Question Moisture in speaker stands?

[MrPenkwin]

I've recently filled (⅔) my Atacama SE24 stands with kiln dried sand since many have suggested this as an affordable solution. However, I'm slightly concerned about moisture getting in since some people state they "seal" the top to prevent moisture. Speakers are in my living room which I have my clothes drying rack.

Should I be all that concerned, and if so, what can I top with that isn't permanent? I had wondered about putting some caulking sealant around the cap to prevent anything.

 

[Messiah]

If the room was humid/damp enough to start affecting the sand in your stands I’d be more concerned about any electrical equipment before them.

I’ve used sand in a similar situation (many years ago now) and never had any issues. 😊

 

[Al ears]

I've recently filled my Atacama SE24 stands with kiln dried sand since many have suggested this as an affordable solution. However, I'm slightly concerned about moisture getting in since some people state they "seal" the top to prevent moisture. Speakers are in my living room which I have my clothes drying rack.

Should I be all that concerned, and if so, what can I top with that isn't permanent? I had wondered about putting some caulking sealant around the cap to prevent anything.

I don't think you'll have any issues although with my Atacamas I inserted a plastic bag into the stand and then filled that with kiln dried sand. A belts and braces approach maybe but it prevented me asking questions such as yours....

 

[Integralista]

Hi, many years ago I have used cork cuts (like wine corks just different diameter) made from 40 liter bottle corks myself. It has worked well on my Sonus Faber Concerto stands, filled with dried yellow sand. BR.

 

[twinkletoes]

I've recently filled my Atacama SE24 stands with kiln dried sand since many have suggested this as an affordable solution. However, I'm slightly concerned about moisture getting in since some people state they "seal" the top to prevent moisture. Speakers are in my living room which I have my clothes drying rack.

Should I be all that concerned, and if so, what can I top with that isn't permanent? I had wondered about putting some caulking sealant around the cap to prevent anything.

These stands originally came with very thick polyurethane bags, the bung will not prevent moisture from entering the stands. Also the salt content of the sand will corrode the stands from the inside out.
Empty them stand get some thick bags, sand bag thick, insert the bags and fill to the brim and tie off the bag. They’ll be fine for life that way.

 

[MrPenkwin]

Thanks for your comments, I think for piece of mind (though a PIA) I'd prefer to empty them into separate buckets and then use a bag. However, it's likely that I won't be able to remove all of the sand, will the small salt content cause issues?

What sort of bag works well and how am I meant to get it in/won't the tied top vibrate within the collumn?

 

[nopiano]

I thought Atacama were the folks who ‘invented’ little metal pieces they called Atabites. The idea was to use those to fill your stands, though not necessarily completely full up.

Maybe it was just a money%spinner but I’m sure they’d be easier than sand to handle.

 

[MrPenkwin]

I thought Atacama were the folks who ‘invented’ little metal pieces they called Atabites. The idea was to use those to fill your stands, though not necessarily completely full up.

Maybe it was just a money%spinner but I’m sure they’d be easier than sand to handle.

It would be easier, though it's a fair bit more expensive than sand.

 

[Stuart83]

I can say I have a pair with oxidised (sun faded) paint in a damp garage for decades yet no damp got inside.

If your really the concerned type use hydrophobic sand as it doesn't absorb water at all hence the name.

 

[Al ears]

Thanks for your comments, I think for piece of mind (though a PIA) I'd prefer to empty them into separate buckets and then use a bag. However, it's likely that I won't be able to remove all of the sand, will the small salt content cause issues?

What sort of bag works well and how am I meant to get it in/won't the tied top vibrate within the collumn?

I don't think you're going to hear a plastic knot vibrating in the column as it will not.
When tied the knot will be at the base of the column with all the sand pressing down on it.

 

[twinkletoes]

Thanks for your comments, I think for piece of mind (though a PIA) I'd prefer to empty them into separate buckets and then use a bag. However, it's likely that I won't be able to remove all of the sand, will the small salt content cause issues?

What sort of bag works well and how am I meant to get it in/won't the tied top vibrate within the collumn?

A thick refuse sack will do, roll the bag into a really thin sausage, the bag will need to be thick enough to hold shape as you do this, to thin and it will rip on the hole. Then thread through the hole leaving a small amount of out of the hole, puff a bit into the bag to expand it. Then start to fill simples.


Any stuck sand will need to be completely taken out. They'll need to be rinsed out, luckily its nice and hot so just leave them out side in full sun and they'll dry out within minutes help them along with a mircrofiber cloth. They will rust so be quick to dry.

and you wont hear the knot, stands don't vibrate like that, you're just trying to stop the ringing.

 

[Al ears]

A thick refuse sack will do, roll the bag into a really thin sausage, the bag will need to be thick enough to hold shape as you do this, to thin and it will rip on the hole. Then thread through the hole leaving a small amount of out of the hole, puff a bit into the bag to expand it. Then start to fill simples.


Any stuck sand will need to be completely taken out. They'll need to be rinsed out, luckily its nice and hot so just leave them out side in full sun and they'll dry out within minutes help them along with a mircrofiber cloth. They will rust so be quick to dry.

and you wont hear the knot, stands don't vibrate like that, you're just trying to stop the ringing.

Ringing that, in my experience, have never encountered.....

