bookshelf stands - HELP finding

subwoofer

I am looking at upgrading my fronts. I have the RM6700 series and I put them on top of nice 42" stands. However, if I get some nice bookshelf size fronts, I can't use these stands since they wouldn't hold the new speakers very well. Polks website doesn't have any good stands for these but does anyone here know of some good ones to get? Links on the web would help.

jcaut

You didn't mention anything about the size of speakers you're thinking about, but here is a nice set of metal stands for a pretty good price (at least until 5:00PM today). I haven't checked on shipping...

Dennis Gardner

I like the Wood Technology stands. They make them up to 42 inches tall. Be careful with stands this tall if you have little kids around, kids seem to knock over speaker stands easily.

Racks and Stands

subwoofer

Thats the site I've been to before, some nice stands too and at a good price.

Only problem is that I'm thinking about getting the RTi6 or RTi4 bookshelf speakers from Polk and they are about 11" deep. Those stands are only about 8" deep

Early B.

Eight inch deep stands should work fine. Just make sure they have some weight to them so they can't be easily knocked over. Of course they shouldn't be 42" high either.

Dennis Gardner

I use them on RT55s that are that deep also. You could use some blue tack to attach or even screw them solid if you weren't concerned with ever reselling the set. Stands actually look better when you don't see the top perch under the speaker.

Willow

I have rti4's on stands the top base is not the size of the speaker...this is what I do...filled the stand with sand...and used a mouse pad that is grippy on both sides cut to size and the speakers don't move

usathyan

Go to J&R and order Omnimount 300AH. It is on special sale for $39.88. Plus select "After Holidays Free Shipping" when you checkout to get free shipping!

You just saved over 50 bucks! This retails in other places for $65-$99

subwoofer

eh, those Omnimount 300AH are kinda plain looking.

The stands I have now seem too small: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=14997&item=5739213611&rd=1

But I don't mind these: http://www.crutchfield.com/S-U13gfw7vVRN/cgi-bin/ProdView.asp?g=110500&I=051BF24B

Dennis Gardner

Here is where I bought my Wood Technology from. They had the best pricing by far.



Hififorless

mrmusicman

I purchaced Metal Technology stands from Crutchfield for my rt55i's $105.00 shipped ,they're very solid and stable,they also come with carpet spikes.

subwoofer

Originally posted by mrmusicman
I purchaced Metal Technology stands from Crutchfield for my rt55i's $105.00 shipped ,they're very solid and stable,they also come with carpet spikes.

what do carpet spikes do? what is their purpose, to hold it in place?

Dennis Gardner

On thick carpeting or padding, stands and speakers can wobble
and be unstable. Spikes give a firm base for the stand to rest against the floor below the floor covering. Bass response is usually improved by using spikes.

Whadyasay

I just got a pair of Target Audio HR70 28" stands for my LSi9's. They are steel with the both the top and bottom plates welded to the columns, so there's none of the wobbling and swaying that can happen with stands that have screw-in plates (no matter how much you tighten the attachment screws). Two 4" square pillars filled with sand. the top plate is 6.5"W x 8"D, so it's plenty large enough for just about any bookshelf speaker, especially these large and heavy LSi9's. With the sand-filled columns, there is no resonance or movement whatsoever, as if the pillars are made of solid stone. I highly recommend these for any bookshelf speaker. They come with both top and bottom spikes.

Whadyasay

Wider view....

PolkThug

Looks like you need a Harmony remote whadyasay!

Whadyasay

I've actually had more trouble pushing the right combinations of buttons on universal remotes than the ones I have ingrained into muscle memory on the regular ones....strangely enough.

The only thing is that every now and then (mostly when it's dark), I go to answer a phone call and end up turning off the TV.

okiepolkie

The Harmoney 768 may be a little different than the other universals you have tried. You don't really have to push a "combination" of buttons to do what you want. When programmed right, the remote will do it for you.

Whadyasay

Is it bothering you guys that much that I have so many remotes at my fingertips? Because I'm fine with it, really. If it makes you feel any better, I do use a little Phillips universal remote to turn the volume up and down when I'm seated at my computer across the room. It even turns components on and off.

beardog03

You don`t use the spikes on the speaker end, do you ?

I figure that would damage the speaker, so I took Willows advise and used mouse pads..!

The RT38i`s still seem to turn after a while though..

Whadyasay

I don't use the top spikes, I just simply use small foam rubber adhesive discs that came with the stands...about the size/thickness of a nickel and stuck to the corners of the baseplate. Mouse pads may seem a bit much, you probably don't want that much area contact with a spongy material. You can find some adhesive rubber discs at a hardware store...they should have enough tackiness to keep the speaker from moving around, whereas the mousepad may be acting as a slip-rug.

Willow

Originally posted by Whadyasay
Mouse pads may seem a bit much, you probably don't want that much area contact with a spongy material.

and why not...they isolate the speaker from the metal plate and absorb any vibrations.....isn't this the reason for filling the stands with sand ?

