Speaker stands/Audio tweaks

[junkeroos]

I was told that one should put sand or pellets inside speaker stands and also put Blu-tac at the bottom of the bookshelf speaker before placing them on the speaker stands. That this would result in less resonance and improve bass response. Is this true?

[NickWH]

Yes, this is true.

[karl k]

I was told that one should put sand or pellets inside speaker stands and also put Blu-tac at the bottom of the bookshelf speaker before placing them on the speaker stands. That this would result in less resonance and improve bass response. Is this true?

putting sand/pellets inside the speakers and blutac at the bottom of the stands!

[nusiclover]

also, lead shot (pellets) may be better since sand can retain moisture. just to be on the safe side.

[mtrycraft]

I was told that one should put sand or pellets inside speaker stands and also put Blu-tac at the bottom of the bookshelf speaker before placing them on the speaker stands. That this would result in less resonance and improve bass response. Is this true?

Just audio nonsense, lots out there. If, you hear the stand resonate, then you dampen it or get better stands.
Blu tac may help to prevent speakers from falling over too easy if the stand and speaker is not well designed and are unstable.
Bass response? LOL.

[WmAx]

Just audio nonsense, lots out there. If, you hear the stand resonate, then you dampen it or get better stands.
Blu tac may help to prevent speakers from falling over too easy if the stand and speaker is not well designed and are unstable.
Bass response? LOL.

I don't know about bookshelf speakers, use of bluetack and their respective stands. However, on a large full range loudspeaker that sits directly on a wood substructure floor or on a thin carpet with thin or no padding, it may be beneficial to decouple the speaker from directly contacting the floor. Otherwise, it is possible to excite some resonances of this structure audibly, usually found around 50-90 Hz in my exposures. This is easily measured for a specific room using an acclerometer attached to the floor, a preamp, sweep generator(connected to amplifier to speakers or alternatively a test tone CD) and DMM with Db meter. In these applications, i usually just make a platform the size of the bottom of the speaker, sit the speaker on this and place layers of carpet and/or foam under the platform until adequate attenuation of the floor excitation is achieved. The lower the Fs of the floor structure, the more layers or thicker material to be used under the platform. This does cause instability, relative to direct coupling to the floor, though.

-Chris

[junkeroos]

Well it looks like some agree and some disagree. Once again, I am left with no answers.

[N. Abstentia]

It's quite simple. Yes to the sand in the stands (I prefer aquarium gravel..won't leak out the bottom) and yes to the blue tack. Worst case, it won't hurt a thing.

[karl k]

Well it looks like some agree and some disagree. Once again, I am left with no answers.

whether you'll hear the difference? For $20 or so, it is worth trying! Bottom line.

[robin_v]

I was told that one should put sand or pellets inside speaker stands and also put Blu-tac at the bottom of the bookshelf speaker before placing them on the speaker stands. That this would result in less resonance and improve bass response. Is this true?

Whilst this may be true, a lot of energy which is lost this way is due to poor enclosure design for the speakers you are mounting.

I have this "nasty" habit of resting my hand on top of speakers that I'm considering buying. The less vibration I can feel, the better the chances are that they'll make a sale.

I have very simple satelite stands. A single pipe, filled with sand, and a square plate at each end - one on the floor and one for the speaker to stand on. These particular ones didn't cost me anything. I knew a welder who wanted to have his car radio repaired so we did a swop.

Some audiophiles may even fill the pipe with concrete and let it set.