need stands for surrounds

[agtpunx40]

I need some stands that are pretty high for normal sized bookshelf speakers. Right now I'm using some old jbl s26s but in the not so distant future I will be getting some paradigm studio 20s to match my mains and center. Most of the stands I've seen that are high enough are for surrounds are not big enough for normal sized bookshelf speakers. What do other people use?

[topspeed]

I need some stands that are pretty high for normal sized bookshelf speakers. Right now I'm using some old jbl s26s but in the not so distant future I will be getting some paradigm studio 20s to match my mains and center. Most of the stands I've seen that are high enough are for surrounds are not big enough for normal sized bookshelf speakers. What do other people use?

I followed RGA's lead and picked-up some custom Skylan Stands that seem to do the trick. Noel custom sized the top and bottom plates for my application, which I thought was really cool, and the fit is spot-on.

I know Woochifer uses Sound Anchor for his Studios and man, those things could hold up a Hummer! Talk about serious construction. They're pricey but you get what you pay for.

Other's to consider would be Target, Atlantis, and Sanus, although I'm not thoroughly convinced on the quality of the last one.

http://skylanstands.com/stands.htm
http://www.soundanchor.com/
http://audioadvisor.com/store/categorylisting.asp?
CategoryID=55&hdnCat=Speaker%20Stands&Page=1

Hope this helps.

[Woochifer]

It's not just the size, but the load capacity and balancing that are difficult to find for using a decent sized bookshelf speaker as a surround. I started hunting around for surround speaker stands when I bought my Studio 20s and found that the viable options were few and far between. Most of the stands taller than 34" that I saw were the telescoping variety. While those stands can go up to about 48" in height, they typically can support no more than about 10 lbs. and their top plates are no more than 4"x4" which for something like the Studio 20s is way inadequate since those things weigh close to 30 lbs. each. With the Studio 20s, you probably need at least 36" of elevation if you want to use them as surrounds, and at least 40"+ if you intend to use your system for both multichannel music and movies.

Like topspeed said, I use the Sound Anchor adjustable studio stands. At $350 a pair, they are expensive, but they can support up to 100 lbs. (not quite Hummer mass as topspeed mentioned, but definitely in the Civic/Corolla class ), and are adjustable between 7" and 45" in height. Sound Anchor can also custom weld together a nice tall fixed height stand for about $200 if the adjustable stands cost too much. I went for the adjustable stands because I liked the side mounting option that those stands give you and with those stands I can raise the surrounds for certain movies and lower them for multichannel music discs. Very versatile and the construction is about as ridiculously rugged as I've seen (they're shipped prewelded with no user assembly, and they weigh 65 lbs. each).

The gallery section has a picture of the stands and links to Sound Anchor's site.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/showp...cat=500&page=1

[Sir Terrence the Terrible]

It's not just the size, but the load capacity and balancing that are difficult to find for using a decent sized bookshelf speaker as a surround. I started hunting around for surround speaker stands when I bought my Studio 20s and found that the viable options were few and far between. Most of the stands taller than 34" that I saw were the telescoping variety. While those stands can go up to about 48" in height, they typically can support no more than about 10 lbs. and their top plates are no more than 4"x4" which for something like the Studio 20s is way inadequate since those things weigh close to 30 lbs. each. With the Studio 20s, you probably need at least 36" of elevation if you want to use them as surrounds, and at least 40"+ if you intend to use your system for both multichannel music and movies.

Like topspeed said, I use the Sound Anchor adjustable studio stands. At $350 a pair, they are expensive, but they can support up to 100 lbs. (not quite Hummer mass as topspeed mentioned, but definitely in the Civic/Corolla class ), and are adjustable between 7" and 45" in height. Sound Anchor can also custom weld together a nice tall fixed height stand for about $200 if the adjustable stands cost too much. I went for the adjustable stands because I liked the side mounting option that those stands give you and with those stands I can raise the surrounds for certain movies and lower them for multichannel music discs. Very versatile and the construction is about as ridiculously rugged as I've seen (they're shipped prewelded with no user assembly, and they weigh 65 lbs. each).

The gallery section has a picture of the stands and links to Sound Anchor's site.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/showp...cat=500&page=1

Now Wooch, are you telling me that if I want to order stands that are 84" tall, Sound Anchor is willing to make this stand for me for $200? If this is true, I am going to quickly ditch the crates, and do this yesterday!!

[Woochifer]

Now Wooch, are you telling me that if I want to order stands that are 84" tall, Sound Anchor is willing to make this stand for me for $200? If this is true, I am going to quickly ditch the crates, and do this yesterday!!

T-man, I think you'll have to stick with the superduper anti-resonant milk crates for now. That $200 price I believe applies to heights below 44", anything above that will bump up the price since it's now a custom job.

[agtpunx40]

I was looking around the sound anchor site, and the cheapest I saw was the single post stands, which were still $280 if they were high enough. Did the prices go up that much since you checked them out, or did I miss something? I was looking for something in the $200 range

[Woochifer]

I was looking around the sound anchor site, and the cheapest I saw was the single post stands, which were still $280 if they were high enough. Did the prices go up that much since you checked them out, or did I miss something? I was looking for something in the $200 range

Check the studio catalog rather than the home catalog. For whatever reason, the prices quoted on the home audio catalog are higher, even though the basic stands for both studio and home use are basically the same. I just checked, a pair of 44" Project 3 studio stands will cost you $225. I believe that the home audio stands have to be ordered through a dealer, while the studio stands are ordered directly through Sound Anchor.

[kexodusc]

I forked out a couple hundred for some Skylan stands for my front Studio 40's.
For my rear studio 20's I went to the local harwares store, picked up some MDF, black gloss paint, a bit of hardware, some wood veneer to match the sycamore colour of my Studio's and built my own 42" stands in about 5 hours for $36 bucks. These things are tough, made of MDF and can support my 173 lbs. The center neck of the stand is hollow and filled with a bunch of sand I stole from the playground behind my house. I don't have any fancy equipment, but I can't detect any resonance...the studios rest or on neoprene pads anyway.

By the way, how would I know if resonance was impeding their performance? Any obvious clues?

I'm no DIY-er by any stretch, but if you're on a budget and can do any kind of woodwork or know someone who can, you can build sturdy nice looking stands for dirt cheap. I got ambitious with veneering the neck of the stand, but the black gloss paint looks as good as the Skylan stands I bought. Leaving the veneer out would save an hour or two as well.

Just an alternative for you to ponder while you save up your $$$. If you're like me and happy, you might save yourself big bucks and put it towards a new subwoofer or something.

Never thought of an adjustable stand...not sure how I'd do that. You guys may have given me something to do this weekend. Hmmm...