Skylan vs. Sound Anchor speaker stands? Comments?

On Silverline 17.5, using EPOS metal stands ST12, the sound is very lively and the speakers disappear, with great transparency.

With Skylans, they sound less lively, disappear a little bit less well, and have a bit less going on.

BUT, there is something beguiling about the Skylan sound. Blacker backgrounds. More lyrical. Something about it just grabs your attention.

At least one of these two stands is very colored in sound!
(perhaps both?)

I can't say for sure that my experience with the metal EPOS stands will translate to the Sound Anchors. But I'll tell you that the difference is very substantial, with the metal EPOS sounding more like what I expect my cds (recordings that I'm very familier with) to sound like, but the Sklyan offering a take on the music that makes me smile.

I'm planning to play with both for the forseeable future, so I can experiment more (e.g. try lighter kitty litter instead of sand in the Skylan), and give each one more time to convince me it's the real thing.

Also I'll have fun demonstrating for skeptical visitors what a huge difference a pair of stands can make :)

I have a clear memory of past occasions where the component that sounded better to me at first did not wear on me as well as other choices. We shall see.

Art

If you browse the search engine for what to fill speaker stands with, you'll find a lot of varying opinions. Some prefer kitty litter, some all sand, some shotgun pellets, and some a mixture of all of the above. There seems to be a repetition in some posts that filling only to the 2/3 level gives best results. I guess some people feel that you can over-damp the stands, resulting in a duller sound. I'm not so sure. I currently have Skylans in my main system and Lovans in my bedroom system. Both are filled to the brim with playground sand. Maybe I'll try the 2/3 full method. Speaking of Lovan, these new Jazz series look interesting:

http://www.lovanusa.com/index.php?cPath=1_9&osCsid=8429fda884027e95d3266782b84cce31

I read someone say that the 3 post jazz is not very stable. That issue is what lead me to EPOS ST12. Well that and I could borrow it from a friend first to check it out :)
Art

ps: I use 24" Lovan's (thin 2-post 4-spike metal) in my bedroom system for usher s520 and it seems a match made in heaven. Both are gloss black too. Cool. But they don't seem stable enough for the Silverline 17.5's.

I'm using the 20" skylan stands for the harbeths....
There was a thread on speaker asylum where Noel and his friend Moray were experimenting with cat litter and sand, and then rice, which they seemed to prefer, filled all the way. So when I bought the stands Noel suggested the rice, which I've done. I think they sound great, although I haven't emptied them out and filled with sand, so I don't really have a comparison. For some reason I like the idea of not using metal. Maybe I'm just mental....