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
@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.
@djones  I’m interested in your opinions. Didn’t you have a stand already?
Not for awhile but I just sold my Joseph audio Perspectives and went with Dutch and Dutch 8c which are about 55 lbs. The Skylan stands were recommended to me by someone who has the same speakers. They look like well made stands and you can load them. They reccomend rice of all things.