Speaker Stands Filled With Kitty Litter? TRUE???

But if it rings when you strike it, wouldn't it also ring in some way at certain frequencies? I dumped my metal rack for concrete blocks and was stunned at the difference. Improved solidity and blackness with piano notes seemingly more stable. 

OK, here’s the theory. The most rapid evacuation of energy out of the physical system occurs when there are no soft materials involved to slow or constrain that flow of energy out of the system. Yes, I know what you’re thinking: But wouldn’t the softer materials damp resonances? Same goes for any support of components like say, granite. If it makes a ringing sound when you strike it with a hammer don’t strike it with a hammer, for goodness sakes.

Don’t tap on them whilst music is playing.

Obviously. But isn’t that a test as to an indication of the mechanical transmission of sound through the support?

Don’t tap on them whilst music is playing. 

Expanding foam.

Yes, the speakers can outweigh some stands, and that in itself can be a problem, making the whole assembly top heavy. Using sand or kitty litter to fill voids in a stand can add weight and help to damp any resonances the stand may have. I bought some cheap stands last year that used aluminum tubes on glass plates, with long bolts going down the middle of the tubes to hold everything together. The first few minutes of listening with my speakers on them I could hear a glaring tone. A tap on the aluminum tubes revealed that they were resonant at the tone I was hearing. Touching them I could feel  the vibration. Filling those tubes with kitty litter (unused) completely solved the problem!

Of all the silly things I have heard. Stands are to elevate the speakers to the right height and angle them for time alignment. The speaker weights way more than the stand. Adding mass means nothing. But if you are going to use kitty liter I suggest you weight till it is loaded with urine. The smell will make it sound better.

jax2 has very good information.  Kitty litter has been used by some for decades, but it lacks the mass most seek.  Play sand is great and cheap.  Both dampen the ringing effect of sound waves striking metal stands.

I always used lead shot (with gloves on) and sand for my Sound Organization stands and it worked well.  Now only steel shot is available.

No its a big lie, thats junk unless you have a cat.

I am pretty sure he meant to say he used kitty litter not that it was used kitty litter as that would make it clumpy and knarly.

Silica sand or lead shoot who ever heard of cat litter??

ive used kitty liter. Natural clay, non clumping, Unscented , it’s the cheapest liter Walmart sells $4.25 25lb bag Skylands stands recommends it. 

What about dog poop...it's bit smelly though

We only have a used doggy pooper scooper Frank. It's pretty clean since we
hose it off every day after use. Will that do for serving? Mmmmmmmm, who
wants cake?!?!

Marco

Yeah, and a tall glass of room temperature Nestle's Quik!

In the event of Armageddon, here's a recipe for "Kitty Litter Cake".

1 pk Spice cake mix
1 pk White cake mix
1 pk White sandwich cookies
1 sm Package instant vanilla pudding mix
12 sm Tootsie Rolls

Prepare cake mixes and bake according to directions. Prepare pudding mix and chill until ready to assemble. Crumble white sandwich cookies in small batches in blender. They tend to stick, so scrape often.

When cakes are cooled, crumble into a large bowl. Toss with half the cookie crumbs and the chilled pudding. Gently combine. Pour into a clean kitty litter box.

Put unwrapped Tootsie Rolls in a microwave safe dish two at a time and heat until soft and pliable. Shape ends so they are no longer blunt, curving slightly. Repeat until you have nine, and bury them in the mixture. Sprinkle the other half of cookie crumbs over top. Heat three more Tootsie Rolls in the microwave until almost melted. Scrape them on top of the cake and sprinkle with cookie crumbs. Serve with a new pooper scooper.

Yummy.....;0)~

Yep, for the last three years I have been using clay-based kitty litter (pre-kitty) in my Tyler Acoustics stands for the Linbrook Monitors. Works well. Bonus: 6 months' back up for my three cats in the event of Armegeddon.

