How to couple my monitors to stands???

Geez, Ed! I was looking for some FRIENDLY advice, not a rant about why I'm an idiot for not paying $500+ for a pair of stands. To put it into perspective, the difference in price was considerably more than $200 when you consider that the Osiris stands were $299 including shipping and with NO TAX. If I were to buy the Aerial (I mean, Sound Anchor) stands, I'd have to buy them in SF (tax rate = 8.5%), so my outlay would be $542.50...factor in gas (nope, it's not free) for another $20 and suddenly the difference is $262.50. I don't know about you, but to me that's A LOT of money. I'd much rather invest that money in software (music) than stands that are no better than the Osiris. Even better, I could use that money to take my family on a nice outing to the Monterey Bay Aquarium or something.

Also, I did shop around for the "factory" stands and there are no discounts to be had.

Finally, I'm not sure how you came to your position about the Sound Anchor stands being "far-better-made" than the Osiris. Merlin Music Systems used the Osiris as their "factory" stands. By most accounts, the Merlin TSMs are arguably "far-superior" to the Aerials in virtually every way. Even if you don't agree that they're better, you must confess that they're a fine speaker - one deserving of a very high quality stand.

I just received the stands from UPS last night and, while I didn't have time to set them up, I did get them unpacked and they're incredible...very massive and beautifully built. Can't wait to fill them with shot (the Sound Anchors are prefilled with sand - isn't that for playgrounds?) and get them setup using some of the methods recommended on this post.

Hey Dan.....To folow-up on the email I sent you regarding the Sound Anchor Stands I have.I didn't read all the comments in your thread but I did notice your frustration with one inparticular.As a person who has owned both the Osiris you have and the Sound Anchor for the Aerial 5 allow me to attest to the fact that both are excellent products.If your not familiar with Sound Anchor they are indeed among the finest makers of speaker stands,racks ect.....Craftsmanship and materials are all top notch......Good Luck!

Permit me to follow up with one more suggestion for mounting your Aerials.The tilt is critical to proper time alignment.If you look at the bottom of the speakers you will notice that in addition to the inserts for the three cones there are two other inserts for machine screws.These two are for bolting the speaker to the factory stand.What you can do to achieve this factory set-up with your Osiris is simply center the speaker on the top plate cones installed.This obviously raises the speaker off the plate so you can mark where the mounting inserts would align with the top plate,then simply drill the corresponding holes a little larger than the bolt size as they will angle slightly through the plate to connect up the speaker.Just make sure to buy a bolt long enough to go through the plate and up into the speaker.This is exactly how the dedicated Sound Anchor stands are set-up

Hey, sorry to rant, but really - buying a set of $2000+ speakers and skimping on stands seems like false economy to me. I have aerial 5s (among other speakers) and the factory stands cant' be beat. Great if the Osiris are nice, but they are not factory, no getting around that fact. Curiously enough, a pair of factory aerial 5 stands came up here on Agon within a day or so of your posting... for $250. And even if those are gone, I know an aerial dealer that would cut you a break, I think.

-Ed

Hey, Ed. Thanks...and no hard feelings. I saw the posting right after I got my Osiris stands. I have since been in contact with the seller who is a heck of a guy. He let them go for $200. I located a local buyer for the Osiris stands and I'll just about break even on the deal.

Everyone has been tremendous. The gentleman selling the Aerial stands didn't have the bolts to secure the speakers to the stands, so I thought I'd contact Sound Anchor and see if I could purchase a set. Well the gentleman at Sound Anchor (who also owns Model 5s) said that he'd drop a set in the mail...For Free!!

Good people all the way around. Thanks everybody for your advice. It's greatly appreciated.