Speaker Stands Advice Required Please.

[DaveK]

Hi Chris Stratmangler,
I have had a look at your links, for which many thanks.
The Akropolis is definitely 'not on' - I just dont like the idea, it would violently clash with our other furniture and the Controller would probably divorce me (or have me certified ) if I even showed them to her - sorry !!
The Stubby are nearer to our requirements but the central black plastic pipe still has the look of an oil rig about it.
This got me thinking. If I could replace the centre column with a 4 inch sqare piece of matching wood with a hole drilled through the centre to take the threaded rod we have a more attractive (to us) proposition. Nowhere to put the extra weight but I could probably live with that.
Meanwhile rc60 deluxes are the current preferred choice.
Thanks for your input and cheers,
Dave.

[The Grand Wazoo]

My reason for asking is that it may have some bearing on how your speakers react & what stand arrangement might work best.

I know a bit about wood, being in the forestry management business & I know a little about how different types of wood floors behave with speakers - I've always put wood flooring in my own house.

Your description tells me quite a lot actually. I would certainly use those granite bases if I were you because, no matter how flat & level everything was when you laid it, there will be some give in the layers of the floor. You may not be able to detect it, but it will cause tiny movements in the speaker/stand assembly as the drivers work. I'd say you would certainly benefit from the mass of those plinths - whether you attach them to the stands or not. If you place them directly on the floor as they already are, make sure there is no question of them rocking - even the tiniest bit.

The reason for the question about the species was because different densities of timber have different qualities. A dense, hard & tight grained wood like Maple will tend to be very reflective & give a brighter sound than something with a more open cell structure like Oak - even if they're both finished with the same polyurathane varnish. I didn't think to ask if yours is laminated wood - the lower layers are very likely made of Birch, which, though less dense, behaves a little like Maple. If, as you say, yours is not bog standard budget stuff, then the top surface will probably be relatively thick, so it will behave much like a solid Oak board - this is a good thing!

Please don't imagine that I go to the lengths of selecting my wood floor in order to improve my listening experience - but knowing the effects of what you have can help. My floor is solid Birch & if I use too much silver cabling, things get too bright, which didn't happen before with the original softwood floor.

Cheers

[aquapiranha]

Yes, when I had the standmounts on the SE24's I used blu-tak to secure the speakers to the top and two £10 granite chopping boards from tesco or somewhere. I did use the spikes, but I remain unconvinced as to their usefulness, believing that they are best suited to carpeted rooms to enable the spike to secure the stand to the floor underneath the carpet. IMO



You can make out the chopping board behind all the pieces of future speaker cabinet..

;-)

[Beechwoods]

I got a couple of those Tesco granite chopping boards to have a play with. I've seen a few people using them here and there. They are nicely made, and a nice price. Just about the right size for an average separate I think as well. I have two under my Lenco at the moment but am thinking of getting a single piece cut to size by a local stonemason. Beats sitting the deck on the carpet.

[DaveK]

Hi Chris and Steve,
Thanks for your inputs - all useful stuff !
Chris, I haven't the remotest idea what the lower 2 layers are but they are certainly NOT oak. The middle layer is less than solid shall we say (gaps being visible between them at random intervals). CORRECTION: - I have just popped up into the loft to have a look at the pieces left over and the bottom 2 layers appear to be, in fact, a single layer of 5 Ply. Of these 5 the top, middle and bottom layers seem to be about 1.5 mm and layers 2 and 4 seem to be about 1 mm, give or take. If it helps you to formulate a more specific recommendation I would be happy to post you a postage stamp sized sample
The thought of choosing your floor to provide the best acoustics ONLY does take the obsession to new heights (or depths)
Cheers,
Dave.

[Spectral Morn]

I do rate spikes if for no other reason than leveling the speakers. I think alot of people forget about the importance of speakers being dead level relative to the floor and to each other. No floor is level and I would also use something under the granite rubber dome feet perhaps. I use Michell large tender feet under my very thick granite slabs. I found that the really crap floor I had to deal with when I lived in my parents house needed thick granite to stop bass passing into the room below.


Regards D S D L

[DaveK]

Hi Guys,
On the subject of granite plinths and seperate shelves you may be interested to hear that, some time ago, from some supermarket or other (sorry, all other details faded away), I purchased for the Controller a larger (than a chopping board) piece of white marble about 15 or 20 mm thick which was on sale as a pastry board, the theory (for the benefit of the un-domesticated) being that pastry benefits from being kept cold whist being made. I admit that I do not recall seeing any lately but, there again, I haven't been looking for any. It may provide another avenue to explore for anyone interested in the subject.
Even though Controller rejected it after a short period of use as being too heavy, I have retained it on the (sound Yorkshire) basis that it might come in useful one day. No wonder the loft, office, garden shed and garage are stuffed to the gills.
Hope this may help,
Dave.

[aquapiranha]

If you want cheap granite or slate, go to a fireplace supplier, or a kitchen worktop shop - they always have bits cut out where fires and sinks go, and would probably polish the edges if you asked nicely....

[symon]

I have a marble rolling board too, which I'm thinking of putting under my Lenco when it is ready to use. I would be interested in hearing opinions about its usefulness as an isolation type thing, too.

[The Grand Wazoo]

Hi Chris and Steve,
Thanks for your inputs - all useful stuff !
Chris, I haven't the remotest idea what the lower 2 layers are but they are certainly NOT oak. The middle layer is less than solid shall we say (gaps being visible between them at random intervals). CORRECTION: - I have just popped up into the loft to have a look at the pieces left over and the bottom 2 layers appear to be, in fact, a single layer of 5 Ply. Of these 5 the top, middle and bottom layers seem to be about 1.5 mm and layers 2 and 4 seem to be about 1 mm, give or take. If it helps you to formulate a more specific recommendation I would be happy to post you a postage stamp sized sample
The thought of choosing your floor to provide the best acoustics ONLY does take the obsession to new heights (or depths)
Cheers,
Dave.

Yes, It's probably Birch-faced, with Poplar in the core. The centre layer may, or may not be Birch too.