Sand or shot for speaker stands?

All of the comments confirm my personal experience. I do mix sand with the #7 or #9 lead shot for fill. However, the type of sand makes a big difference. I find that silica sand, used for sandblasting is the best. The silica sand used for this purpose must be completely free from every possible contamination, and its sharp, but odd shape packs in with the lead to form a very dense package for damping. Redkiwi is correct in stating that the results may vary. Everything done to your system that affects resonances, can go either way. It greatly depends on your environment, the audio equipment, and even the brand and design of the stand. In short, this is certainly worth experimenting with, for the potential gain to be had for such a small investment. One last thing, I suggest you get a disposable pan from an auto supply place, the type used for do it yourself oil changes. Be sure to wear a disposable mask and fill the stands (or whatever) over the disposable pan. If the tiny lead pellets spill on your floor, wether carpeted or hard, you will regret it!

Bmp, I alternate. I pour shot, then sift just enough sand to fill voids that the pellets will not go into. Not every situation will lend itself to this way of addressing the problem, so I will give a lengthy description of a problem solver on a larger project. I have the Soundlab Ultimate Ones, and the construction is such, that the speaker frames are one quarter inch steel pipe (very pretty pipe!) and welded shut at the bottom to a flange that contains the power supply. In this situation, I did not want a "upside down pendulum," that is, a frame where the weight was heavier above the center line than below the center. I had canvas bags made, with Velcro closures, and fitted with brass grommets. At the bottom of the Soundlab frames (pipes) were bags with 100% lead. Then just above those were bags with 75% lead and 25% silica. Then 50% and 50% of each. At the very top of the speaker was 100% silica. I achieved a mix of lead and silica, not unlike you are asking about for a smaller stand. However, the Soundlab is 7 feet tall, and this was a way to control resonances with a predictable mix, where otherwise, it would have been out of control! The grommets I described, were tied through by a long nylon cord. This allowed me to drop each bag and remove it (if necessary) to achieve the mix I wanted. I know this is a long answer, but the idea is that each project may need to be addressed in a creative way to get the proper results. Larger projects could possibly benefit from the idea I came up with for my speaker frames. In my case, pouring directly into this 7 foot long frame made this project completely out of control. Some of you may encounter similar situations, and hope this helps.