Speaker stands

Been thinking about some of these as for one thing it would enable me to put them in better positions for stereo if I sit in different places in my room and also theyre meant to help sound quality.

Ive been wondering why lots of the speaker stands seem to be around 60cm in height. When Im sitting down my ears are about 1metre 30 off the ground and my speakers say that for best listening the tweaters should be at ear level. Anyone like to explain this to me?
I havent got much to spend on them (like less than 40 quid )
With my humble setup (in my signature) will having not great stands matter that much? Any recommendations? the cheaper the better really. For example (and I expect to be shot down for this) would having index catalogue speaker stands for 20 quid be that different that Id notice with my setup from something a bit more expensive?

Cheers again people

Andrew

 

Sounds like you need some Richer Sounds crap.

 

Hiya mate,

Most of us arent blessed with rock solid furniture thats of exactly the right height to put the tweeters at your ear height, like you said.

If in doubt I would go for something as solid as possible, looking out that something that can be filled with dried sand, or lead shot.

Atacama SE24's used to be the budget brand of choice at richer sounds/sevenoakes etc. It may have changed, but the basic premise of solidity and hopefully the ability to be filled is what youre looking for at that price Id suggest.

I wouldnt get anything too flimsy, as it will show itself up and you'll need to change them if you ever upgrade the speakers in future years.

Personally, I wouldnt trust hifi products from the likes of index/argos, but would instead get a reputable budget make from a specialist retailer. It shouldnt cost much more than 40 quid for a pair of something a lot better.

NB You might want to put up another post after you get them if youre at all uncertain of where to place them in your listening room.

Good luck
Cheers
Chris

 

thanks people. Unfortunately "richer sounds crap" is just about all I can afford at the moment...

 

I doubt there's much wrong with richer sounds. We are talking about a few bits of welded metal to put speakers on, after all.
I would look for second hand stands. There may well be bargains to be had. Look for something that is solid, and preferably can be filled with builders' sand.
You can use Blutak or spikes (or whatever sounds best) to tilt the speakers up so that the tweeters are more-or-less pointing at your ears. Lots of people do this and it should work fine.
Depending on your floor, it may also be worth finding a granite base from a DIY store to put your stands on. This will not only raise the stands, but will add another layer of absorption - and is especially useful if you have "wobbly" floors, as most of us do.

 

My speaker stands are Richers Sounds crap. Actually for the money they are ok, they are better than Argos stuff or shelves anyway.

Julian Richer has been kind to me in the past so I will be kind to him for once

 

sounds to me like you need a 2nd hand pair of Atacama SE1000s or some low positioned wall brackets

hths

 

also mate, if youre on a budget a whacking great pair of concrete pavers from B&Q works 99% as well as the granite, but is cheaper (and obviously not as nice to look at). 2 x pavers and a can of black spray paint cost approx 10-15 quid.

Chris

 

Good idea with the concrete slabs. Cant do wall brackets as uni halls wouldnt be too pleased with it. Where do you go about getting second hand gear?

 

Leeds sevenoaks currently have the atacama SE24s and 20s at 49quid a pair on special offer.