four post speaker stands... am I missing any?

[emorphien]

I'm looking at getting some new stands. I received some money from family and friends as gifts for Christmas and my soon-to-be birthday and I have been wanting some nicer stands, specifically I really like the four post stands on the market.

For example the StudioTech SC-24
http://www.studiotech.com/products/speaker_stands/sc-24/index.html

Unfortunately they don't actually make these anymore except for sporadic batches and are mumbling about late February as a possibility for having a few made.

Others are the Target MR24 (much bigger columns though and a bit more expensive than the Studiotech) and Atlantis Reference 24 and Totem T4s (both even more overpriced than the first two stands I've mentioned.) Really they're all silly expensive, I just like the look and know that if I were to attempt to make anything similar, the cost in materials, effort and time would make buying the Atlantis or Totem stands seem reasonable.

Another option I've looked at is Skylan, but I like the slightly slimmer four post designs and I know I saw a Chinese branded pair when I was in Cincinnati recently and can't remember the name. I'm waiting to hear back from Skylan on some specifics though.

I'm sure there are half a dozen other companies out there making knock-offs of this design at varying prices, so has anyone else stumbled across any? Looking through the threads here from searches hasn't yielded anything specific to my request yet. I've been eyeballing Audiogon as well to see if anything pops up as I decide on whether this is what I really want to be spending my money on.


edit: I thought I had posted this in general, I guess i missed. Probably better off here anyway.

[Woochifer]

Add Sound Anchor (http://www.soundanchor.com) to your list of prospects, although they might be even more expensive than the other options. One big difference with the Sound Anchors is that they are not flat packed for user assembly, rather all of the pieces get welded together at the factory with no seams. And one nice thing about Sound Anchor is that you can custom order them to whatever height you want, and specify whether you want them prefilled for sound deadening.

I use their Adjustable Studio stands for my surrounds and they are about as rugged a set of stands as you'll ever see (they each weigh 65 lbs. and can support up to 100 lbs. with adjustable height from 5" to 45"), and will likely cause you bodily injury before you can ever accidentally tip it over!

They are available through dealers or you can order them factory direct.

Generally speaking, the more expensive stands are priced that way for a reason. The more expensive stands are typically heavier with better stability (or they're just simply designed to look better). If you have heavy speakers, you don't want a stand that doesn't carry a lot of weight down to the base. The Target stands I've used are well built and solid stands for the price (though not nearly as heavy as the Sound Anchors). Like the Sound Anchors, the Target stands are very utilitarian and not there for the looks.

[jrhymeammo]

This is a design with one post.

http://www.standsandmounts.com/ProductImages/vantagepoint/SLSG24.jpg

I understand that this isnt what you are looking for, but I'm a strong believer in 3 spiked design. I believe it is alot more stable, since it is very hard to distribute all the weight equally. One spike will almost always be floating around somewhere. But if you are going to be using a pair of hefty stands w/ possiblity of filling it, it may not be too much of an issue.
I dunno, am I being too picky? Just somem to think about if you have this option.

One more thing, I got all excited when you wrote the word Skylan, cuz the first thing came to mind mind was Skyland Chilli. Mmmmmm.. Load it up!!!!!! Maybe I should take that job in Cinci.


I believe you mean Skyline ;)

Oh that's right. Man, I knew I shouldn't have skipped dinner. Besta go to sleep, but I gotta spin 2 more albums.

[emorphien]

Generally speaking, the more expensive stands are priced that way for a reason. The more expensive stands are typically heavier with better stability (or they're just simply designed to look better). If you have heavy speakers, you don't want a stand that doesn't carry a lot of weight down to the base. The Target stands I've used are well built and solid stands for the price (though not nearly as heavy as the Sound Anchors). Like the Sound Anchors, the Target stands are very utilitarian and not there for the looks.
I'd looked at sound anchors as well, also quite pricy.

I realize there are various benefits to the heftier stands but I'm going as much for a sturdier stand as a particular look I like better.

The sound anchors might also be a bit rich for my blood right now, but I have seen used ones pop up. I'll keep them in my consideration since I forgot to mention them.

And jrhy, yeah 3 points of contact is technically the best way to do things (some of these stands, like the Atlantis, use 3 points).



One more thing, I got all excited when you wrote the word Skylan, cuz the first thing came to mind mind was Skyland Chilli. Mmmmmm.. Load it up!!!!!! Maybe I should take that job in Cinci.
I believe you mean Skyline ;)


edit: interesting. I just looked at the Sound Anchors some more, their single post designs would be reasonably priced (although the pricing jump from 23 to 24" is absurd, would have to talk to them). What I don't get is why the seemingly similar single post stand in their "studio" catalog is a lot cheaper than the one in their home catalog.

[Dusty Chalk]

I'm a three-poster, myself. 3 == never a wobble. 4 == sometimes a wobble.

[emorphien]

3 posts used to be my style too... particularly since the base had 3 spikes. I'm willing to take the time to level off 4 spikes if the stand comes with em though.

[bubbagump]

I bought a pair of these:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?PartNumber=240-744&raid=45&rak=240-744

The picture doesn't do justice. They're deep black with a textured, powder coated finish. They're very heavy and very stable. They're also sand fillable. At this price point you're only going to find flimsy wood and sheet steel stands that will wind up in the trash or garage before long. I bought the 24" model on sale for about 99 bucks shipped. Careful about shipping cost. If I had bought them through Amazon (a company I normally like and use heavily), I would have paid 50 dollars shipping even though they were coming from Parts Express. Parts Express shipped them at no cost to me. The only thing I didn't like about these were the brass hardware caps for the feet. I painted them high gloss black which turned out well. These stands are an incredible bargain at about 100 bucks for the pair.

[emorphien]

I've actually used a pair of those. Top plate is way too big for my needs and not the styles I want. They are indeed a great deal though. When I played with it, they were under $100 and not $150 as they seem to be now.

In any case I'm pretty specific about wanting four rectangular posts/columns. The only other thing I'm interested in now is the Sound Anchor stands.

[N. Abstentia]

I have the Studio Tech SC-24's and I they are great stands. However I plan on replacing them with Skylans because I actually like the fatter posts! I think they would look better under my Paradigm Active 40's because they are fatter on the bottom. But the Studio Tech's are great stands...once you get them filled with sand or gravel it's basically like sitting your speakers on an anvil.

[emorphien]

I'd like to get the SC24s... they're the least expensive of this style (new) but it looks like that might not be easily possible due to the batch manner they are making them in. Tell you what, send me your SC-24s, then you'll have a reason to go buy those Skylans you want!

I'm maybe leaning towards the Target MR24 but nobody seems to agree on the top plate size. Some say it's 6x8, others say it's 8x8. I'd rather have a 6x8 top plate thankyouverymuch.

[N. Abstentia]

If you buy me those Skylan's, I'll gladly ship you my SC-24's :)

But you lost me on the 'batch manner' thing....what is that?

[emorphien]

The SC-24 was discontinued almost 2 years ago. They only make them in batches when they have a handful of requests, and even then apparently they don't make a lot of them for each batch. I'd like to have something new soon, so I don't want to wait on something that might be available at the end of feb if I can pick up something else now.