Whadyasay

Well, the sand or lead shot help eliminate resonance (tap on a hollow pole, then on a solid one) because the more the mass, the harder it is to vibrate, hence the speaker's energy isn't so much absorbed, it just isn't used for it so there's more available for the actual speaker cone. So when you tap on a solid pole, it may hurt your finger more than on the hollow one because the energy of your tapping is bounced right back into you, rather than dissipated through the pole's vibration. But depending on the weight of the speaker, it may rock or sway a bit on the mousepad, which can translate into a loss if energy when the speaker is playing due to movement. Also, the contact area should probably be as small as possible (hence isolation spikes), depending on how much the cabinet actually resonates. This is one of the reasons blue-tac is a popular choice, because you can use small pieces and its tackiness keeps the speaker from shifting around, especially lighter cabinets. In a lot of ways, an ideal speaker cabinet material would be something on the order of marble..competely inert/free of resonance and free of movement when placed on a marble pillar. That way, all energy is used for the movement of the speaker cone, and not lost to the cabinet vibrating or shifting/swaying or bouncing.

The problem with some harder materials when it comes into contact with a light speaker cabinet is that since the speaker's energy isn't moving the contact surface, it goes right back to the cabinet which might make it bounce...again, loss of energy due to kinetic movement of the cabinet instead of just the speaker cone. Again, a mousepad may cushion the bounce, but in doing so will actually absorb and dissipate some of that energy, and since there's a larger contact surface, the energy has more leverage, whereas with spikes or a smaller contact area, the leverage is less. The spikes give the cabinet less of a foothold when the cabint resonates, so the energy is retained within the cabinet, and the sharpness of the spike points keeps the cabinet from shifting or sliding. The only thing is that spikes leave marks, which is why a lot of folks don't use them. Sometimes, even little adhesive velcro discs are a good choice for lighter speakers, as long as you don't mind sticking them to the bottom of the speaker.

My LSi9's are quite heavy (~33 lbs ea.), so the spikes might actually dig really deep into the bottom. But since the cabinet is so heavy and basically inert, it remains steady and solid on the little discs at the corers of my stands' baseplates.

Boy, was that long-winded!

Willow

I don't know Jack about physics...but if you have an absorbing material under an object which emmits a vibration, the absorming material would not bounce it back...or it may to a small degree..I had lil rubber feet on my stands I prefer the sound of my speakers with the pad.

okiepolkie

My same friend that can get me a granite slab for my subwoofer also used to make granite slabs for a speaker company(can't remember the name of it). They would put a slab of granite on each side of the speaker. I'm not sure if it was on the front and back, but even with it on the sides, there should be a considerable dampening factor to help reduce the vibrations for speakers.

My homemade stands are filled with sand, but I may look at getting some slabs of granite and put them in the collumns instead of the sand.

Just thinking out "loud" now.

Whadyasay

It's not so much about bounce-back, but basically, you don't want your speaker cabinet to move...like, say, if you were to throw a bowling ball from stand still with good gripping shoes on a solid surface as opposed to slippery shoes on a pliable or unstable surface. You'd have a better chance of a longer throw with better stability. Same thing if you were standing on a thick futon cushion..maybe you could time your throw to the up-bounce of the cusion, but that's only for one ultimate throwing motion, whereas a speaker is pushing out air at different frequencies at different times, so it wants as stable a platform as possible, and as little movement in and around the cabinet itself. If you were to throw the ball while bouncing on a trampoline, you might get good distance if you release on the up-bounce of the trampoline, but you'd get squat if you released on the down-bounce. With so many frequencies coming out of a speaker, there's no way to guarantee that the sound will be emitted in optimal sync with the bounciness or cushiness of a soft surface, and anything but that optimal sync point will produce less-than-optimal results.

Foam padding may help if you have resonant stands. The foam layer may dampen the vibrations that cause the stands to resonate, but you're still loosing energy through the actual dampening. When speaker designers put bracing into a cabinet, it's not for the sake of dampening or cushioning, it's to keep the cabinet from resonating through stiffness and stabilization so that all the energy can be released into the speaker cone. Otherwise, bracing would use springs or rubber collets, like certain earthquake-proof building structures which are designed to absorb and dissipate energy.

This is all theoretical, of course (and probably way off base at some points), so if you're happier with the way your speaker sounds, that's all that really matters. If you want to keep the speaker from slipping around, you can go to a futon store and get one of those non-slip things (thin rubber-weave sheet) that you put between a futon and a couch frame. ACTUALLY, that non-slip material might be a good alternative altogether to the mouse pad.

My parents have a pair of AAD speakers that have slabs of lead embedded in the side panels...these things will stay stable in a tornado. They weigh 50 lbs each!

http://www.aadsound.com/Products%20Page/2000%20Series%20Product/2001_product_page.html

Olkie, if you really wanted to go the whole nine yards, why not fill your stands with quick-dry cement or mortar? Or better yet, see if your granite-connection can get you a good deal on a pair of Greek marble pillars (decor compatability pending). I'm not being fecetious at all.... something on the order of a stone pillar is what many strive to emulate with high-mass stands. I just hope your floor can support it.

Willow

Originally posted by Whadyasay
If you want to keep the speaker from slipping around, you can go to a futon store and get one of those non-slip things (thin rubber-weave sheet) that you put between a futon and a couch frame. ACTUALLY, that non-slip material might be a good alternative altogether to the mouse pad.

thanks I will check that out...

Whadyasay

There's also this stuff:

http://www.amusicdirect.com/products/detail.asp?sku=AAQSORBSHT

Meeks32

I just bought some roman column plant stands from Old time pottery to use as new speaker stands. It cost me $22 for 2 29" tall stands(gotta take them back since they are a little too tall). Im gonna paint them a gloss black tommorow & fill them with sand. They already weigh about 25-30lbs each & there is alot of space to fill it with sand. I figure they will look pretty good & I wont have to spend hardly any money for speaker stands. Ill try to post a picture when I get my new speakers & finish the stands.