METAL or WOOD speaker stands?

The biggest concern I would have with using wood would be the joints. Remember, the stands should be as rigid as possible. My choice of wood for such a project would be maple because it is quite rigid. A well thought out design is the key to a successful project. My choice would be chrome moly tubing and tig welding.

If you need some help in the design you may email me directly.

Good luck,
Patrick

What I did, for my C-J Synthesis mini-mons: Purchased the partnering screw-together C-J tube steel stands and enclose the support rods (the longest part) with 9' PVC pipe. This allows one to fill the PVC with sand, shot, whatever. It takes some skill to cut the circular plywood plugs for each end (if a monkey like me can do it...) but you get a very sturdy stand for your efforts. Also, check out the mapleshade website. Their catalog recently had stands made out of recycled ceiling timbers (8" X 8" ?) which looked really cool. Finally, go to a monument store (gravestones) and check out their price on granite stands (if they take you seriously).

There are three schools of thought on speaker stands: (1) high mass and high rigidity = steel (or concrete, corian, cinder blocks, etc.); (2) low mass but high rigidity = lightweight metal or wood; and (3) low mass and low rigidity (wood or stacked up telephone books). The maker of the speakers I use (Alan Shaw of Harbeth) recommended and suplied wood stands with his speakers at one time and told me the ONLY function of a stand is to get the tweeter up to ear height. His speakers have been tested and reviewed very favorably with the supplied wood stands. I have two sets, one with the wood stands, and am always thinking about getting wood stands for the other pair.

If the only function of a stand is to get the speakers up to the right height, you have to worry about whatever non-functional effect a stand might have, like the resonance you mention. Everything resonates. It's just a question of what frequencies and how much amplitude. Wood is pretty benign.