Speaker Stands - To Blu-Tack or Not to Blu-Tack

admin_exported

New member
Aug 10, 2019
2,556
4
0
Visit site
Looking on the forum site for advice on speaker stands... I have a tiled/concrete floor and looking for a decent set of speaker stands for my yet to be delivered B&W 685's. In checking out suitable stands (Partington, Atacama etc) I was wondering what should be used to secure the speakers to the stand's top plates - would Blu-Tack be the answer, or should they be more securely attached (i.e. self tapping screws ??).

Then, once speakers firmly attached to their stands, should I then be using the supplied spikes onto the tiled floor, or utilize rubber cups, or again use good old fashioned Blu-Tack betwen the stand plinths/tiles?

I’d welcome any feedback, along with alternative stands for 685's?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
ZiggyBray said:
Looking on the forum site for advice on speaker stands... I have a tiled/concrete floor and looking for a decent set of speaker stands for my yet to be delivered B&W 685's. In checking out suitable stands (Partington, Atacama etc) I was wondering what should be used to secure the speakers to the stand's top plates - would Blu-Tack be the answer, or should they be more securely attached (i.e. self tapping screws ??).

Then, once speakers firmly attached to their stands, should I then be using the supplied spikes onto the tiled floor, or utilize rubber cups, or again use good old fashioned Blu-Tack betwen the stand plinths/tiles?

I’d welcome any feedback, along with alternative stands for 685's?

I've always used blu tak. I think it was made for the job, and holds perfectly securely :)
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,253
26
19,220
Visit site
Blu-Tack is the best.

A 5mm ball of it near* each corner of the top-plate. Push the speaker down firmly so that the Blu-Tack ends up about 1mm thick.

If removing the speakers, gently 'twist' them off (or risk losing some veneer) or slide a loyalty card - not the type with embossed characters but smooth - between the top plate and speaker base and 'slice' through the Blu-Tack first.

Squidge the Blu-Tack around a bit (to make it flexible again) and form it back into 5mm balls before you put the speakers back on the stands.

*Not right on the corners otherwise - when flattened - some of it will spill out from the gap.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
ok, sold on the Blu-Tack idea between top plate and speaker, what about the plinth - use Blu-Tack again or use spikes on tiles/rubber cups? thanks again...
 
T

the record spot

Guest
Mission's Stancettes come with adhesive blobs that act as a support for the speaker between the base and the stand's top-plate. They don't secure it in the same way that blu-tack does, but if you don't have kids or the like running around, then you should be fine. I use the Stancettes as they are with the spikes going into the carpet. No additional isolation, or the like. That's why they provided the spikes in the first place (and they're not particularly sharp either, so no damage to wooden floors would be very likely IMO).
 

chebby

Well-known member
Jun 2, 2008
1,253
26
19,220
Visit site
ZiggyBray said:
ok, sold on the Blu-Tack idea between top plate and speaker, what about the plinth - use Blu-Tack again or use spikes on tiles/rubber cups? thanks again...

Spikes.

To protect the floor get some 2p coins, get your hammer and centre-punch and whack an indentation into the centre of each coin.

On the other side of each coin, affix one of those self-adhesive, circular, felt pads that go on the bottom of chair legs to protect wooden floors from being scratched. B&Q do them in loads of different sizes and they only cost a couple of quid per pack. While you are there, get a centre-punch if you don't already have one. (Why don't you have one?) They are very cheap too.

Locate each coin/pad under each spike. The indentations you have made will stop the spikes from sliding around on the coins.
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Forget spikes. PITA and not worth the effort. I actually removed them from my Dalis (along with the metal spike seats) and put more blutak down there. Far more secure.

And I've had 2 kids running around with standmounts secured top and bottom by BT and never a problem.
 

Inter_Voice

New member
Oct 5, 2010
62
0
0
Visit site

Inter_Voice

New member
Oct 5, 2010
62
0
0
Visit site
subseastu said:
Why fill the stands with cat litter granules? Are you having trouble training the cat where to go numbers 2's???

According to some reviews on the web, cat litter granules has better effect than using sand to damp the speaker stand tubes from ringing 8) I found the effect is actually very good eventhough I have not tried sand for comparison. The bigger tube is only filled up to about 75% while the smaller tubes are fully filled by rice.

I use rice to fill up the smaller tubes because the holes are too small to allow cat litter granules to pass through. I don't want to use sand as it can be messy and difficult to remove in future if it absorbs moisture.

BTW I also added some weight to the speaker stand's base by this:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B004O7VAN6
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
Filled with rice eh? Wonder whats best Uncle Bens, Long Grain, Basmati?
 
A

Anonymous

Guest
I took advice from this thread and used blu tack to secure my 685's to the stands. Work like a charm!
 

simon3102000

New member
Oct 1, 2010
48
0
0
Visit site
hehe good old blue-tak... im still finding it hard to swallow that ive spent all this money on a descent hifi and im using bluetak to secure the speakers! My stands did come with speaker spikes but they were digging into the speaker so sod that.
 

Covenanter

Well-known member
Jul 20, 2012
85
29
18,570
Visit site
simon3102000 said:
hehe good old blue-tak... im still finding it hard to swallow that ive spent all this money on a descent hifi and im using bluetak to secure the speakers! My stands did come with speaker spikes but they were digging into the speaker so sod that.

If you don't want to use bluetak why not try something like:

http://www.audioserenity.co.uk/iso-9h/audioserenity-1-iso-9h-gel-isolation-pad/

They aren't very expensive and are designed for the job (and as far as I am aware they don't need burning in :rofl: ).

Chris
 

simon3102000

New member
Oct 1, 2010
48
0
0
Visit site
im suprised Russ Andrews hasnt re-barnded it "sound tak" and claiming that it sweetenes the treble and tightens the bass giving a wider soundstage and better acoustics blah blah blah, like he's CD wipes that claim to do this lol.
 

TRENDING THREADS

Latest posts