I plan on putting bookshelves/monitors on stands for my new downsized speaker rig, and am curious what you guys are using. Sanus seems to be a good bet without being junk, though the 29.99 special from b and h photo video is begging for a shot

before i had solid steel bookshelf stands i had some economy stands from sanus.

 

wasn't really impressed, it was essentially just a piece of thin wood pegged to another piece of thin wood.

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00006JQ5O/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

The Pangea metal stands from Audio Advisor are about the nicest I found under $170:

 

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGDS300

 

which is a bit more than $29.99, but...

I too had the Sanus, and it was extremely underwhelming.  I worried it would break.

Which ones, these?  You realize they're only 12 inches?  (Look at the dimensions of the tubes.)  I think you want something more like 29-36 inches.

 

Unless you want them for desktop, then they'll be too high.  I used to have a pair of speakers that only needed about 12 inches of boost once, but they were short floorstanders and I was using them as surrounds and they needed to reach over the couch.  Other than that, I can't think of a circumstance where I'd want 12 inch stands.  Well, maybe something like a Spendor S100 or something like samich's.  Maybe.  Well...alright, also if it was a center channel.  But that's it, no more.

 

Don't forget Guitar Center, if you have one near you, you can see what they have, first.  Those DR Pros look nice.  I have these fab ones that I got there decades ago, and they're still going strong.  I need to work to keep them from ringing (they're all metal), but they're better than the crap I got from Audio Advisor.

 

I also have these great little ones that I got from Best Buy, but they were a brand called Target, I think, and I don't see them any more.  Metal top and base plates, 3 wooden legs.  Sturdy as fuck.  Also still going strong.

While cheaply made, my Sanus have lasted 2 years without any sign of failure or damage.

Yeah just realized that generic bH photo brand won't work, and need something closer to the sanus 31 inches. I'll take a look at my local guitar center and best buy too to see

I use really cheap studio monitor stands. My only requirement was that they must have adjustable height.

I've always used cheap sanus stands and they perform the job of elevating the speaker the appropriate height off the ground.

I don't doubt that good speaker stands can make a difference in audio, but my speakers are like $500, I'm not going to spend a shitload on speaker stands.

Those solidsteel stands look cool though. Trying to figure out if they would work in my den.

Craigslist.

I've always used cheap sanus stands and they perform the job of elevating the speaker the appropriate height off the ground.

I don't doubt that good speaker stands can make a difference in audio, but my speakers are like $500, I'm not going to spend a shitload on speaker stands.

Those solidsteel stands look cool though. Trying to figure out if they would work in my den.

 

Same - I am going with some used quads ric was nice enough to pawn off on me for a good price.  

Not the cheapest stands around but the stuff from Timber Nation is very good.  Very happy with my stands from there - they were $220 shipped.  Built to your size:  http://timbernation.com/speakerstand.cfm

I'm stupid about this stuff. Is it a no-no to use one piece of solid wood as a speaker stand? Would that make bad resonances? I've got a chainsaw and several forests, and scant few opportunities to convince my missus that spending another cent on audio is a good idea.

I'd imagine solid wood would be just fine. Cinder blocks work well, too.

I doubt there'd be a problem with solid wood legs.  You'd want to treat them, though, and of course as always I recommend three legs over four, one thing you don't ever want in a speaker stand is that four-legs-not-the-same-length wobble.  Unless you have just one nice stout piece, then just one would probably be fine.

Yeah, I'm thinking about a tree trunk as a stand. I'm no woodworker.

I gave serious consideration to just buying a lot of plywood and stacking it horizontally.  

It would look awesome and be pretty dang solid.

 

But the weight...

Solid wood would likely be fine but I certainly wouldn't use anything green (freshly cut).  It'd also be relatively challenging to get a parallel top an bottom using only a chainsaw... unless you're like, one of those type of chainsaw guys.

Lots of trial and error to get them sitting at the right height and angle, I expect. But at least I can just burn the rejects.

We have a lot of beavers, so there's no shortage of well-seasoned wood, mostly white and black poplar.

How about a Greek-style garden sculpture stand:

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Emsco-32-1-8-in-Sandstone-Greek-Column-2300-1/100626994?cm_mmc=shopping-_-googleads-_-pla-_-100626994&ci_sku=100626994&ci_gpa=pla&ci_src=17588969&gclid=CJXd8-3v-MECFVTl7Aod3EkADQ

Lots of trial and error to get them sitting at the right height and angle, I expect. But at least I can just burn the rejects.

We have a lot of beavers, so there's no shortage of well-seasoned wood, mostly white and black poplar.

 

http://www.pickettfurniture.com/col_fur_orkan.html

 

Edited November 17, 201411 yr by dsavitsk

Interesting.  I wonder if anyone buys those.  They're nice looking blocks of wood, and the history is neat, but there are more comfortable things to sit on.

 

Off topic, I've been thinking about making a headphone stand in a similar way, using a block of wood at a branch intersection.  In addition to poplar, I've got a lot of willow here, and some of it has the diamond pattern, like this.

 

Wow, that is a gorgeous piece.  A thicker version of that would make a very cool vertical chef knife block.

Just a heads up, I think I've found a killer budget speaker stand. Ultimate support, which normally has 150-200 dollar stands, sells a budget one, jsm70. 4 adjustable heights with an easy locking mechanism, triangular base, comes with rubber feet and metal tiptoe screws for carpet, large top metal plate with a little strip of rubber on the sides that keeps the speaker stable. The whole thing was easy to setup and does not feel or look cheap, I'm truly impressed, all for 59.99 Amazon prime.