Best Quality Stands for Fewest $$$?

If you can find a used pair of Sonus Faber stands, new they are ~ 400, absolutely beautiful and w/o the big metal tube look like the Osiris.

Dan, I have a pair of those $100 stands. They're heavily built and seem pretty rigid. I'm pleased enough with their performance. A good idea to fill them with sand. Filled, they weigh about 30 lb each. That said, I'll add that speaker stands are one of the few audiophile areas where I haven't invested many $. I claim no expertise with the higher-end ones. However, this $100 pair is a big step beyond cheap ones. Gary.

Lovan makes some nice looking stands but my personal favorite are the Sons faber stands mentioned above. You can even get them with Wallnut. Very nice.

If you are willing to invest some "elbow grease", and are
into the homebrew method, a " Target" type stand can be made
at a very reasonable cost! The 2x3" rectangular tubing and the top/bottom plates cab be cut to length/dimensions, and can be found at a steel supply company. Some grinding/filing
will be required to finish the edges(the hard part). The columns can then be "soldered" to the top/bottom plates using a propane torch and massive amounts of solder and flux. The finished stands can be painted(I used flat black),
and drilled/threaded for spikes and sand filling. Mine cost
about $75 total, and weigh 100 lbs each. For pictures, email
jkmoeck@main.com Good luck!