Babyproofing Stand-mounted speakers

Sand does not have near the weight of the fine lead shot, and sonically is not as good either. If you had not already purchased the Revel stands, I would agree to try another higher quality stand such as the one suggested. The M-20s actually have threaded screw "mounts" on the bottoms that bolt into the top plate of the original stands, so an adhesive is not needed. Microbearings would be less toxic for sure, but availability may be a problem. The small holes drilled in the bottoms are very secure with the duct tape due to the texture of the stands on bottom. I put some epoxy in the hole as well just to be sure when the stands were upside down after filling, then put the heavy tape on as well. The stands have special feet which can be mounted on the bottoms of the speakers as well when being used off the stands on a bookshelf etc. If you sell the stands, you will also have to sell the feet with them... the stands are fairly useless for other speakers. Revel could have done something a lot better in quality than these, especially for the price...

I don't have any kids, but I do have a fat ass that smacks my stand mounted speakers now and then. Kinda like Godzilla wackin' a building with his/her tail and the building don't topple over. My stands are completely filled with steel shot and weigh about 40 - 50 lbs. Each monitor rests on four giant snot-ball sized pieces of silly-puddy-like artist's kneeded eraser which work great at anchoring speakers to stands. An added bonus is that when you pop the speakers off the stands and remove the flattened gray mini-pancakes, they leave zero residue on the fine wood of your speakers.

Dan I know you meant no harm, but with all due respect, some of us ARE contending with bigger issues. Issues that prohibit the expectations that you take for granted. Issues that are increasing at an alarming rate. And here's the important part, issues that usually aren't discovered untill after the age of two years. Even my most guarded attempts have not saved my child from some misfortunate accidents. Even if one is dealing with typical children, I honestly believe that a child should be within arms reach in the face of potential hazards or remove the hazard. It is my own opinion that it is unfair and cavalier to expect reliabilty during the learning stages. Pardon me if I prefer to err on the side of safety, I was only trying to save others the misfortune of dealing with a preventable accident. With that said, I do sincerely wish you and your family as well as all fellow Audiogoner's and their families health and happiness.

Small children and complex audio systems do not mix. Once a child attains a certain level of mobility, their natural inclination is to poke, grab at, slobber on, pull at, bite, etc. It's not a question of good/bad parenting. In most interactions between a child and an audio system it is the system that will sustain the damage. However, given the sharp edges, high heat and heavy weight inherent in most audiophile designs, there is always the potential for injury to the child. The solution is to prevent the child from having access to audio system. It maybe inconvenient, but it is foolproof.

It's simple enough to change a system to be child proof. Use midgrade or already cosmetically trashed electronics, a locking sealed cabinet with mesh airflow and floorstanding speakers with trashed or replaceable cosmetics (like vandersteens).

Kids and phono cartridges, exposed tubes or tippy speakers don't mix at all. Wait, didn't I own that stuff myself when I was a kid ? Hmmm...