Well, I didn't want to hi-jack this thread. But perhaps this stand discussion will be useful to EA owners.
Anyway, my "experience" isn't really all that significant. Many years ago I used a stand from a company whose name I can't even remember. But it was simply a 4inch square column that was welded to flat plates both top and bottom. Everything was made from 5 gauge steel. By itself, it rang like a bell. Filled with wet sand, absolutely dead silent.
Like I mentioned already, I did assemble an LSA stand for a friend, while he was admiring his new LSA speakers. Cool looking but not really designed with performance in mind. And I also have a friend who owns a pair of Sound Anchor stands. Those beasts are probably 100lbs and also dead silent. If I ever used a stand mounted speaker again, for sure those are the ones I would get. Hands down. So, that's it. I don't even use stands anymore. When I did I actually went to the effort of literally bolting my speakers to the stand. And that had a tremendous effect on performance. But at that point, my speakers and stand were essentially one piece. Seemed like a good enough idea at the time. And the results proved true.
So my perspective is not one of lots of audiophile experience. But I do work in physics. So I'm just trying to apply basic physical laws. Ie. The first priority is for the stand to be sturdy. Any extraneous movement or flexure will be detrimental to the sound. This should be self evident. I would probably give mass as the second most important factor. Again, because of simple physics. The ratio of the mass of the moving diaphragms versus what they are pushing against should probably be as disparate as possible. This is pretty much proven in practice. Just look at the mass of speakers like Wilson, Rockport, Magico, Focal, etc. etc.
Anyway, the last factor would be ringing within the stand itself. In the same way that it's not desirable to have your speaker cabinet resonate, it's not good to have your stands resonate. I know there are a tiny few speaker designers who think it's a good thing to have the cabinet resonate freely. But, with all due respect, I think it's safe to say that they are fringe. Certainly the vast majority of designers and listeners recognize the benefits of an inert speaker cabinet. I would assume the same for the stands.
So as far as resonating goes. Yes, everything has a resonate frequency. But that's not the whole story. That frequency also has a Q. Steel has a high Q. So with the stands I used years ago, if you yelled at the right pitch you could get the stands to audibly ring without even touching them. But you fill them with wet sand and they become like a rock. Literally. Not only does the resonant frequency drop through the floor. But their Q drops even more so. They don't "ring" at all. It was like having my speakers bolted to stone.
So thats my perspective on the stand itself. It bears no opinion on accessories added to the stand, such as Wave Kinetics or Still points. I'm simply talking about the stand itself. And I think it's safe to say that, as an extreme, you don't want a flimsy and lightweight stand that rings like a bell. You want the opposite of that. Building something that achieves those ends is not complicated. Granted, there may not be a lot of companies doing it. But that's why I keep mentioning Sound Anchors. They are ridged as hell. That are heavy as hell. And they have extremely low resonant Q. They don't ring at all. AND, they are not at all expensive.
Now, I am well aware of our audiophile penchant for spending lots of money on gear. But I don't think it's always necessary. This is why I inquire and ask questions in this regard. If welded steel is more ridged and heavier than threaded brass. (and it is.) And if brass has a higher Q than steel. (it does.) How do these things add up to better performance? Especially at 4-5 times the price.
I'm not saying it won't. I'm just asking for someone to explain to me how it does.
Thanks!
Anyway, my "experience" isn't really all that significant. Many years ago I used a stand from a company whose name I can't even remember. But it was simply a 4inch square column that was welded to flat plates both top and bottom. Everything was made from 5 gauge steel. By itself, it rang like a bell. Filled with wet sand, absolutely dead silent.
Like I mentioned already, I did assemble an LSA stand for a friend, while he was admiring his new LSA speakers. Cool looking but not really designed with performance in mind. And I also have a friend who owns a pair of Sound Anchor stands. Those beasts are probably 100lbs and also dead silent. If I ever used a stand mounted speaker again, for sure those are the ones I would get. Hands down. So, that's it. I don't even use stands anymore. When I did I actually went to the effort of literally bolting my speakers to the stand. And that had a tremendous effect on performance. But at that point, my speakers and stand were essentially one piece. Seemed like a good enough idea at the time. And the results proved true.
So my perspective is not one of lots of audiophile experience. But I do work in physics. So I'm just trying to apply basic physical laws. Ie. The first priority is for the stand to be sturdy. Any extraneous movement or flexure will be detrimental to the sound. This should be self evident. I would probably give mass as the second most important factor. Again, because of simple physics. The ratio of the mass of the moving diaphragms versus what they are pushing against should probably be as disparate as possible. This is pretty much proven in practice. Just look at the mass of speakers like Wilson, Rockport, Magico, Focal, etc. etc.
Anyway, the last factor would be ringing within the stand itself. In the same way that it's not desirable to have your speaker cabinet resonate, it's not good to have your stands resonate. I know there are a tiny few speaker designers who think it's a good thing to have the cabinet resonate freely. But, with all due respect, I think it's safe to say that they are fringe. Certainly the vast majority of designers and listeners recognize the benefits of an inert speaker cabinet. I would assume the same for the stands.
So as far as resonating goes. Yes, everything has a resonate frequency. But that's not the whole story. That frequency also has a Q. Steel has a high Q. So with the stands I used years ago, if you yelled at the right pitch you could get the stands to audibly ring without even touching them. But you fill them with wet sand and they become like a rock. Literally. Not only does the resonant frequency drop through the floor. But their Q drops even more so. They don't "ring" at all. It was like having my speakers bolted to stone.
So thats my perspective on the stand itself. It bears no opinion on accessories added to the stand, such as Wave Kinetics or Still points. I'm simply talking about the stand itself. And I think it's safe to say that, as an extreme, you don't want a flimsy and lightweight stand that rings like a bell. You want the opposite of that. Building something that achieves those ends is not complicated. Granted, there may not be a lot of companies doing it. But that's why I keep mentioning Sound Anchors. They are ridged as hell. That are heavy as hell. And they have extremely low resonant Q. They don't ring at all. AND, they are not at all expensive.
Now, I am well aware of our audiophile penchant for spending lots of money on gear. But I don't think it's always necessary. This is why I inquire and ask questions in this regard. If welded steel is more ridged and heavier than threaded brass. (and it is.) And if brass has a higher Q than steel. (it does.) How do these things add up to better performance? Especially at 4-5 times the price.
I'm not saying it won't. I'm just asking for someone to explain to me how it does.
Thanks!