I'm talking about for bookshelf speakers, just bought a pair of Spendor s3/5r, only 30cm tall, why can't they just sit on my Ikea Kallax shelf?
Printable View
I'm talking about for bookshelf speakers, just bought a pair of Spendor s3/5r, only 30cm tall, why can't they just sit on my Ikea Kallax shelf?
They can. Speaker stands are foo. I've been saying this for years but no-one listens.
Try sticking the Spendors on the floor and see how they sound then...
Try a pair of stands designed for Linn Kan or LS3/5a speakers. Should be about right.
Lol - bollocks! :ner:
Firstly, with most so-called 'bookshelf' speakers, in order to hear them properly, it's vital to have the tweeters at ear height (from the listening position), and the chances of achieving that by placing them on a bookshelf are virtually nil.
Secondly, is the question of isolation from the floor, in order to prevent the cabinets from picking up unwanted external vibrations, which will simply serve to colour the sound the drive units produce, then a properly-designed and well-built pair of stands will successfully address that issue.
Thirdly, you wouldn't like the sound of my Tannoys, placed directly on the floor in my room, in comparison with how they sound on their Mana platforms, because of what I've just outlined above, as even though they're far from being stand-mounted designs, the horn tweeters in the DC drive units benefit massively from being heard at ear level.
In that respect, there's a very distinct sweet spot for optimum listening!
So.... Speaker stands can do a vital job in a hi-fi system, no doubt :cool:
Marco.
You need them to get the things at the right height, agreed. A couple of three legged stools will do that. The idea that you need 2 grand (or more) worth of specially designed 'speaker-floor interfaces' is the bit that is bollocks.
Yes of course, but you don't want any influence from that also coming from the floor, as it will further muddy the sound. Almost all stand-mounted speakers I've heard, when just plonked onto the floor, sound boomy in the bass, and rather 'one note' and un-tuneful there, with it.
I disagree about isolating (or decoupling for that matter); it all depends on how the stands in question are designed. Good ones, including their equipment support counterparts, help address how detrimental the effects of the surrounding environment can be to sensitive audio equipment.
Marco.
Yup, sure - and as you say, so designed they can be very effective! Another product, designed on rather different principles, but equally as effective and sonically beneficial, are those from Mana (though now long discontinued).
However, even a basic pair of speaker stands, as long as they're rigidly constructed, are better than no stands, for use with non-floor standing speakers. Now, ask me about the supplied spikes being supposedly 'mandatory', and you might get another answer ;)
Marco.