they are expensive and ugly.  It's like wheels in the Mercedes dealership, they will cost more because the buyers have money. You can buy 200 dollar chairs with prettier and sturdier legs than those ugly 600 dollar speaker stands

I used to think Spendor's stands were just plain stupid expensive.  Until I tried them.  I was using some typical sand filled square column B&W's before.  I had no idea how really good the little Spendors were until I tried these.  The difference was not subtle.  

There are many highly respected speaker manufacturers who absolutely do not recommend heavy metal stands or metal stands at all. Borresen makes their own stands out of mdf, unfortunately they are not available separately and if they were, the cost would be… too much to bear. Danish furniture is expensive anyway. 

Lots of good answer so forgive me adding one more. I had a set of these and they are very sturdy, easy to assemble. The one point - and forgive me if others have already pointed out - you can also experiment with inexpensive pads/material between the stand and your speaker. Happy listening! 

Pangea Audio LS300 All Steel Floor Bookshelf Speaker Stands Pair (36 Inch) $149.00 Amazon

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01EVNE96C/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I’ve been very happy with the Pangea 400 stands (same configuration as the Monoprice stands in the first response), filled with lead shot.  Weight is 150-175 lbs, plus speakers.  Bedded in Blue Tac, my Ascend Acoustics Sierra 2 EX has a bottom end like my Dynaudio Heritage Specials now.