Floorstanding Speaker Stands - which one?

When I had these speakers I didn't like them with the supplied spikes but used the large ERAUDIO Harmonizers which turned them into a wonderful sounding speaker.

Speaker enclosures (or frames, in the case of stats, maggies, etc) MUST NOT MOVE, PERIOD, THE END!!

If an enclosure can move, usually noticable as a slight rocking fore and aft or side to side, near the top of the enclosure, then not all the energy of the drivers will be transferred to the air. In addition, other nasties, such as doppler effects, are added to the acoustical output of the drivers.

That said, it really all begins with the floor. It must be as steady and solid as the earth itself. A concrete slab poured over a gravel bed (typical in residential construction) is best. A three point footing assures no wobbling (that's why cameras and telescopes are mounted on TRIpods).

How the speaker enclosure is attached to the floor is unimportant as long as it CAN'T MOVE. If the speaker is HEAVY enough, hardened metal points (spike or cone) securely anchored to the bottom of the enclosure will provide sufficient "bite" to "mass-couple" (a fancy word for "attach") the enclosure to earth.

Conditions are often less than the above "ideal." The speaker itself may not lend itself to a solid connection to the floor (think monitors on stands) and/or may not be heavy enough to provide stability simply from force of gravity. A wooden floor structure (wood joists with a plywood subfloor on top) will always allow speaker movement even with a three spike arrangement, because the floor surface itself flexes. Even the bottom of some less-well-made enclosures themselves flex. (Placing a sandbag on top of a monitor/stand helps but isn't pretty.)

In these cases, there is really only one other mechanically sound solution. It's called triangulation. It involves using a strut of some kind (I've used thin wall 1" dia aluminum tube). Place the speaker on just two spikes left and right side and positioned front to back so the speaker naturally wants to tip toward the rear. Attach a strut from the top rear of the speaker to the back wall. There are many elegant ways to do the hardware at the speaker and at the wall, I won't go into that. A variation, if the speaker is more than 4 feet from the back wall, is to tie the strut down to the floor behind the speaker.

There are some other tricks when dealing with a joisted floor to provide a more rigid platform for the speaker. Floor joists are usually 12 or 16 inches on centers. First, find out which way they are running. tapping the floor can usually tell you, but most probably, they are running across the short dimension of the room. DO NOT place the speaker centered over ONE joist (ie straddling it fore and aft) This allows maximum rock when the floor flexes. Instead, place it BETWEEN two joists. This positions your front spikes near (maybe even over) one joist, and your rear spike near (maybe even over) the other. Choosing the placement carefully this way can make an enormous difference in improving transient response.

I think very few speakers won't fare fromatand or platform to augment basic sound or decouple speakers from floor.Call Bob Warzalla at Sound Anchor.I think alHe Call knows stands like nobody else ( and know as much about Hifi as any audio engineer out there).Nothing beats his heavy iron on especially on wood floors but any type of floor.Bobs designs are often better than ones madeby manufacturer.To wit B&W's 805 Nautilus stands.Manufacturer themselves nice looking stands are bottom loaded but when Bob designed his stands (has many specific models for specific speakers) he found that they sounded much better with mass loaded just beneath speakers mounting plate.If he hasn't a specific model or a general apllication one which will work without compromise will build what you need.I am trying to save up to buy one of his excellent multi shelf racks as we speak.Look up his models on the web and you'll see that he has more than one desing be it sinmgle,double or tripple posts.His amp stands are adjustable as well if you depth or width consderations.Call him he'll make you a ciustom if oen is not sporpriate froma bnasic stand he has for a speaker yours size.You'll also find out only find he's a hell of a nice to and can answer questions about placement or even what comonents to match with what since he ehre's a lopt of Hifi and verybody at his factory basically bring there home stereo's in for listening and testing there instead of at home so again he knows his tuff and will answers.Wish I had his numbe but if google gives a problem go to Stereophile web site and use A/V link to get to his site down in FLA.
Cheers
Chazz

Guys, thanks for the input so far. Hbarrel, per your good suggestion, I sent off an email to Acuhorn to see what they think.

Thanks for the input on the stand suggestions so far. I'll look into each option.

Cheers,
John.

They do seem like they could be a bit "tippy" don't they!?
(At least in the left/right direction.)

Well, since you are making an obvious investment (hope you don't live near any fault lines!) you want to do it "right" so to speak. And, barring specific recommendations or a dedicated accessory unit from the factory, I can't think of a better approach than to get together with the folks at Sound Anchor and have them design and build something for you. They are happy to do custom, and I don't think anyone would argue they make the sturdiest, and some would say best looking stuff in the business (including pro and studio stands/racks.)

And if you want, I'm sure they can incorporate Audiopoints or any other spikes/cones of your choice.

What stands does the manufacturer recommend?

I've used Symposium platforms under two different pairs of dynamic spkrs. to good effect (tighter bass, more focused sound in general). Currently using Ultra platforms under Aural Acoustics Model Bs.
I have no experience with horns IMS but the Symposiums are reasonably priced as these things go and easily re-saleable.
Rob