If you use factory packaging, that's a pretty good protection from damage. The only further step you could take is ship them on a pallet, which is truck only.
I get all kinds of stuff shipped here from owners who do all kinds of crazy stuff. The worst is peanuts, regular white ones, the powderize and shift and cover everything in dust. Peanuts don't work in a big bag either, as they settle and the heavy thing in box drifts to the bottom.
The best plan is cut up styrofoam blocks, bagged speakers so no dust, use the foam blocks to support ALL the sides of the speakers. and completely enclose it in a styro box, then a box that fits it exactly, no extra space anywhere. This stops the speaker from moving within the box. Then using cheap cardboard from Lowes or Home Depot is the worst- that won't work. Got to uhaul, buy decent cardboard.
People want to save money on shipping and get their speakers destroyed over saving $50. Having FEDX or Box Bros pack it doesn't work either. Trying to hold the cones still doesn't work: it's not the cones moving that's the problem, it's dropping the entire box and have the voice coils move off center from the shock of the fall. That's why palletizing larger speakers works, because there is a high chance someone will drop them, or if a tower type speaker, it will fall over, if not palletized. With pallets, there is still the risk of forklift damage, but if its tall and heavy its a sure thing it will fall and get damaged.
We are seeing high quantity of damage right now, as freight companies hire all kinds of inexperienced people.
Brad
