The prospect of getting something new always brings a shine to my day. Recently I purchased an exciting new set of bookshelf speakers(RP-600M experience here), yet deciding which speakers to buy was only half the fun. I also found myself in need of both speaker wiring and, the main subject of this article, speaker stands.
There are many things to consider when buying speaker stands. Determining limitations is a vital first step, whether those be price, size, aesthetics or your pet cow, Randy, who likes to eat wood. Another factor is practical requirements. Many of the most important considerations, such as weight capacity, stability and stand height come into play here. Finally, making sure the stand is pleasing aesthetically is important to a lot of people.
Financial Considerations
Most people can’t afford to spend hundreds of dollars per stand, and in general it would be borderline foolish to do so. Even though top of the line stands should perform excellently, by shopping through the extensive options available you can ensure you’re really getting the best value. Maybe in your situation the expensive stuff really is the best, but in all likelihood there’s a budget friendly option that is highly reviewed and will provide the same utility.
Personal Preferences
Many speaker stands will require some assembly. If you’d rather not spend an hour setting up the stands or are physically unable to go fiddling around with a fifty pound bag of sand, then you may have to get somebody else to do it. Obviously this can get expensive if you have to hire somebody, so it’s something that is good to keep in mind as you shop.
Practical Considerations
Weight Capacity
Onto the practical stuff. The most obvious requirement is that a stand has to be rated to hold a weight greater than that of your speaker. Some small stands have capacities as low as a couple of pounds, but mostly you’ll see that most flat-top stands are built to hold around twenty pounds, which is well over the weight of most bookshelf speakers. However, just because a stand can support a 20 pound speaker doesn’t mean it won’t tip over easily when used in such an application.
Stability
This is why it’s important to also factor in stability of the stand. This can be most easily ascertained by reading online reviews of the stand you’re looking at online. You can also get a general feel for the stability of the stand by looking at the dimensions of the stand’s base to see how large of a contact area with the floor it has, as well as factoring in the weight of the stand.
In general metal stands are going to be somewhat sturdier than wooden stands, with higher weight capacities and heavier bases. This is, of course, assuming they are well constructed and not made of counterfeit pipe-cleaners. Plastic stands are also available, but personally I’d be leery of ordering a plastic stand without being able to see a floor-model at a retailer first to ensure it’s sturdy enough to be trusted with my coveted speakers.
Some very sturdily manufactured steel stands can weigh around twenty pounds before even filling them with sand, an optional practice which is commonly included in stand design. By designing the speaker stand to be filled with sand manufacturers can cut down on shipping costs while maintaining stability, and at the same time dampen vibration that might travel through the stand from the speaker to ensure optimal sound. A fifty pound bag of play-sand will only run you a few dollars at Lowe’s or Home Depot and can drastically increase the stability of your stand.
Speaker Height
The general rule of thumb in regards to stand height is that, for optimal results, the speaker’s tweeter (the smallest speaker) should be at approximately ear-level. If your living room’s most used seating is a pair of bean bags, you’ll likely be looking at lower stands than somebody who mostly sits on a full-sized couch or bar-stool.
Height-adjustable stands are also an option, but unless you plan to really switch things up in the near-future you really shouldn’t have a need for them. The most common or ‘standard’ height is a 28 inch stand. At the same time as you’re assessing the height requirement you can also determine if you have enough space for a bulkier stand, AKA one that takes up more floor-space but is likely more stable.
Speaker Size
Finally, the last important practical feature of your stand is the physical size of the speaker it can hold. In terms of flat-top stands, where the speaker simply sits on top of the stand like a very small table, this is determined by the dimensions of the top-plate, or the surface upon which the speaker will rest. Ideally the top-plate dimensions will be just slightly smaller than the speaker’s base dimensions, but still large enough to maximize stability so that the speaker can’t easily topple.
Contrary to what common sense dictates for the best stability, you really don’t want the top-plate to be larger in size than the speaker base. This is because any excess surface area can change the listening acoustics and at the same time it looks sort of funny, which is not the effect most people are trying to achieve in their homes.
Aesthetics
Speaking of funny looks, let’s move on to the final set of requirements, the one you likely need the least help with: aesthetics. If it’s cheap, and sturdy, and maybe even delivered pre-assembled, and yet you hate how it looks in your space, then it probably isn’t the speaker stand for you. You deserve to love what you hear and what you see when you finally complete your home audio ambitions, so try to find stands that will match well with the décor and speakers they’ll be paired up with in their environment.
Cable Management
One major thing I will say to look for is that many stands come with a built-in method for running your wiring through them so that it is hidden from view. Many people will enjoy the resulting comparatively clean look more than wiring hanging from every surface. This can be improved upon further with the use of cable ties or sleeves.
Conclusion
You should now have at least a solid base to work from that will allow you to successfully find the proper speaker stands for your home. If you’d like to read my review of the stands I use in my own home, you can find details about the Monolith stand by Monoprice here.