LSiM 703 Speaker Stands

WLDock

One can generalize all day....but I really think the OP needs to take some measurements to really know if its too tall. It just may be the case that Polks's Dynamic Sonic Engine with the Mid above the Tweeter has a uniform and wide dispersion pattern as stated in their manual and Tech Brief.

LSiM Manual
http://global.polkaudio.com/en/Media/POLK/Product Manuals/LSiM_MNENG.pdf

LSiM Technical Brief
http://www.sohmerassoc.com/cedia_2011/sa_cedia_2011_downloads/polk_audio/LSiMSeries_technical_brief.pdf

Also, take into consideration that Polk suggests a 30"-36" stand!

Polk Audio wrote:

The LSiM Series bookshelf loudspeakers were designed to provide excellent performance on a bookshelf or placed on a floor stand. For best results place LSiM bookshelf loudspeakers so the tweeter height is within 6" (15cm) of seated ear height. When using speaker stands, select sturdy stands 30" - 36" (76.2 - 91.4cm) high.

I can't totally confirm that myself when I had the 703's but mine were on stands a little lower than optimal. The sound did not change drastically with moving slightly up or down and side to side. Still, things are ALWAYS better in the sweet spot!

So, take the scientific approach and measure from the floor to your ears when seated to know where you need to be.


http://www.goodsound.com/howto/2007_08_01.htm

Those are nice stands by the way. Of Course the Red is not for everyone...but I can see those working well in some contemporary and modern rooms that have red as an accent color. Like these:
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/51/04/51/5104512812a65cbb86d358bcb5e80785.jpg
http://www.fojodell.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/10/Tufted-accent-chair-living-room-contemporary-interior-designs-with-burgundy-accent-color-red-accents-9.jpg
http://cdn.decoist.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/11/Red-accent-wall-in-the-contemporary-home-office.jpg
https://s-media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/originals/4a/b1/a5/4ab1a5a0e069d941fd795f13ab00a090.jpg
https://thumbs.dreamstime.com/z/red-white-music-room-11788017.jpg

first capital

I cut down my Ultimate Support stands to so that my LSiM 703 speakers are the same height as the LSiM707 .

rochesterboy

Thank you WLDock for the insight. I received the stands today. I think it is too tall to use as either fronts or stereo system. For Surround it should be fine. I just initiated the return. I am going to look for other recommendations from this thread. Search continues:)

Joey_V

rochesterboy wrote: »

Thank you WLDock for the insight. I received the stands today. I think it is too tall to use as either fronts or stereo system. For Surround it should be fine. I just initiated the return. I am going to look for other recommendations from this thread. Search continues:)

Uh that's what I said from the beginning.

Your stand is too tall.

The 705 is 47" tall and the tweeter is slightly lower set than on the 703. The other issue is that sound balance of the 705 is distributed across the woofers which is lower set than the single woofer of the 703.

Couple that with the fact that your ears are typically at 37", and you go ahead and buy stands that are 34" tall....

And you wonder why it didn't work?

Like I said, unless you are 7' tall, you are way off.

Look at 28" or even slightly shorter. These are not small bookshelves.

Jstas

I'm with @F1nut, good stands aren't cheap and cheap stands aren't good.

I couldn't find stands I liked for a price I wanted to pay so I built my own.

These were built for the Totem Rainmakers in my home office. The top plates are a little small for my 703's but they hold them up just fine. Also, because they are so heavy, I didn't need to fill them with shot. They are tall, at 30 inches but, I sit in an office style chair so the tweeters on the Rainmakers are pointed right at my face. The 703's are actually a tad lower.



These stands were built for my girlfriend's home theater for her and her kids. They are pretty much the same as above but only 26" high since they all need to be at couch seating height. All the tweeters on the JBL speakers except for the center channel are on the same plane within an inch of each other. The surround effects have the kids spinning their heads during action sequences looking for where the sound is coming from.



