-60 lbs), 24 x 18 x 18 inches in size and open on the 24" side for easy loading of the speakers. The sole padding, still in the boxes, was +/- 1" thick Styrofoam - pretty firm and carefully cut for box and speaker size. I think the Styrofoam was intended for thermal insulation and 1 side had a tape like backing. The guy in Plano cut the Styrofoam carefully to fully pad all of the corners. There was a big plastic garbage bag inside too. I used that to wrap the H Is. I would probably have preferred to put a thin blanket around each speaker before using the bag, just to baby the wood speaker surfaces, but room was tight as is. Because my H Is had the small 1" risers, I had to remove the Styrofoam from the bottom and used folded up large paper garbage bags to pad the lower corners and actual bottom of the box. I placed 2 folded up paper bags over the grills before laying the top 18 x 24 Styrofoam piece over the front of the entombed speaker. The speaker connectors on the back of the H Is had previously dented the rear 18 x 24 Styrofoam piece. The bag over the H Is and the Styrofoam side piece made "rolling" the speaker into the box quite easy. The fit was nice and tight. You do need some type of plastic bag over the speaker in case of rain, water, etc.

FWIW: the 18 x 18 x 24 box on the Home Depot website opens at the top. They list as 1.66 each. I do not know how thick they are. So maybe use 2 boxes to ensure good box thickness and use lots of packing tape for the cut up second or outer box. Top loading would be more of a pain too. I think U Haul sells 200 lb and 275 lb ("double thickness") side opening boxes for under $6.00 each. If the HD boxes are at all flimsy, maybe best to get the 275 lb strength boxes from U Haul or elsewhere. I have no idea where to get "thermal" grade firm Styrofoam or similar, but likely to be found at HD or Lowes too. Remember to cut the pieces to make a tight fit in the box. You might consider doing some of your own measurements first by recording the dimensions of your Heresy's and the INNER dimensions of the boxes you buy. I think U Haul can also get 26 x 18 x 18 inch boxes, if others have Heresy’s with non-detachable risers.

Now for drama. It was dry when I left NOLA. After boarding the plane, they closed the airport at Houston due to a nasty thunderstorm (wicked witch not sighted though; it was an old Continental crew, thankfully). Missed my connection at Houston (Despite the storm, my connecting flight left on time).Got on another plane. Bags arrived next day to another airport. Delivered, in the rain, that night, 30 hours after leaving NOLA to my new little apt on Capitol Hill in DC. (No I am NOT a politician. I work at the National Cancer Institute, so I am actually trying to help folks.)

Thankfully the speakers arrived intact. The boxes were a total mess. I know UPS and FedEx can also torture boxes. But from Plano to NOLA 5 years ago, the speakers I bought arrived in great shape. Except for some shipping stickers and tape, the boxes could have been returned as unused - they looked that good. Well, they look like a Rugby or Ozzie rules Footballer after a rough match in the rain now.

I also put an All In One copier/scanner/fax machine on the plane, in its original boxing. Similar story, though with less box damage. I removed the laser toner before boxing it up. I don’t what happened or where, but when I opened up the machine to replace the toner last night, the smell was so bad I had to air my apt out immediately. Weird, but not much smell left in there this morning. No obvious water damage, etc either. Maybe something to do with heat and humidity.

In the past few years other new speakers I have seen shipped in a double box fashion. All had some type of paper or semi-plastic-y cover and always some type of waterproof cover over that. Styrofoam of at least ¾” size was always present. Some of outer boxes were of the double thickness type.

In the past, I have received many items bought via folks here, Audiogon, Ebay, etc. Whenever I had good communication about the items before shipment occurred, they always arrived in good to perfect condition. When goods were received damaged the seller and I always settled the matter quickly with both of us being satisfied. People here were always very careful to pack items in a wonderful way.

I hope this helps future buyers and shippers.

From NOLA with love.

[beeker]

From Cali to indiana a month ago with $300 insurance it cost $100 to ship 1 heresy at 57lbs...

lots of bubble wrap. i mean it had a ton. and in half of a water heater box...

[colterphoto1]

2" builders foam works for me usually.