Lead shots for speaker stand.

Jim, I had only two choices of small shot the day I was at the gun store. I picked the smaller because I felt they would pack closer together and there would be less chance of vibration or ringing. The #6 looked to me like it was big enough to get too many spaces. I am flying by the seat of my pants here when I make choices like that, so don't rely too much on how I do it. Seemed to work though.............Bob

An alternative damping material I would like to mention is Silica sand. The variety I am using is for sand blasting and is distributed by Clemtex of Houston, TX. The damping it provides is greater than playground sand or (clay) kitty litter, and has mass in between the two.

Each Silica crystal is sharp, extra dry and screened for contaminates. These crystals must pass through a sand blast nozzle, and do the job of sandpaper. Their natural shape, plus screening ( for particle size), makes them a natural to pack upon themselves much tighter than the other products mentioned.

The health hazard is low compared to lead, and should lead be desired, silica may be mixed with #7 shot in a ratio that provides the mass to damping ratio you prefer. I like a 75% Silica, 25% lead mix for the hollow upright steel towers of my Soundlab U-1's. In this mix, the lead is more to the bottom, to offset the pendulum effect of too much weight toward the top of this seven foot tall speaker.

For my turntable and equipment stands, I use Silica only, as the mix with lead was not as good sounding for this application. I bought a huge 25 pound bag for less than $12.00 from a local supplier, found in the Yellow Pages under Sandblasting.

Lead shot mixed WITH the sand will give you the best of both worlds.

It depends on what the application is and your personal taste. I prefer silica sand (only) to shot/sand or shot in a pair of Target HR70 speaker stands on a plaster floor. All shot was "bad", sand and shot "better" and all sand the most natural sounding to my taste and setup. Pain in the Wazoo, but this is what it took to find out.

I would suggest that you use pennies instead. when you are done, you won't have to throw away the lead, and all the hassles that goes with that. Pennies will still be worth something! If you want, you can look up the Periodic table for the density of copper vs the lead!