If a speaker stand is mass-loading, how much does it matter what they're made of?

They do but they would have to be shipped from Europe and the time frame was months for getting them. It seems noone stocks the stands I guess because the speakers are sold in pro shops. At least that’s the only place I could find them. I made an offer and got them on reverb. Those stands were over $800. A lot of speakers are made from MDF, in my opinion it controls vibrations better than steel stands, you'll get a lot of opinions on that and the Skylan look pretty substantial which is something I need.

Thanks @djones. I really do wish for a report. They’re on my short list. The Timbernation folks do similar stands, all wood, for a similar price. I know that "everything resonates" (and of course "everything matters", cough cough), but I like the idea of solid wood. But if MDF is acoustically better, and fillable, then that is probably the ticket.

FWIW, I asked Mr. Nolan why he thought MDF was better than steel and he said this to me:

"The Steel Stands will always ring any some place as the Tops and Bases can not be Dampened easily.Think of it this way, placing a Wooden Cabinet on a Steel Tuning Fork is not the best idea."

This sentence could be clearer and the idea that well made steel stands are like "tuning forks" seems overdrawn as analogy. His view runs counter to what some have said here about heavy steel stands, but then again, he sells MDF not steel, so...

Better is in the ear of the beholder. I've used steel and MDF I never noticed any ringing but I was using them for small surround speakers. I just liked the look of the Skylan and he can make the top to fit the speaker. 

I am with yogiboy. Given your cost considerations and ceiling height I would try the 20" Pangea stands.  

@mesch The only issue is that the Pangea stands won't fit my speaker base very well. The 20" Pangea has a 6" x 9" steel top plate and my speaker has a 10" x 14" base. That's a lot hanging off there. The Skylan base could be custom sized.