Speaker Stands

[admin_exported]

Hi,

"Big Chris" has put me onto partington speaker stands, after i was considering buying Atacama SL600s for some B&W 602 S3 speakers, was wondering people's opinions on whether the "Super Dreadnoughts" are worth the extra cash over the "Trophy" model?

Appreciate any opinions or experience with these stands,

Many Thanks,

Scott

 

[drummerman]

If you like the look of them and have the cash why not. I'd personally save the dosh, sell the B&W's and with the funds buy a better speaker. Other than that I'd buy a pair of s/h atacamas or something like a Z2, plenty good enough, no offense.

 

[Anonymous]

If I were you, I'd get me some floorstanders instead.

 

[Anonymous]

I'm of the opinion that the most important thing about speaker stands is stability followed by height. ÿI'd prefer something solid rather than hollow and reasonably solid. ÿIf not solid then filled. ÿHeavy is good too. ÿ

Height is important but I've generally found that lifting a speaker above soft furnishings is more advantageous than sticking religiously to the head height when sitting rule.

ÿSpikes: I remain undecided, generallyÿskepticalÿof the audio benefits ofÿspikyÿisolation, however, they are the best way to fix the stands fairly reliably in place without damaging carpet too much. ÿ(Hard rubber feet seem to work well on finished wooden flooring).

ÿAfter these criteria are matched to my satisfaction nothing else matters - except decor, sigh.......

 

[Anonymous]

thanks for your opinions,

as a poor ex-student i have somewhat of a budget issue so selling and getting something else is not really an option at the moment, besides i only paid £150 for the speakers new as they were clearance at a local hifi shop. that said, i wonder whether it's worth spending as much money on the stands as i spent on the speakers! hmm.....

my "set-up" (if you can call it that!) is only in my bedroom which is approx. 6m square and i the speakers are in the corners of the wall opposite the bed, so no furniture in the way but i decided that 60cm-ish height was what i would need. the room is carpeted so i would use floor-spikes

i keep an eye on ebay, but if i can get as-good-a-deal on the internet for the right stands, i think i'll go for them. the only problem with the 602s is that i think they need a fairly large top-plate, i'll probably opt for the Atacama SL600s as they're the largest top-plate i can find,

i welcome any further advice / opinions,

thanks to those who have replied already,

scott

 

[gpi]

The Partington Trophy is good enough for your B&Ws and will stand (pun intended) many upgrades of standmounts in the future. But if you want to buy stands once and forget about them, go for the Dreadnoughts.
Saying you need floorstanders is silly. In most small living rooms, standmounts on quality stands have the same footprint as floorstanders and sound far better IMO. After all, most floorstanders people buy have exactly the same driver array and crossover components as the cheaper standmount speaker but simply have a larger enclosure, thereby creating a whole set of integration problems.

(Just spotted - my 500th post of drivel.)

 

[SHAXOS]

Look for second hand options. Not really much to go wrong with speaker stands. Have a look for partingtons super dreadnaughts - they really are mint stands. Look a bit industrial but are really good.

 

[Anonymous]

I'd think about the spike thing if you are on a wooden floor. Spikes are great if you have carpet over concrete but if you have wood under the carpet as you would upstairs then hard rubber might be better. last thing you want is to make the floor resonate.

 

[Anonymous]

The best speaker stands I have heard used (I have a set in my bedroom system) are the Quadraspire Acrylic ones.

They go against conventional thinking in that they are light with no spikes. All you hear is speaker, putting metal ones in afterwards makes the music sound mddy and forced. It's well worth anyone with stand mounters of any price giving them a go. (I used mine on Focal Electra 1007Bes before I got my floorstanders, they are now on bedroom duty with some Focal Electra 907Bes)

 

[Anonymous]

The Quadraspires are excellent but wobbly, if there are others around such as kids I wouldn't go for them, the best I've used are the Kudos S50, superb build quality, easy to fill, and very very stable.

 

[chebby]

silly:The Quadraspires are excellent but wobbly, if there are others around such as kids I wouldn't go for them, the best I've used are the Kudos S50, superb build quality, easy to fill, and very very stable.

Indeed. I remember, whilst waiting for a dem room to be set up at a local Audio T, some hapless assistant was trying to get a pair of Monitor Audio Gold bookshelf speakers to rest on a set of those Quadraspires. The speaker totally refused to find it's resting place and kept slipping away randomly in one of four directions! It was hilarious. The gloss finish and rounded edges of the speaker and the polished acrylic of the stand conspired to make this a very unstable set-up.

I think he ended up using 4 big lumps of Blu-Tac.

Throughout the whole time I was next door in the dem-room, I was expecting to hear them crash to the floor. He was only setting them up for shop display, i dare not think how difficult it would be if the weight and tension of large, heavy, rigid, biwire cables were pulling on the back of the speakers.

 

[Anonymous]

I have kids, never had probs.
Furthermore I have never had issues with my (heavy) standmounts... I assume the shop assistant didn't use the silicon blobs that come with the stands then?

 

[Anonymous]

Here are some pics of the QS stands with my old speakers and Accuphase kit.

Apologies for the quality, they were done on a phone.

The speaker wire is out as I was in setup mode at the time.

 

[Anonymous]

BigGuads:Here are some pics of the QS stands with my old speakers and Accuphase kit.

Apologies for the quality, they were done on a phone.

The speaker wire is out as I was in setup mode at the time.

"The best speaker stands I have heard used (I have a set in my bedroom system) are the Quadraspire Acrylic ones."

And best looking ones too! Simply beautiful

 

[Anonymous]

Looks fashionable and luxurious! Lucky man.

 

[Anonymous]

Ok, here's an update:

i went to a local hifi specialist today and looked at some stands, the ones they recommended for my speakers was 'Custom Design RS300' or 'RS302' in a 20" height (about 510mm) which come flat-packed and you build yourself

they said £90 for the 300s or £120 for the 302s (add £20 for the glass bottom plate). so i was thinking they sounded pretty ideal (maybe sales-talk had persuaded me somewhat) until i got home and read the reviews on this website, saying construction was fairly poor and performance not amazing.....

so what now? keep looking on ebay for second-hand dreadnoughts? or stump up and get something (this research is starting to get tiresome)

advice please.......

scott

 

[Anonymous]

Don't worry too much. I have heard standmounts situated on many stands and whilst there is a difference, you should worry more about your system if there is a problem. Don't let your dealer talk you into buying stupidly expensive stands for the sake of it.

I have my 805's's on a pair of stands that cost me £70 and I am so happy with I laugh at spending money on Partington stands, although if you can filling them does make a difference.

If what you (or your over half) is after is aesthetics then that is in your court.

 

[Anonymous]

I really really fail to see what the big attraction with partington's is. I found they sucked the life out of the music, although they did make it sound more 'hifi' I suppose...

I have a pair of silver Alphason stands that I used before my QS ones if you want them. £20 plus postage?

They were the only other stands I got on with, although when you filled them that seemed to kill the music too, definitely better without the filling...

They are 600mm high, poifick for most standmounts.

I can do a photo if you want to see them (they are next to me now, unused, with some unused Wharfedale diamonds on them...)

 

[Anonymous]

scott_taplin: until i got home and read the reviews on this website, saying construction was fairly poor and performance not amazing.....
so what now? keep looking on ebay for second-hand dreadnoughts? or stump up and get something (this research is starting to get tiresome)

advice please.......

scott

Always look at something before you buy, a review can't tell you everything, what some love other hate, if you buy blind that's when you run in to trouble, if you can see something, touch and feel the product then you will be sure for yourself.