As you all must be aware of there are loads of stands available in the market today. There are also loads of DIY options. This article helps you know your stands and some basics to lookout for when selecting.
Design
One of the most basic (& famous) DIY attempts to build a stand is the Flexi stand By TNT
TNT-Stubby - A DIY Speaker Stand Project on TNT-Audio [English] .The basic construction is of a hollow pipe that is sandwiched by two plates held together by a central tie rod that extends from the top plate to the bottom and is then fastened with nuts. For the price (50$), no doubt its a good beginning ,but in no way is this tension/tie rod design the correct way to execute a stand.
First off, its inconvenient to assemble and disassemble especially when filled. Add to that the fact that all thats keeping the central column in place is "friction" between the top and bottom plates that sandwich it. In effect there can never be sufficient rigidity or coupling between the parts.
No commercial or pro stand maker uses this amateur approach. (At least I hope they dont).
One of the more popular approaches used by many budget stand makers is a system where the top and bottom plate bolts onto the central column. This is achieved by many ways .The cheap budget way is by welding a plate to the column or using a washer. This is used in most Chinese made stands that I never recommend.
Pro stand makers actually use castings or a TIG seamless welding where the column appears to be a SOLID steel pillar that is threaded at both ends. This requires some serious equipment.E.g Dynaudio Stands
Another approach is using Aluminum Extrusions for the columns wherein the extrusions themselves have the fixing holes. These just line up with the holes in the top and bottom plates. Its one of the cleanest approaches. However this requires considerable investments in extrusion dies etc. e.g. stands by B&W
Yet another approach is bracketing using connectors. Few stand makers use this since this is used to make lossy stands that are recommended to be used with speakers such are Harbeth and Spendor.e.g Harbeth and Spendor stands
Construction
Many commercial manufacturers (by commercial stand manufacturers ,Im referring to the various so called branded stands that are manufactured in the PRC by companies that are more often furniture builders than actual audio enthusiasts this includes even the famed stand&deliver brand and even some Atacama outsourced stuff) use 3mm thick steel plates for the top and base of the stand. This is basically nothing but cold rolled Sheet Metal. The column used is nothing but a pipe probably 18-16 gauge thickness (which, once again is incorrectly described as heavy gauge- whats heavy about 1.5mm?) These have to be filled to even be acceptable. A truly heavy gauge column is one that would be ring free even if unfilled. Here we are talking about 3.5-4mm.Base and top plates at least 6-8mm thick would be far better.
Another grouse I have is the use of cheap studs that are described has isolating carpet spikes. Well most often these are nothing but grub screws(bolts) or Allen screws whose heads have be pointed off.
See here:
Atacama Audio Top Spikes for Speaker Stands - Top Spikes | CSN Stores.co.uk
Or:
http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?VISuperSize&item=390315690635
This can normally be confirmed by looking at the tech specs or user manual. Good spikes can be found by googling
Materials
This is quite a debated topic but most audiophiles agree about the ill effects of glass. Fortunately none of the pro stand makers use it. Many others who did use it have also discontinued its use. Glass is/was used only because of its low cost to machine into any shape. One could probably get a top and bottom plate for 3-4$ however its ill effects on acoustics (harsh sound signature) and its tendency to chip or break has discouraged many makers to stop using it. Most agree on the use of Metals, some use exotics like marble and some use combinations of wood and steel.
Mass & Weight
This is one of the most important aspects of a stand that is ignored by many manufacturers only to save on shipping costs. But this is what makes and breaks a stand. Always try and find out the nett weight of the stand. Under 6-7 kgs per stand and it will have stability issues. I am more comfortable with a stand that at least weighs twice or bit more than my speaker (unfilled). This provides for stability and prevents it from tipping over easily. Mass adds to weight and a feel of presence and authority in your music, light stands well, just sound hollow. The weight of the stand will also give you a hint about its construction and gauge (is it really heavy gauge construction? etc)
Features
Many stands offer different features. But these are exactly what they are-features. They are not as important as the aspects described above
Some offer spikes on the top plate and some offer affixing screws where bye you can bolt your speaker to the top plate(ofcourse the speaker must have a provision for this too)Spikes on the top plate work for some and dont in other cases. It all depends whether you are from the isolation or coupling school.
Some stands offer wire mgt.However this is a highly debated topic .Many Purists hate wire mgt. Infact they use ceramic or porcelain pucks and tweaks so that their speaker cables dont even touch the floor! Let alone allowing a cable that carries the audio signal to pass through another electrically conductive column. Even practically while switching cables; cleaning etc wire mgt becomes a headache. However Home theatre enthusiasts who are not so picky sacrifice all this for the neat clean look, hence stand makers design so as to satisfy both clubs.
Remember a good stand is something you dont upgrade and hence spending money on one is not a waste since its payback with regard to the improvement in SQ is phenomenal.
Here are some examples of stands that make it to my list
RWS-708
Dynaudio - Authentic Fidelity
K.Tajir
