Do stands make a difference?

Assuming you have a range of different stands for the same speakers, all of the same dimension, but each made from different material. How much would you expect the sound to vary (if at all) just by using different materials?...

A. Hollow steel
B. Hollow steel filled with dry sand
C. Soild lead!
D. Solid concrete
E. Soild wood

Anyone with practical experience with this? Any theories?

 

The best I've used were B the best I've heard were C [actually some other metal called sound bites I think. I also made some frome stone that worked very well. These were all supporting Ruark Broadswords

 

I remember those stone ones at the Manchester Show a few years ago. They looked great

 

Who made those?

 

Zanash!

 

Also, could you pour concrete into hollow metal stands for any benefit?

(I presume you would line them beforehand to avoid corrosion).

 

I did a search and presume you meant this thread...

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?threadid=644

Nutter

 

I can only comment on A and B
I used to use my Partington dreadnoughts as is. Then i tried with sand.
Sand all the way. Tightened bass up nicely.

 

The best speaker stands I have heard bar none are the ones I use on both my systems, acrylic Quadraspire.

 

Yes, most definitely make a difference, but like everything else it comes down to personal taste. I knew a very well known reviewer that swore by his Partington mass-filled stands but I thought they totally killed the music.

I'v heard stands made out of stone and concrete with mixed opinions, although I was trying to find the photo's I took at the Munich show in 2004 of the KR Audio prototype speakers and stands made out of granite. They looked superb and considering the terrible listening rooms they have at the Munich show (converted 20ft steel shipping containers), they sound pretty dam hot too. Might have the technical speal they gave me somewhere...

Total steel plate stands are terrible too, generate too much 'ringing' in my opinion. It's also interesting to note that even some loudspeaker manufacturers stands can be pretty shocking too.

Best thing is to see if you can try a few stands to see how they inter-act with your own speakers and room/floor.

 

I have often thought that it would be nice if someone sold speaker stand covers - rather than yet another stand. They could be in wet look PVC, quilted floral, paisley, herringbone, nuagahide etc.

Then you could just make a pile of concrete blocks or porno mags under each speaker..this would presumably out perform commercial designs.

 

Would it stand to reason that the heavier and more solid a stand, the more bass output would be achieved, due to the structure not absorbing energy via movement / vibration?

I can't see a structure would make any difference to the upper ranges though, aside from pshycological. For example if the bass increases then the overall balance of sound would tip, possibly making the uppers sound different, but only in the mind.

 

No, not ime.....

theres more to it than just mass, though I'm no expert. There seem to be some gear that likes the light open frame type and others the solid mass approach. Though its not wrong to go with either all my gear seems to prefer the mass approach. Theres also an element of how these interface with the floor and the speakers. I've heard great results from dirrect coupling ie spikes and from the same setup steve M's super balls and door stops. its very much a personal taste thing not right or wrong.

 

most important thing is to get your speaker at the right height, and in the right position.

Construction material being less important IMO.

 

The best stand material depends on the speaker.

There is an enormous difference between different speakers in terms of the amount they vibrate and the frequency response of that vibration (as opposed to the response from the drive unit). How the speaker is coupled to the stand also makes a difference, as does the way that the stand is coupled to the floor (which will be affected by the type of floor you have).

The construction and materials of speaker enclosures also varies. So for instance, if you've got aluminium drive units in an aluminium speaker enclosure I'd suggest you avoid an aluminium stand. Otherwise, the speaker might sound, ummm, aluminium-ish.

It's also its very much a personal taste thing, as zanash says and, as bottleneck says, the speaker height and position is often more important.

There is no 'one stand fits all' answer.

Regards
Steve

 

Don't you mean they totally killed the colouration of the music?

DT

 

In my experience, heavy speakers tend to prefer open frame stands whereas lighter speakers seem to work better with mass loaded stands

 

...in a word,...NO!

 

Are you not going for the dedicated bolt-on PMC stands then Paul? I have had no problems with them at all. In fact they are really good and sturdy.

It makes sense to me that someone should produce stands that can be adjusted. Just as positioning the speakers from the walls makes a difference, so does positioning from the floor and ceiling.

Depending on the height of you room there will be a exact position which gives least modal interaction.

 

On the subject of stands, if anyone near Edinburgh is looking for a great pair of stands for half price I have a set of Atacama R724 stands for sale here:

https://www.audio-forums.com/as-rediect/showthread.php?t=11964