Hi,
I picked up a pair of these stands a couple of weeks ago, and the tube bungs were in a separate poly bag in the box. At the time I also bought a set of Atacama isolation pads for the top and a tub of atabites to part fill the tubes.
When the stands were first temporarily set up with my speakers the bass had improved but it muddied the mid range somewhat (prior to filling). After filling, the mid range cleared and everything became more focused (one tube of atabites spread between all tubes fills them to about 2/3 to 3/4 full). When I later added the isolation pads the sound tightened up even more.
Originally I felt disappointed but after finishing the job properly things had really improved. I haven't had the speakers for very much longer than the stands either (B&W 685's), so I'm hoping that the sound will improve with time, although the speakers still sound "small" at low volume when compared with my previous ancient Tannoy Mercury M20's which they have replaced. A bit more tinkering is required I suppose.
CA 640A(v2), 640C(v2), Denon TU-1800AB, Atlas Equator MkII, QED SA XT, Tacima CS929.