 

[Gray]

Should I be all that concerned

Well if you should be concerned, then I should be petrified.
The sand I put in my SE24s was slightly damp 😱
I didn't give it a second thought.

Honestly, I've owned them for so long, I would have seen any rot by now.

If they do ever show signs of rot, it might push me into getting some better looking stands 🙂

 

[Al ears]

Lead shot was preferred a few years ago. It would be expensive, but you'd only need a small amount. Also not as messy as sand.

You try buying lead shot these days.....
To be honest you don't need to fill the SE24's with anything especially if you buy little speaker isolator pads to stick to the top-plate.

 

[twinkletoes]

You try buying lead shot these days.....
To be honest you don't need to fill the SE24's with anything especially if you buy little speaker isolator pads to stick to the top-plate.

there are places but its about to be band.

 

[Al ears]

there are places but its about to be band.

I understood it was already banned.
Anyway the general consensus is that stands are best 3/4 filled. Do this with lead shot and you wouldn't be able to move them.

 

[podknocker]

I have my doubts over the effectiveness of ballast in speaker stands. My QA3030i are screwed into their stands, but the stands are resting on the carpet, without the spikes. If I push them, they do move around easily, but even if they wobbled slightly, due to walking around, I don't think the sound would be affected. Any movement would be very occasional and not moving at anywhere near the speed of sound. Movement caused by traffic will also be at such a low frequency and be unable to move the speakers around enough to cause timing issues. If you could shake your speakers around at similar frequencies as the music, then you would expect timing issues and distortion. In the real world, there's nothing to cause this. The obsession with ballast, spikes and other stuff seems odd when you consider many bookshelf speakers do indeed end up in bookshelves, or on top of tables etc. How effective are stands, with or without spikes or ballast? Many speakers are allowed to rest on top of stands and many people don't bother with the spikes, or ballast. I think a lot of this has been generated by obsessive nerds and nobody seems to question if it makes a difference or not. Speakers screwed into stands and then spikes screwed into the stands, filled with lead shot, or sand and then all this sat on top of a slab of granite etc. It all seems like overkill to me. If speakers and stands are made of inert materials and there are no vibrations or energy reaching the drive units, then spikes, sand, lead shot, granite won't make much of a difference. If you have pets and/or kids running round, then I can understand people wanting their mass loaded stands, but you need to make sure the speakers are either screwed, or glued to the stands! There are many urban myths in the HIFI sector and this stuff, along with bi-wiring mentioned in another thread, are typical examples of 'tweaks' without any research to prove these things do actually work. I was looking for sand on the Futureshop site and was actually surprised there are no listing s for 'special' anti-vibration sand at £300 per kilo. I might email them to see if they can find some.

 

[MrPenkwin]

A thick refuse sack will do, roll the bag into a really thin sausage, the bag will need to be thick enough to hold shape as you do this, to thin and it will rip on the hole. Then thread through the hole leaving a small amount of out of the hole, puff a bit into the bag to expand it. Then start to fill simples.


Any stuck sand will need to be completely taken out. They'll need to be rinsed out, luckily its nice and hot so just leave them out side in full sun and they'll dry out within minutes help them along with a mircrofiber cloth. They will rust so be quick to dry.

and you wont hear the knot, stands don't vibrate like that, you're just trying to stop the ringing.

Having seen Gray's comment, I don't think I'll bother since filling is done from the top rear with no way to get inside and microfiber about. They cost me £50, I'll just have to hope for the best and learn from my errors! Doh!

 

[MrPenkwin]

You try buying lead shot these days.....
To be honest you don't need to fill the SE24's with anything especially if you buy little speaker isolator pads to stick to the top-plate.

I use bluetack, but there was still ringing. The bag of sand cost me £3.66 so I thought it was worth a punt!

 

[MrPenkwin]

Well if you should be concerned, then I should be petrified.
The sand I put in my SE24s was slightly damp 😱
I didn't give it a second thought.

Honestly, I've owned them for so long, I would have seen any rot by now.

If they do ever show signs of rot, it might push me into getting some better looking stands 🙂

That makes me feel more settled, especially the end bit! Good enough for me!

 

[Al ears]

I use bluetack, but there was still ringing. The bag of sand cost me £3.66 so I thought it was worth a punt!

If you have ringing that's money well spent.
Must admit my SE24's have been a bit redundant since I got my Partingtons.

 

[twinkletoes]

I understood it was already banned.
Anyway the general consensus is that stands are best 3/4 filled. Do this with lead shot and you wouldn't be able to move them.

Some places i guess are getting rid of old stock.

 

[MrPenkwin]

If you have ringing that's money well spent.
Must admit my SE24's have been a bit redundant since I got my Partingtons.

Are they the super dreadnaughts?

 

[Al ears]

Are they the super dreadnaughts?

Yes

 

[Fandango Andy]

I've recently filled (⅔) my Atacama SE24 stands with kiln dried sand since many have suggested this as an affordable solution. However, I'm slightly concerned about moisture getting in since some people state they "seal" the top to prevent moisture. Speakers are in my living room which I have my clothes drying rack.

Should I be all that concerned, and if so, what can I top with that isn't permanent? I had wondered about putting some caulking sealant around the cap to prevent anything.

The stands must be hollow to allow you to fill them. Were they wet inside before you filled them? I'm sure you will be fine.