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Filling speaker stands: sand, lead, steel, rice. Full, half, etc?

With my proac tablettes, I am using 28 inch speaker stands which have two round steel tubes about two inches in diameter.  The stands have spikes into my wooden floor (through carpet) and rubber pads on top.  I have a rather small room 12x12, and I have played around with the speaker positions in the room, finding a pretty sweet spot optimizing the bass and soundstage.  I have done all this with the stands unfilled.

so I am looking for advice on filling the stands. What do I use: sand, steel shot, lead shot, rice?  Do I fill them half full, three quarters, or full? Do I fill all the tubes the same? Can overfill makes things worse?

like most things (i.e. speaker placement) I suspect there will be some trial and error, but as it will be a real pain in the rear to fill/empty/refill the various materials to really compare, I am hoping that there are some lessons learned that the rest of you can share with me to get me pretty close with my first trial.

Alos, what effect will the filling have- should I expect deeper bass, bigger soundstage, greater depth, more detail, or..... better yet what should I not expect to change? This will help me know what I should be listening for as I tweak things.

and finally, should I expect my current optimum speaker position to change with filled stands? Will I have to go through the whole positioning exercise again?

thanks, ( and happy new year)

Bill
meiatflask
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Lots of folks have explanations for lots of stuff. My advice to people is never try to explain anything. It will only get you into trouble. Everything is arguable!
meiatflask OP
151 posts
 
mes-
you are the first person to mention kitty litter.   What is your set up? And full or half or? Any thoughts on why? KL would be less dense than sand, lead, or any of the other candidates. (Although if it were used, the density would be increased😀)
dill
2,520 posts
 
Do not use kitty litter unless you are in a dry climate all year long. Litter absorbs moisture like a sponge, clumps and expands. You need tight welds to use sand or litter as it will leak out the cracks. Small pebbles or steel shot are my recommendation. 
dorkwad
547 posts
 
I second bdp's comments about the silica sand and it being dry and sounds better in stands than regular moist sand.  The ultimate for good sound in steel posts, however, is Star Sound's very small metal bearings.  They are about the size of the ink tip in a ball-point pen.  They will make the sound much more like live music with the live-vibe technology.  The drawback is it's expensive--like $59 for a quart of it times a lot.
spenceroo
183 posts
 
I use lead shot in my stands. Walmart used to sell it in 20lb bags, but not any more. Before you fill your stands with anything, make sure there are no gaps between the top plate/columns, and the base plate/columns. Some cheaper stands aren't built with tight tolerances, and will leak terribly with sand. Make sure there's a tight seal everywhere. I chose lead shot because of it's weight. I filled one of my stands (24" with 4 columns) with shot, and one with sand. The one with shot was a LOT heavier, and MUCH more stable. I ended up filling them 3/4 of the way due to the weight. I stuffed the remaining 1/4 with cotton. Use your own judgement depending on the size of your stands. I hear no audible ring when I knock on them. As far as the danger with lead shot, it's safe as long as you (duh!) don't eat it. Fill your stands outside, wear latex gloves, and use a funnel when slowly pouring it in. If you're paranoid about the dust, you can put a small fan beside you to blow the dust in the opposite direction. Let the stands sit for about 15 minutes so the dust can settle inside the columns. Put the top plate back on and wrestle them back into the house. I used a hand truck to move mine. Sand, rice, or kitty litter is certainly cheaper, but I prefer the lead shot for weight and stability, not to mention it's damping qualities. 
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