All the stands are the same. I had leftover oak plywood from another project so I cut the top and bottom plates out of it. I then used red oak cap moulding to finish the edges and create a nice, mitered corner. Sanded, stained and polyurethaned.

The uprights are black pipe nipples and floor flanges held in with stainless steel wood screws. I degreased the black pipe, scuffed them up, primered them and painted them with one of Rustoleum's "metal finish" spray paints. Oil rubbed bronze. BTW, they are "nipples" because both ends are threaded.

Any way, each stand was about $60 to make in materials. To get the weight and finishes I got, I'd have to spend twice that. To hit the price point, I'd have flimsy metal stands that would make the speakers look like oranges on toothpicks which is aesthetically absurd looking.

The stereo pair for my office is 6 30" x 1" pipes and associated floor flanges. The home theater set is 2 24" x 2" pipes and associated floor flanges. They all averaged about $60 bucks because the 1" pipe was cheaper than the 2" pipe. The plywood was about $45 for a single sheet to cut everything out of so divided by 4, it's $12.50 for the wood per stand. A bit more for the stereo pair but I was able to get a half sheet for them so not that much more. The red oak trim was $8 for a 96" length. I needed 1 for the stereo pair and 3 for the HT pair but didn't use all of the 3rd piece. Paint, poly and stain was about $15 for the HT stands and $8 for the stereo pair.

To fill them with sand or shot, I unscrew the top plate and pour the sand or shot right down the pipe. Secure the top again and done.

These stands weren't expensive but they weren't cheap either. Since I haven't factored in my labor, they seem inexpensive. To get something similar, I was looking at $300+ a pair at least (would have been about $500-$600 shipped for the HT stands). Even then, I was stuck with something that didn't fit my needs exactly. Building them allowed me to get something far nicer than what my budget allowed if I had bought retail.

[Deleted User]

@Joey_V You are not factoring in the head bob.
I found this tweek at audio advisor;

rooftop59

back on topic, why not these? Sanus SF30: https://www.amazon.com/Sanus-SF30-B1-Foundations-30-inch-Speaker/dp/B0006885FS/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1485360943&sr=8-1&keywords=sanus+sf

There are other sizes as well. Good sturdy stands, can be filled. Very affordable.

rochesterboy

Thanks for all the suggestions. How do you secure the 703 on any of these stands? Do you just leave the speakers at the top or do you use some kind of glue? TIA

zarrdoss

They usually just sit up there on either rubber feet or isolation spikes.

DaveHo

Some Blutack will help if you're worried. That's part of what good stands get you, stability.

WLDock

rochesterboy wrote: »

Thank you WLDock for the insight. I received the stands today. I think it is too tall to use as either fronts or stereo system.

Man, I though that maybe you had one of those rare 19"-20" tall couches and you are 6' 3" - 6' 5"+ tall. LOL! That would put your ears in the 42"-46" range. With the speakers being 16" tall and the tweeter about half height, 36"+8"=44" would put you right there....but that is rare. The mighty tape measure is the only way to know....critical to measure before selection.

My situation is...my couch is 18" and my seat to ears height is 22"...so 40" floor to ear height. My temp RT600 are 35" tall and the tweeter is 32.5" from the floor. So, they are a little low. I sit about 9 feet away so I raked/tilted them back a little and that helped. The center of my screen is about 50" from the floor and voices are believable and on the screen.... even without a center channel.

The 50" or 60" tall (depending on how i build them) Statement II speakers that I want to build have the tweeters at a 38" height. Those should work out nicely!

Measure, then measure again! If I'd kept the 703's I was planning to try out these wood stands: http://swanspeaker.com/products/accessory.aspx?aid=1&type=accessory or build some custom stands using MDF wood plates and polymer extrusions, PVC pipes or composite deck posts....similar materials as the lauded Sylan stands.

Jstas

Mine all sit on the stands without wobbling. The only thing I have on them is drink coasters made out of this stuff:



Mostly because the Totems have long throw woofers and they like to vibrate themselves around on any solid surface. This provides isolation and enough friction that they won't move.