Speaker stands...do they make a difference?

I prefer rock maple for cutting boards. Bamboo is harder on knife edges dulling them easier. A lot of folks like it because it's a more renewable resource than tree wood.

 

I know all that. Bamboo's hardness is inconsistent and is much higher at joints than ulong the plant. However, the point is that is very dense. Again, if one can get some other hardwood cheaper, that's fine. Where I live, maple is not abundant and cheap, like in the US and Canada.

 

Softwood dulles knives?

 

Hardness and density can be 2 different things. Again, On a scale against real hardwoods, yes it is softer, with a hardness rating of about 1100 - 1300 versus pine which is around 900 whereas teak or walnut which can reach 3500.

 

See here:
http://bambooflooringreviews.org/?p=31

 

I have been using isolation pads so that they sit on top of the wood platform between my speakers.

These are them: http://www.amazon.com/Auralex-MoPAD...622996&sr=8-4&keywords=speaker+isolation+pads

I would assume these could also be used on a good pair of stands as well?

 

To me, stands are in some ways kinda silly. If you're taking up the floor space, why not have towers? OK, there can be some reasons of imaging etc. Anyway in this case the speakers are already there. The question is will dedicated stands transform the sound-possibly! But it seems to me that money spent on a subwoofer would transform the sound far more, though a "real" sub is more than several hundred (unless used). So I would instead experiment with different isolation pads and maybe putting more weight on/in the shelves, and damping behind. Or, are there mods for the speakers themselves available?

 

These bookshelves were 1,500.00

The tower version is 2,900.00

I prefer the Sierra 2's without a sub for critical listening.

 

If you have any doubt about how important stands are put your speakers on the ground for a couple of days...

 

Most important thing from a sound quality standpoint is that they get the speakers to the proper height.

Bill

 

This has been my thinking.

Mike, aren't you swapping out your bookshelf Ascend's for towers in the near future?

 

The Skylan stands look like metal, but are in fact some sort of hard plastic or polymer. Very good stands.

 

Thanks for that. I looked up the hardness rating after I signed off earlier and found the same info. So, harder than pine, but still softer than real hardwood.

Part of my business deals with moving damage claims, which often includes property damage such as floors. The bamboo floors I've seen have not faired well. Even had a few home owners say, "wish we never got this bamboo flooring."

I also noted that bamboo floors are laminated layers and as such cannot be sanded down to refinish. Ummm...no thanks.

 

I think some of the buzz around bamboo these days is it's "green" renewable aura. But....folks don't realize forests have been clear cut at times to make bamboo farms, the long distance shipping creates a carbon footprint, & the amount of formaldehyde in the flooring is an issue too. So it's not as green, or renewable as first blush would present it to be.

 

Don't get me started on "green."

 

I have very similar stands having gone for the "allow unwanted vibration to dissipate through the structure approach" rather than the "damp it out with high mass" approach. Both work very well and it's down to personal preference

 

Get a set of spike cups (see London Jazz Collector). They're relatively cheap.

 

It's been a couple of days since I switched from the lightweight wooden stands to the sand-loaded metal stands, and I am still impressed by the not insignificant jump in performance. And these metal stands are probably comparable to new $100 stands, nothing all that fancy at all. I guess I should save up and get something even more mass-y.

 

I couldn't find that on that excellent site. Can you post a direct link?

 

That's the plan, but took a large hit with the tax man that was not expected, so may be a bit longer than I want it to be

 

Wow, that's a big difference.
As for the sub, for something like that I'd suggest a low crossover, but I guess you need the right electronics because integration can be tricky.

Maybe you should try stands that have a liberal return policy-if they don't sound better than your bookshelves, return them!

 

these 27-SP's work perfectly with the LS50's.

http://www.skylanstands.com/stands.htm

 

BUMMER!!!

Before you changed to the Raal ribbon tweeters and you had a bit of hearing fatigue, I was thinking that the tweeters might be sending out a bit more sonic energy than you needed in your listening room. Did the Raal ribbons help to tame the beast?

I had come across a photo after you installed some room acoustic treatments, which, I'm sure helped a bunch.

A while back, I came across an interview with David Solomon from Peachtree/Era/Signal Path, and he was commenting on the Smaller D4's with the 4" woofer vs. the D5's with the same silk dome tweeter but with a 5" woofer. He was saying that the ports on the D4's were designed to be wall mounted (if desired), but that the D'5s were designed to be placed away from the wall a foot or so (both were rear ported).

The forum members have provided you with some excellent input on affordable stands. Until you purchase them, you might try a pair of balled up socks to plug your rear ports, if your bass does get a bit boomy being so close to the wall without stands. Inexpensive treatment and completely reversible.

How you have them now seems about the right from your photos.

 

I really need 30" stands.

 

M y "local" hardware stores in the U.K. stock "parasol bases",fashioned from concrete housed in hard wood(eucalyptus)...they raise the speaker stands approximately 6 inches,and the bases are wide/deep enough to allow "shimming" via hockey pucks if needed....they look fine,and do the job,particularly if one has wooden flooring...