Albert, you must be talking about medical silica, that's not available to the general public without a perscription and according to the newspapers/TV stations(i trust them), they are clamping down on the states where it is legal to sell. If you have any extra, would you consider selling a nickel bag? It's been a while(what time is it?). Last time i scored some it was blackmarket, but we still had a blast in the sand. Thanks for listening. Regards,.........uh...........oh yeah, Alan

Try lead balls or marbles, but if you don't have the balls, or lost your marbles like i have, kitty litter should work fine!

I am a sand/lead shot fill type of guy myself. However, it you decide to use clay, you might want to visit your local automotive store (AutoZone et al) and check out “Dri-Zit” or “HiDri” floor absorbent products. I have found that Kitty litter and others contain a litany of non-clay materials. The floor absorbents are Georgia’s Fuller’s Earth, which I believe is clay. Oh yeah, what ever you have left over after filling the speaker stands will come in handy to clean up those nasty oil spots after an oil change.

Bombaywalla: Thank you for your reponse and your honesty. I appreciate your frank opinions within this thread. I've heard others using it and glad to hear someone coming forward with admitting its use. Kudos!!!

yes, I have my Lovan Jazz speaker stands filled w/ kitty litter (which, as Albert correctly pointed out, is ground clay). the speaker stands are (acoustically) dead to the knuckle rap test. I have my Tannoy DMT-10 monitors sitting on these stands & I find their sound is very good. This is in a bedroom system which is not very discriminating, I have to admit (hence the diff in silica & clay might not show up). clay is a real option for mass-loading speaker stands. I found it to be a better option as the play sand was leaking (over a period of time) from the several places in the stands & creating a mess on the carpet! I found that the ground clay's bigger particles stayed in their intended location better while (still) providing mass-loading. Anyway, FWIW:

Steel coated lead shot doesn't have dust to worry about and it flows very easily.

Whoops, the StarSound product I was thinking of is steel and not lead. That would be quite nasty if it were lead. Anyway, retail price is $39.99 per quart. No idea of the weight of a quart.

Marco

Seriously... Sand would be the most economical route, however make sure the sand is 100% dry. Many play type sands are bagged and shipped moist after being exposed to rain. I would prop each bag in an upright position, and cut a slit in each bags top. Opening and allowing it to dry out in a non-humidity area for a few days prior to filling your rustable steel stands.

Lead shot, is not something you really want to play with. Lead dust is even worse! I heard horror stories of fellows that used lead to fill their stands in their listening rooms. Missing the stand, & spilling it all over the carpet. Lead is also non-magnetic, & using a vacuum would agitate the lead dust. I can send you a 16 page EPA brochure on what lead dust can do to a childs still developing mind. So if you have children I would strongly rule out the lead.

So let's talk about the Numero Uno Rule of filling a stand.

1.) No matter what filler is used, if possible due to stand weight, fill stands Outside or in your Garage in case of SPILLS!

A company called Atacama makes a product called "Atabites" which is a high density filler manufactured from steel chippings and designed for the mass loading of speaker stands. This a coarse mix of triangular shaped steel chippings which is a worthy investment to get the best out of the stand and producing better imagery and extra bass control at louder levels of volume. Atabites are available in 19.8lb pour bottles. It is also magnetic so if your funnel slips the Atabites are magnetic for a no loss clean-up. If you cant find Atacama Atabites dealer locally contact me.

3zub - If you are looking for an inexpensive way to fill your stands with a dense filler you can purchase "Play Sand" from your favorite home improvement warehouse store, or nursery at about $4 per 50 lb bag. It is not quite as fine and dense as silica, but it is safe and cheap. It may be a bit more difficult to remove if the holes in your stands are smaller though. Silica sand is pretty expensive in comparison, but is definitely finer and more dense (your stands will weigh more filled with Silica than with Play Sand). Kitty Litter, IMO, would be the least desirable as it would leave a whole lot of airspace unfilled. Other, more expensive, alternatives are lead shot which can be purchased from some sporting supply stores, or any gun shop that handles reloading supplies. I believe Star Sound markets a lead powder, which would likely be the heaviest and most expensive of all your alternatives. If you handle lead just make sure to wash your hands thoroughly afterwards. Same goes for Silica or if you decide to stuff your stands with cats. If you use Silica try to fill the stands outdoors and use a mask to filter out the dust from the air you are breathing. Even a foam painters mask would be an improvement over none. If you are using cats I'd suggest long gauntlet gloves and some of those foam earplugs.

