crooked speaker stands?

No, the top piece in it's self is a perfect square piece.

I'm sorry, it's tough to explain. I wish I could post a picture.

Picture this example... lets say the top plate and the base plate are two perfect boxes of the same size, one resting on the other. With these stands, the edge / corner of the box resting on top does not line up with that of the bottom. It is as if someone grabbed the top box and turned it maybe 5-10 degrees... They are completely functional and the crookedness isn't noticable anyways, but... I would still like to know if others have had similar problems.

Thanks.

Well, since it is not a welded design, it's easy to assemble them and have them come out the way you describe. The fix is simple. Have someone hold the bottom plate (or the spikes may hold them tight enough if on carpet). Grab the top plate with a hand on either side and twist the top plate until it lines up correctly.

A pair of moderately priced speaker stands are not precision instruments. They are not likely to line up perfectly without a bit of "adjustment".

Enjoy,

TIC

Hmm... but there are two poles secured by a screw at the top and base plate... if I just torqued it over, it seems like I would be forcing something and breaking... something, although I dont know what.... doesn't it?

So this isn't uncommon for $200 stands?

With only two mounting points, its very easy to have the assembly/alignment slightly off. It shouldn't be a problem to tweak it just a bit. If you are concerned, simply loosen the screws a bit befor tweaking it. The is likely a bit of room for adjustment in the screw/plate/post connection.

Hmm... So it sounds like it's not a defect in the stand that its a little off and that it wont affect performance at all... i.e. it's a pretty normal happening... right?

If that's the case than I just assume leave it... I was just worried they were defective or I put them together wrong somehow.