If a speaker stand is mass-loading, how much does it matter what they're made of?


Looking for speaker stands. At this point, I'm not sure of the height of my long term listening chair/couch, so I don't want to break the bank on stands.

Looking over different options (Sanus, Monoprice, Pangea, Skylan) raises a question — if a stand is can be filled (shot, sand, etc.), does it make much difference what it's made from (steel, MDF)? What is that difference, in your experience? (Listening, durability, aesthetics, etc.)

With the above in mind, any opinions on modestly priced stands? Perhaps 20" - 22" high?

(Again, I'm not in the market for expensive stands, right now.)
128x128hilde45
@ hilde45
I own both of those brands. I use the Pangea DS 400 28" high with my Harbeth P3s. Since your speakers are 20" high you should try to get the shortest stand that you can find. You can always make a short stand taller but you can’t make a tall stand shorter. BTW, I have owned the Skylan stands and in my opinion they are overpriced. I’ve also have owned Target and I find no difference between those and the other steel stands that I recommended. Good luck with your choice!
^^^ Regarding correct height you can't generalize based on cabinet height..You MUST account for how far down the cabinet face the center of tweeter is..Ideally you want that about same as your ears,IMO about 36"high +-2"...My Harbeth M30.1's are 18" high BUT the tweeter sits almost 7" down the cabinet face,making 24" stands perfect for them..
@freediver and @yogiboy 
Thanks for the advice. You own speakers deserving of respect and you clearly have thought about this a lot. I will do careful measuring and will heed the advice not to get too tall a stand, nor one that rings like a church bell. 
For positioning of 2-way metal dome type tweeter applications, I sometimes prefer the tweeter just slightly above the ear and next driver down midrange/woofer just below it. Yes, centered between the two, yet the difference can be distinguishable on some speakers, particularly with midrange frequency and sometimes a tad more fullness achieved.

May not apply in @hilde45 ’s lower ceiling situation , but it’s easy to try.

In some applications, simply found getting some speakers up off the floor a bit more than traditional preferences can render some mediocre sounding speakers into something more, just by lifting them "up" a tad, fwiw and ymmv.