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People have recommended Skylan stands here before and talked about them. I've even recommended them on the basis of hearsay and theory. Finally, with the US dollar up lately and the Canadian dollar down, I pulled the trigger and ordered a pair of 4 post stands, 28 inches high, for my Harbeth Monitor 30's. I had been using a smaller metal stand with stuff on top to get the speakers up to the right height (tweeters at the same height as my ears sitting in my chair). I also tried a 28 inch metal stand designed for smaller lighter speakers, but that didn't work too well.The base and top plate (a perfect match for the M30 since Noel makes them for your speakers) are mdf. The fillable rectangular columns are made of some kind of extruded polymer. The edges are all rounded and the fit and finish are very nice. They were very easy to assemble, and they look nice. Clear instructions, a little wrench and a nifty funnel for filling are all included. Spikes and screw-on flat feet are supplied for the base, depending on whether your floor is carpeted or hard. Little pads are fixed to the top plate to support the speakers.
Soundstage, depth, imaging, clarity, resolution and bass are all a lot better than what I had before.
They were never expensive, but for US buyers, with the decline in the value of the Canadian dollar, Skylan stands are a real bargain.
___"Occasionally we list eccentrically, all sense of balance gone."
Edits: 11/21/08Follow Ups:
I have tried many different stands for my LS3/5A V2s, but have been constrained a bit by what is available to audition in Copenhagen.
I hear lots of differences with different stands i have tried, so far none of which i like: brightening, ringing, full of glare, booming, deadening, etc!
I think I need a high mass speaker, but all the goods ones need to be imported and if one sounds bad, I am stuck with it.
So, for now, they sit on my IKEA wooden LAK plant stands (that have now gone out of production), which are neutral at least.
"Live free or die"
These might work for you...easy to make your own for a lot less too. Spikes can be ordered through Parts Express or Madisound
IME,the idea that tweeters need to be at ear level does not always apply nor work best.
For what it's worth, Mapleshade reports:
The reason so many audio "gurus" recommend the tweeters-at-ear-level rule is that it sounds superficially "logical" and they're too lazy to do the experiments required to find out whether the rule works or doesn't work.To test the rule with your present stand mounts is surprisingly simple. Just systematically change your listening height while listening to the same 1 minute of music over and over again. I do it by sitting on one phone book on the floor, then two, then three... The changes in listening height cause sonic changes as powerful as a tone control. I find that in 98 out of 100 systems, the rule is clearly wrong. The exact best listening height is different for every speaker and every system setup. Once you've confirmed for yourself that the basic tweeters-at-ear-level rule is wrong, you can read our website's Maple Bedrock design rationale with an open mind.With respect to soundstage height, we have found that the more you tilt your speakers back on our adjustable-tilt Bedrock stands, the higher the image floats. The adjustable tilt allows you to trade off perfect time alignment of tweeter and woofer (for punchier, cleaner musical attacks) versus treble balance versus image height; you get to set this tradeoff yourself to exactly suit your own listening priorities.Almost all small speakers are on stands that are way too high (24" and up)—and, all too often, too flimsy. Want to hear how much bass and warmth your speakers are losing? Try 'em on the floor, tilted back with a wood or metal block under the front. If you're on carpet, lay down a heavy plank or cutting board first.
I actually edited that paragraph out of my original post because I decided that it was a distraction. My speakers sound best that way. That's the way they were designed to be used, that's what the manufacturer recommends and that's the way they measure flattest. I've measured them in my room. Magazine and ezine measurements of speakers usually plot the frequency response at different points and make recomendations. Sometimes listening on the woofer axis or somewhere in between is best. Some speakers do sound better on lower stands tilted back a little. In fact, I think that my Harbeth Compact 7's sound better that way, but still with the tweeter on the same axis as my ears. I do think that most people have those speakers on stands that are too high, but they obvioucly disagree. I've tried that with the Monitor 30's and it wasn't as good.
Skylan, btw, will make speaker stands to whatever height you want with a built-in tilt to your specifications if that's what you want.
________
"Occasionally we list eccentrically, all sense of balance gone."
nt
I've been buying Skylan stands for years, won't consider anything else.
I remember you or someone posting picture of his speakers on a Skylan 4 post stand, but I can't find it. I put a link to the website with pictures in my post above, but it disappeared.
________
"Occasionally we list eccentrically, all sense of balance gone."
Place speakers flat on floor and sit on the floor, yourself.
Doesn't elevating speakers with small woofers further weaken an already lacking quality?
The purpose of this forum is not to engage in pointless arguments. Certainly if you put a speaker on the floor, the amplitude of bass frequencies will be augmented. That doesn't mean the bass reproduction will be more accurate or more pleasing. Most likely, the opposite. My speakers have 8 inch woofers and are designed and voiced to be placed on stands. They would sound best suspended in free space with the tweeters aimed at the listener's ears. Proximity to walls and floor will reinforce the bass, but not necessarily make it more accurate.
________
"Occasionally we list eccentrically, all sense of balance gone."
experience with 6" speakers, elevated on stands, and they invariably were non-musical, lacking the fundamental horizon of sound upon which to build "light."
Elevating your speakers, if they're removed from side and back walls, as well, I'd think would make them a tad shy, bass-wise, and designing speakers thusly wouldn't mean it was a satisfactorily successful idea.
Certainly, no offense meant.
...is NO!
Oz
Don't worry about avoiding temptation. As you grow older, it will avoid you.
- Winston Churchill
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