Buy the best speaker stands you can afford!

I just bought a pair of used Made-In-England Target speaker stands for my KEF LS50's, and I have filled the posts with playground sand. The stands are quite substantial now and easily pass the thump test.

My previous stands were a pair of inexpensive metal stands from Audio Advisor, with two narrow tubes (which I had also filled with sand). They did a pretty good job, but they were kind of lightweight and still had some ring to them.

Prior to those, I had a pair of attractive but totally inadequate cherry-finished chipboard Sanus Natural Foundations stands.

Moving from the Sanus stands to the Audio Advisor stands made a substantial improvement in imaging coherence and bass weight. Moving from the Audio Advisor stands to the Targets was another leap in performance; transients have significantly more attack and snap, and there is more of an overall sense of fullness and body.

Stands are a very important component; it's not enough for them to raise the speakers to ear level. Don't be a cheapskate when choosing your stands!

 

Hell yes. I remember in the 80s we would put speakers on cinder blocks because the cheap stands we could afford were just awful and would often introduce audible artifacts.

 

Wow, this is timely for me- KEF LS50s with Sanus MDF stands and starting to research metal stands and type of fill. Lots of opinions out there that are all over the map. Some people say you need to fill the stands half way with (something- sand , kitty litter, rice) and then test the sound add more fill and test again- but never 100% full. Geez what a hassle
What target stands do you have?
Audio Advisor has some robust looking 4- square tube Pangea DS300 stands that look sturdy and can be filled. Any opinions on those?
Thanks.

 

Also my current "cheap" sanus MDF stands do pass the thump test- I don't hear any ringing or sense any vibration.
Another question is what type of feet to use on dense berber carpet over a concrete floor- plastic feet or spikes?

 

Timely thread. I've been looking at some Sanus NF-18s. I'd need stands that are 18" max height. The Sanus are a good price, but I'm concerned they might look cheap in the flesh. Any other 18" tall stands with good build quality and WAF? Speakers are NHT SuperOnes.

 

I've been super pleased with my VTI stands (VSP series). Aesthetically the design is a great complement to the LS50's curves, they are quite stout, and though made of metal when filled with kitty litter they become quite inert. They definitely pass the thump test.

 

Why? What could be the advantage?

I've read reviews that said that the parts don't fit together well and they can leak sand.

Really? You don't feel any resonance from sound waves when you put your hands on them?

 

the Skylan 27-SP feels like it was made for the LS50's and was a big improvement over the metal stands I had them on before.

 

I have to agree with Glenn, but I thought buy now it was common knowledge.

 

Kef LS50 | Sound Anchors: Specialty Audio Stands | High-End Home,Professional Studio, and Video | Custom Amplifier Stands, Component Stands, Video Stands, Studio Furniture »

Take your pick: Products | Sound Anchors: Specialty Audio Stands | High-End Home,Professional Studio, and Video | Custom Amplifier Stands, Component Stands, Video Stands, Studio Furniture »

 

I still see some folks using end tables and stuff for speaker stands.

 

$$$$$$$... but that's the best of the best.

Someday...

 

If I ever finish the big area in my basement and need stands for my DIY's (large/heavy 3-way monitors) I'll be getting Skylan stands. For now, putting them on subs with decoupling "pads" between the two basically just makes for one, connected very full range speaker on each side.

 

They look pricey And not particularly attractive, to me

 

Good stands make a huge positive difference in my experience.

Cheapskate ain’t the way to go, it’s true. But “high end” stands are one of my audio pet peeves. I’m happy to pay for solid engineering and materials, but the Veblen-goods, cosmetic overkill overpricing of speaker stands, when you fairly estimate what’s actually going into the cost of producing and marketing them, is often WAY out of line. A good pair of speaker stands shouldn’t cost a large percentage of what excellent hi-fi speakers cost IMO unless you’re livin’ la vida 1% loco.

 

When I had the LS50's I had Skylan stands. They were an excellent match.

 

Good stands are a must. If they can't be mass loaded, they aren't good stands. The more mass, the better and make sure the speakers are decoupled from the stand.

Skylan stands are excellent.
If you can find a pair, the Sanus Ultimate Foundation is one of the best engineered stands ever.
Sanus Natural Foundation stands are junk.
Sound Anchor stands are butt ugly.
Pangea stands are ill fitting and leak sand.
Not impressed with VTI stands.

The European's offer what appear to be some really nice stands. I almost bought a pair of Liedtke stands, but found another pair of Sanus UF just before I placed my order.

exclusive speaker stands by Liedtke-Metalldesign »

| Track Audio - Speaker Stands, Isolations, Mounts, and spikes Engineered for Life | »

Custom Design Speaker Stands HiFi Furniture HiFi Supports HiFi Tables »

 

One thing that I haven't seen mentioned in this thread are the Sanus Steel Foundation stands. I have a pair and they are very good. The Sanus Natural Foundation stands are garbage.

Yes, the Sound Anchors stands are pricey, but outstanding. They come pre-filled with some dampening material so you don't have to screw around with kitty litter or sand or whatever. I think that they look good enough, and the company can machine the top plate to your speaker for a really professional look. Once you see the build quality, you will understand why they cost so much.

 

Just make sure sure the kitty litter you use passss the clump test

 

I have a pair of the Steel Foundations I'm not using at the moment (and likely never will). They are a very good stand for smaller monitors though, they just weren't enough for my behemoths. You really need to torque down that tensioning rod but once you do, they are very solid. Great base too. Not fillable though, at least not that I could ever figure out.

 

Yup me too, using two kitchen chairs always makes me giggle.

 

Another vote in favor of Sound Anchor stands. I have both Sound Anchor and Skylan stands for my Spendor SP-100 speakers. To my ears the Sound Anchors are the better sounding. More detailed, and tighter and deeper bass.

 

You don't have them any longer?

 

I have the Skylan stands...lol! I replaced the LS50's with Sonus Faber Venere 1.5's. I will probably move them on soon as I am focusing more on my main setup. I'm selling off the A/V setup and probably the SF's to buy a new amp for the main setup...tubes I think.

 

I know it's common knowledge that dealers like to sell the benefits of Sound Anchors etc. but I like hearing from people who have heard improvement first hand and actually what that improvement consisted of. Right now my 24" MDF posted Sanus stands look OK, support the speaker OK and have a rounded profile that doesn't add to any midrange reflections that require baffle step compensation. I'm trying to figure out what they are lacking or where they come up short.