Speaker stands...do they make a difference?

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by mike catucci, Apr 8, 2015.

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  1. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    Well all righty then! :righton:
     
  2. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
  3. The Pinhead

    The Pinhead KING OF BOOM AND SIZZLE IN HELL

    They will decouple them from your furniture, resulting in an instant, huge improvement; tighter bass, more focused highs, clearer midrange, better imaging and depth. Prolly THE best tweak for someone with bookshelf speakers. Plus they will bring you almost infinite possibilities for placing them in the room.

    In 3 words : yes you should !!!!!!!!!!:goodie:
     
  4. action pact

    action pact Music Omnivore

    OK, I'm a believer.

    I had a pair of metal, sand-filled, double-tube Pangea stands stashed away in the basement. I hadn't been using them because they were too short for the LS50's. I propped them up on some cement patio tiles and put the LS50's on them.

    Whoa! Big difference! I immediately noticed significantly more powerful transients and better focus/weight/detail vs. the lightweight, wooden Sanus stands I had been using. In short, my stereo literally woke up!
     
  5. bluesky

    bluesky Senior Member

    Location:
    south florida, usa
    Absolutely.
     
  6. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Hi Mike

    I haven't looked to see other's responses, but I have spent between $50 and $600 for a pair of stands. The really good ones are expensive but can make quite a good difference in my experience. Once you spend the money, then hang on to them in case you buy decent monitors again. You buy quality once and it lasts for life!
     
    mike catucci likes this.
  7. Ghostworld

    Ghostworld Senior Member

    Location:
    US
    Now that you point them out, they do look a little spindly for the great speaker. At first i thought they were brass tubing, which might be okay, but I read that they're wooden poles. Hm, I might consider something more rigid. I shouldnt cost much either. The most rigid stands I ever had were these ugly bastards -- spikes everywhere and steel skyscraper construction, but they certainly were stable. Chicago Speaker Stands.
    [​IMG]
     
  8. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Yes, in so many ways if properly chosen and set up right. Height to listener ears being the most critical aspect IMO.

    A solid coupling from the stands to the speakers and floor also makes an amazing difference. So many people spend so much money on cables and such when simple speaker placement and stands can make such a dramatic difference.

    If nothing else without getting stands just fooling with placement and height with using books or something to arrive at the right height is well worth the effort.

    I like using fine lead shot packed with sand in tube stands. I then couple the speakers to the stands with slabs of blu tack.
     
  9. Even just a few hockey pucks to get speakers off the floor can make a difference.
     
    doctor fuse, ssmith3046 and GuildX700 like this.
  10. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    I don't remember the brand of the old stands. I want to say Apollo? I saw them on sale for 50 bucks many years ago, so I bought a couple of pairs. Real thin metal stands I filled with sand. The LS50's were unpleasantly bright on these. I assumed the speakers were just too bright for my taste.

    Picked up a pair of Skylans and it was a major improvement. I went from wanting to sell the speakers to loving them.

    If hate to say you'd have the same experience as your stands look nicer than the stands I was originally using.
     
  11. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    Ah, I see you already tried new stands out. That was fast. Enjoy!
     
    action pact likes this.
  12. Don Parkhurst

    Don Parkhurst Forum Resident

    Location:
    Vancouver, BC
    Skylan stands are great. I bought a used pair of those and a used pair of the top of the line Target stands for my two daughters. Really I proved the sound of their basic systems in their bedrooms.
     
  13. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    My next speaker stands will be made of wood, most likely from Ikea Aptitlig bamboo cutting boards. I think I am through with metal speaker stands.
     
  14. Analogman

    Analogman Well-Known Member

    Why?
     
  15. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    Metal rings. The only way to make proper metal stands is to use massive plates and fill the columns. At that stage metal stands become expensive. I have done this. And even than there is no way around metal's nature.
     
  16. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    I've found using blu tack to set the speakers on the stand and filling the stand with a mix of sand and fine lead shot completely kills any metal ringing. A tap on any part of my stands yields a dull thud, with no evidence of ringing.
     
  17. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    Wooden stands make for a poor choice unless mass is added such as the stands from Core. They add a heavy base made of marble or stone, I can't remember which. Bamboo would be even worse than hardwood as it is very light weight and extremely soft. As GuildX700 notes, once metal stands are filled with sand or a mix of sand and shot, they are acoustically dead.

    I see some talk about coupling the speakers to the stands, which to me seems logical. However, after doing some research, which including talking with experts in the field, I found out that decoupling is the preferred method. I also learned that Blu Tack , due to the nature of the material, both couples and decouples at the same time. It can also remove the finish on the speakers and/or stand, so one needs to be mindful of that.
     
    Last edited: Apr 9, 2015
    jupiterboy likes this.
  18. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    You are probably confusing bamboo with balsa wood. Bamboo is hardwood.
     
  19. tim185

    tim185 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Australia
    SO many different theorys on speaker/stand arrangement. Personally I couple the stand hard to the floor and decouple the speakers from the stand using sorbothane.
     
  20. F1nut

    F1nut Forum Resident

    Location:
    The Mars Hotel
    After seeing the damage done to bamboo floors from heavy furniture, I'm calling it a softwood.
     
  21. Brother_Rael

    Brother_Rael Senior Member

    No need to spend a fortune - Mission Stancettes - £60. Target or Apollo make good ones, or just buy secondhand. I often see Atacama models turning up on Gumtree in the UK for about £50 or less. Shop around and save.
     
  22. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    Technically bamboo is a grass, not wood like a tree. Structurally it is as strong as some steel is, but if it has been darkened it will be softer due to the darkening process.

    On a scale against real hardwoods, yes it is softer, with a hardness rating of about 1300 versus pine which is around 900 whereas teak or walnut which can reach 3500.

    Personally I would not want bamboo speaker stands.
     
    mongo likes this.
  23. GuildX700

    GuildX700 Forum Resident

    Location:
    USA
    No,it is not, see my post above.
     
  24. triple

    triple Senior Member

    Location:
    Zagreb, Croatia
    Yeah, that's why it is used for cutting boards. Because it is soft.

    My idea about using bamboo for speaker stands is not because I like it, but because it is cheap. I would rather use yatoba (like Walker Audio), or ebony, though.
     
  25. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    I guess I'd have to see it person, but I've never been able to understand monitors not secured with something like Blu Tak. Seems so unstable and risky?
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
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