speaker stands--general considerations

ctsooner2,291 posts05-13-2020 3:49pm"Call ME crazy, but why buy a stand mounted speaker that takes up a footprint and needs to be further out in the room that a properly designed floor stander?  I've always felt this way.  Vandersteen started the baffleless floor stander in his model 2 as all speaker were using large baffles.  Now days, we have plenty of great choices at all price levels that are able to get a floor standing speaker to do on top what the stand mounted speaker does, PLUS they are much more full range or close enough...."

The location of floor-standing speakers in a room is always a  compromise between imaging and bass performance. With stand-mounts and subwoofers, the monitors can be located for best imaging and the subs for best bass performance.

FWIW, I had Vandersteen 2CEs for many years but, after moving, found that they just didn't work well in a small listening space. The Vandies need space for the various drivers to blend properly. The Kef LS50s don't have that problem because of the coincident/coaxial driver design. A sub was required, however,to fill out the bottom end.

Nice system by the way. I'm sure the Quatros are very pleasing to the ears. 

I just got these installed under my B & W 803s this morning. So far I here more clarity & tighter bass.
https://butcherblockacoustics.com/collections/audio-platforms-with-integrated-threaded-brass-inserts/products/maple-edge-grain-audio-platforms-3-thick-w-threaded-inserts-only

turnbowm: " The location of floor-standing speakers in a room is always a compromise between imaging and bass performance. With stand-mounts and subwoofers, the monitors can be located for best imaging and the subs for best bass performance.

+1 turnbowm. I agree completely.

      Independent positioning of bass drivers in a room, and in relation to the designated listening position, is very important for high quality bass performance just as independent positioning of mid-range and treble drivers, mainly in relation to the listening position, is very important for high quality mid-range, treble and stereo sound stage imaging performance.
     It makes little sense to have all drivers vertically aligned in the same cabinet, fixed in place and ultimately occupying the same specific footprint location in the room for each channel’s floor standing speaker. It’s highly unlikely that the 2 specific room footprint locations, that are determined by the listener to be the best locations for the mid-range and treble drivers for optimum mid-range/treble/imaging performance, are the exact same 2 specific room footprint locations that are determined by the listener to be the best locations for the bass drivers for optimum bass performance.

     Given all the above facts, the approach that makes the most sense to me is treating our systems as 2 systems:

1. Mono Deep Bass system for reproducing all frequencies below 80 Hz.
2. Stereo Mid-range, Treble and Sound Stage Imaging system for reproducing all frequencies above 80 Hz.

     Noone's left out, however, since floor standers or stand mounted monitors can be utilized for #2- a Stereo Mid-range, Treble and Sound Stage Imaging system.

     So, what do my comments have to do with general considerations on speaker stands?
     Woops, sorry.
      I don’t have a lot of experience with speaker stands, although I did recently order a pair of Mye stands for my Magnepan floor standing speakers that are due to arrive by the end of the month.
     It’s just that this thread topic triggered me to contemplate the different approaches we all take with our systems; stand mounted monitor or floor standing type speakers, restricted low frequency or full range speakers, with subs or without, etc. The above just summarizes some of my thoughts on those thoughts.

As you were,
Tim

You can also Beard a stand to increase bass response and not lose the imaging. That being said, 60-80 and down, like Noble100 said, really needs to be somewhere else, timing is just too far off.

I like 60-300 hz placement too, it's just too directional.  It also will add depth and clarity, without just tons of room treatment. I like separate monitors. PERIOD, no bass in them

The beard can be wide or narrow, from the floor all the way to the base of the enclosure, it can be behind or in front. It can be flat, convex or concave. They can really help with blending and capturing lost bass response.

Or the squat and grunt crowd... Opps I did it again. I call it the "Swarm Flu". Very contagious too. LOL

As heavy a stand, as you can lift or stack. They should sound like green concrete, with the ol knock test... Especially the beard....

Regards

Guys, I have to disagree with some of what you are saying IRT floor standing speakers.  I own Vandersteen's and the Treo on up have been designed to be placed close to the back wall and still give you a great stage etc...  I have Quatro's with the 11 band bass EQ, so I just dial in the bass to be smooth in my room.  It works exceptionally well and my wife loves how the speaker look in the room.  

I don't miss anything as I've had then into the room, but put them back as I'm not losing anything putting up close to the wall.  I'd must rather have what I have than miss the lower octaves.  

If you need to install a sub into the system, that means two in order to do bass properly and it's very difficult to integrate a sub into most system, plus that takes up way more space than a floor stander that was designed to be coherent from the lower octaves up. 

Many folks just think a stand mounted speaker does things that the floor stander can't, but that was in the past, not the present.