shipping speakers

I agree with everyone above and would only add that for large, heavy speakers, forget the original shipping boxes, custom crates are a must. The cost to build them (materials, etc.) should be included in all calculations. I had a pair of Tannoy D-700's shipped to me that met with the UPS forklift and fortunately didn't suffer damage becuase they were packed so well in a custom made crate (thanks again tbadder). Pack with care, nobody cares about them like you.

Mike.

which air freight companies are recommended for shipping speakers?
is bax good?

The problem with BAX is they will only ship from commercial entities that have an account with them -- it's a terrorism thing. I'm not sure of the details, so check with them,

I sent a pair of Kinergetics SW 800 5' tall woofer towers @ 120 lbs ea. to Scotland using FedEx air for $800. 4 Days, no problems.

so far ups has done well for me (fed-ex was a nightmare) but only because i insure each package for $5000. this is the point at which they 'baby' the package...hand trucking and no high conveyor belts. still i keep trying to improve packing because........

I have shipped two pairs of speakers with FedEx and have had no problems. I think that the key is in the packaging. Both sets of speakers were in the 90lb/spkr range and double boxed . I received one pair of speakers, shipped through a trucking company, that were banded to a pallet. They were not double boxed and were received damaged .
U-haul sells a large 'wardrobe' box that is double wall thick and works quite well. It accepted JM Lab Electra 926 speakers in their original box's with enough room left for some 3/4" styrofoam wall insulation panels from the home store, for a little added buffering ! Cost was @ $50 for the box's and styrofoam, enough for one pair of speakers . Well worth it IMO . YMMV.
Good Luck