Ya sorry, got them, assembled them (uhh, plastic) Tested them, put the speakers on the Celestions ... filling unnecessary, sub standard stands Sold them. Steel please, no plastic Skylan simply copied the Linn Ku-stone stand construction and made it worse with the plastic. The M30 years before were on Sound Anchors, that was good. Still there are better speakers in this world than Harbeth (some can’t believe that though )
The hollow plastic box tubes do not ring acoustically, especially when filled. I would much rather have plastic tubes than thin metal (that would ring) or wood that is not structurally rigid. With a rigid threaded rod running through the center of each box tube and tightened at each end the top and bottom MDF plates clamp down on the tubes in compressive load and make a very stiff, robust structure that is acoustically inert. My one complaint is not from how they work but how much they cost with respect to the materials.
I’m finding this thread painful to read, seeing relatively dead simple pieces of small furniture afflicted with artisanal eat-the-rich prices.
Charisma Audio Cabriolet (Height & Width Adjustable) Speaker Stands I know many rate stands as overpriced but I find I'm really drawn to these 3 posters both aestheticaly & technically. For those doubtful of stability I use 3 post Sanus UF stands, no longer made, weighted with lead shot aquarium sand which are very stable. The above linked Cabriolet models with 1/2" solid steel base, solid 1-1/2" aluminum tubes, & solid 1/2" aluminum top plate seem elegantly practical.
I looked at the Skylan stands for a pair of Harbeths and decided to build a pair myself. Looking at their website you can see exactly how they're made. Probably cost me $75 tops, and a lot of that was the spikes. I have a hard time believing they didn't sound just as good as the real deal.
During the 15 years I owned SP-100’s, I used a variety of DIY stands, then purchased Sound Anchors and later Skylan stands. The Skylan tubes were filled with the recommended cat litter. The Sound Anchors sounded best, hands down.
The Custom Design FS104 Signature stands arrived today from England! Considering their open-frame design, I was surprised to find that they are fairly weighty. Assembly was simple and straightforward, and the parts all aligned together perfectly. Once all of the bolts are fastened down tightly, the stand is very rigid. The supplied spikes are pretty substantial too. This is a high quality, serious product. For filler, I used almost an entire 25 lb. bag of aquarium sand. I've used kitty litter in the past to fill stands, but my house has no AC and the summers here are humid, so I didn't want to use anything absorbent. I also didn't want to use something with fine dust, which could leak out of the bottom. I filled the center column 70-80% using a funnel, but was unable to fit the funnel into the opening of the satellite legs. If I can find a small enough funnel somewhere, I'll fill those later on. My initial listening impression matches what @Art K and others told me to expect with open frame stands. Bass has less weight/fullness than with the heavier stands, but it's also more lithe, and the overall presentation has more air and snap.
Nice! And congrats! Now you know I love audio-porn, so please don’t tease me. Let’s have a shot of the entire rig with the new stand, please.....us audiosluts want to see.
The outer satellite legs ring like a bell, so I decided to fill them. I would have done it before, but the bolt hole is the only access to the interior, and the hole is a mere 5mm wide. I grabbed a piece of junk mail printed on card stock out of the recycling bin, rolled it up and made a sort of cone-shaped scoop out of it. I filled the scoop with the left-over aquarium gravel, and very slowly filled all eight legs. It took about an hour to do because the hole is so small, and it wasn't exactly pleasant sitting out in the garage in February for so long, but I'm really glad I did it. I'm still getting the benefits of using open-frame stands with the Spendors, but it sounds so much more vibrant and precise now.
I have just ordered a pair of FS104s, partly on the strength of your recommendation, and also because they seemed fairly good looking, reasonably priced, and have good quality spikes. I have been 'making do' with some Atacama Nexus stands for years now but I have long suspected them of being a weak link in the overall system. I am certainly very keen to see what more I can bring to the system with decent stands. For filler, I have somewhat strangely found a shotgun store that sells led shot at decent prices and specifically recommends its use for damping loudspeaker stands. It is about 85% cheaper than 'proprietary' atabites etc.
And they've arrived today! Not yet mass-loaded but already far more stable than the Atacamas they replace.
