How to couple my monitors to stands???

You also can remove the screw in feet/spikes/whatever they are and drill the plate on the speaker stand top to match the hole pattern already in you speaker. Purchase the correct size machine srew/bolt (stud would be better if you can find) to match the threaded hole in your speaker where the feet/spike/whatever they are fit be for. Be sure the new machined screw/bolt (or stud if you can find) is long enough to reach up from the bottom of the plate and allow the hight of the angle you want or to level. By over sizing the holes in the speaker stand plate slightly and using a nut above and below the speaker stand plate you can angle or level and then lock the speaker in place by thghting the nuts on the speaker plate. As you tighten the nut on the top and bottom against the plate top and bottom you will lock the machined screw/bolt in place. You will have to hold the machine screw/bolt from turning and just tighten the nuts. You should be able to set the angle by first screwing the new screw/bolt/stud in to the holes in the speaker base then allowing the nut on top of the plate to support the speaker. Then turn the nut up or down until the speaker is where you want it. Keep the srcew/bolt/stud from turning whille you srcew the nut up from the bottom and tighten the plate between the two nut by thihtening the bottom nut tight.

Blu-Tak is one solution, but for about one-tenth the price you can buy essentially the same stuff at Office Depot or Office Max. The product to look for is Elmer's "Tac 'n' Stik" reusable adhesive. I've used it for years (currently using it under my center speaker and rear surrounds) -- it works every bit as well as Blu Tak, and sells for 99 cents a package. The adhesive is scored into 5 sections, and four half-sections, each rolled into balls, are enough for each corner of the speaker.

Geez, Ed! I was looking for some FRIENDLY advice, not a rant about why I'm an idiot for not paying $500+ for a pair of stands. To put it into perspective, the difference in price was considerably more than $200 when you consider that the Osiris stands were $299 including shipping and with NO TAX. If I were to buy the Aerial (I mean, Sound Anchor) stands, I'd have to buy them in SF (tax rate = 8.5%), so my outlay would be $542.50...factor in gas (nope, it's not free) for another $20 and suddenly the difference is $262.50. I don't know about you, but to me that's A LOT of money. I'd much rather invest that money in software (music) than stands that are no better than the Osiris. Even better, I could use that money to take my family on a nice outing to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or something.

Also, I did shop around for the "factory" stands and there are no discounts to be had.

Finally, I'm not sure how you came to your position about the Sound Anchor stands being "far-better-made" than the Osiris. Merlin Music Systems used the Osiris as their "factory" stands. By most accounts, the Merlin TSMs are arguably "far-superior" to the Aerials in virtually every way. Even if you don't agree that they're better, you must confess that they're a fine speaker - one deserving of a very high quality stand.

I just received the stands from UPS last night and, while I didn't have time to set them up, I did get them unpacked and they're incredible...very massive and beautifully built. Can't wait to fill them with shot (the Sound Anchors are prefilled with sand - isn't that for playgrounds?) and get them setup using some of the methods recommended on this post.

Hey Dan.....To folow-up on the email I sent you regarding the Sound Anchor Stands I have.I didn't read all the comments in your thread but I did notice your frustration with one inparticular.As a person who has owned both the Osiris you have and the Sound Anchor for the Aerial 5 allow me to attest to the fact that both are excellent products.If your not familiar with Sound Anchor they are indeed among the finest makers of speaker stands,racks ect.....Craftsmanship and materials are all top notch......Good Luck!

Permit me to follow up with one more suggestion for mounting your Aerials.The tilt is critical to proper time alignment.If you look at the bottom of the speakers you will notice that in addition to the inserts for the three cones there are two other inserts for machine screws.These two are for bolting the speaker to the factory stand.What you can do to achieve this factory set-up with your Osiris is simply center the speaker on the top plate cones installed.This obviously raises the speaker off the plate so you can mark where the mounting inserts would align with the top plate,then simply drill the corresponding holes a little larger than the bolt size as they will angle slightly through the plate to connect up the speaker.Just make sure to buy a bolt long enough to go through the plate and up into the speaker.This is exactly how the dedicated Sound Anchor stands are set-up