Good luck!

Marco

Albertporter/Jax2-
Thank you for your responses and honesty. I also assumed that the sandblasting sand would be the best alternative fill material. Since I've heard the kitty litter mentioned enough times to question it... that was the reason for the thread. Thanks guys.

i believe the reasons for the restrictions of the sale of Silica are due to the health hazards associated with breathing in the dust. i doubt if the amount you'd be exposed to in filling a speaker stand with it would put you at risk though.

Marco

Your a good sport 3zub. Truth is the kitty litter probably would be fine, it's basically CLAY.

I have experimented with white (clean) sand, sand plus lead (80%/20% mix) and sand blast grade silica. Certainly kitty litter is cheaper and safer than lead, (provided the cat's not using it).

Of all my trials, silica worked best and what I am currently using in my custom aluminum stands (for TT and tape deck).

Silica can be purchased from commercial supply houses that serve the sandblast trade. Silica (for some reason) is not supposed to be sold to the general public but I had no problem buying a 60 pound bag.

Glad to hear you guys are having loads of fun with this.

My local dealer recommends the used litter & sells the appropriate feed for optimal weight & density.

The notion that pidgeons can be milked is utterly ridiculous. Come to think of it so is this thread! My wife was none to pleased to find all the breakfast cereal gone this morning. I'm a bit annoyed too cause when I added the milk the stands started to make all this "snap, crackle, pop" noises. I thought one of my preamp tubes was going!

Marco

Yooz guys are killing me! great thread lol

Granola would absorb vibrations better than cheerios. As far as the kiity litter goes, which would be better, clumping or non clumping?

I hear good results from cryoed kitty litter.

Hey Albert,

Wheren't J. H. Kellogg's early flakes made from corn used as Kitty Litter anyhow before becoming a nutritional breakfast cereal?

Got Milk? As your on to something, a gallon of milk would add 8.59 lbs. But it would require quite exotic marketing like maybe.... Porters Pub Palm Pumped Pints of Pidgion Milk?

Marco a.k.a. a non-pro but extreme hobbyist milker could share proper man handling of the pidgion utter techniques, prior to going More Bull.

Cheerio

That sounds like a good name for a London pub Albert: The Bull N' Pussy! Better yet, the....oh, wait, I can't say that here...well, maybe like this: The Rooster N' Kitty (you get where I'm going with that).

Marco

More bull and less pussy for Marco?

Instead of kitty litter, how about "date-expired" breakfast cereal?

Some of it looks and smells like kitty litter when it gets old and probably just as effective, provided you skip the milk.

Oh I see Marco your now going for the More Bite "Hello Pitbull" Tank-tops for the Gym. ;0)~

Audiobugged - I was, till I found out about Hello Pitbull!

Marco

Not a bad idea if your cramped for space, as your Speaker Stands would also double as a PurrFect Scratching Post.

Hey Marco, I thought you where Pro Hello Kitty, not Badtz Maru?

Sheeeeeit, if you have a cat, I'd recommend you use the damn cat to stuff the stands!

What about Jellie Bellies™?! Then if you get the munchies after a long listening session you can pop open the stand and chow down. DO NOT, under ANY circumstances, do this if you've used Kitty Litter or lead shot.

Marco

I guess this wouldn't be recommended if you own a cat? As your speaker stands might become Nitty Gritty soiled by Kitty, but still smell kinda Fresh.

Absorbtion and weight...sounds like it would work, again I also hope it isnt used lol

Hopefully, it wasn't used......

Just when you thought you have heard everything!