You can get very fine Aquarium Gravel for a pretty reasonable price, and you can get fine Chicken Grit for a pretty reasonable price. Both are more expensive than sand, but sand tends to have a very find dust in it that can leak out of stands if they are not completely sealed. That's not a problem with Aquarium Gravel or Chicken Grit. Though for both of these there is more air, so a bit less weight, but the stands are still going to come close to 40 or 50 pounds each (18.2kg to 23kg). Of course, if you are sure the stands won't leak, then common Kiln Dried Play Sand is great. But, assuming wood or steel stands, you want DRY SAND, any moisture in the sand will compromise the wood or the steel. So no common bulk construction sand, it has to be DRY SAND. Of course moisture is not a problem with Aquarium Gravel, which also tends to be ph neutral, or Chicken Grit. They can get wet, but they do not tend to hold water the way sand does.

One additional note: If you use sand and you are worried about dust, then just fill Zip-Lock plastic bags with sand to roughly the diameter of the column and pack the bags down inside. You won't get the full weight of just pouring sand in but you will get significant weight, and the dust will be controlled. Just a thought.

Interesting ideas! Thanks for sharing 😊

Cat Litter.... Recommended by Andrew Jones: Cheapish, very dry.

stevenswall -- - but it can be dusty. Not sure but I think most cat litter is clay. Sand is actuall very cheap but is has fine dust. If the Stands are truly sealed that's not going to be a problem. If not, then there are alternative solutions what have already been discussed. Still Cat Litter is at least worth considering.

I'm glad to hear that, Dennis. Happy listening! 🎸 //Christopher.

If you have a small room, look for a second hand Evoke 10 and prepare to be blown away as I was.

Thanks, Alonso. 😊I am glad you found this episode useful. //Viktorija

I'm happy you like the video, Simon! //Christopher.

Fantastic, Souf. I'm happy it was helpful. And thanks for leaving a comment 😄 //Christopher.

NICE!

Nice. This gave me an idea for a cheaper solution. Looks don't matter in this case. Thanks!

how did you fasten the speakers to the bricks?

@@Canadian_Eh_I they were old bookshelf speakers so I just sprayed the top of the bricks with truck bed liner and set them on that

School Of Thoughts....sounds dreamy (not to mention Schools Of Thoughts)

Yes, that's an effective solution, but not very practical for most people ;) // Lilli

Hi Alex. It depends on where you live. You can either visit a local dealer (find one here: www.dynaudio.com/find-dealer). If you live in the UK or Ireland, you can also purchase our stands online: www.dynaudio.com/home-audio/accessories. We used the Stand 20 in silver in the video //Christopher.

Hi! I talked to Otto and here's what he said: "They will function differently, with different results. Which one would be preferred will vary based on many factors, including your own preferences. We would suggest trying out both. As a temporary solution to test the acoustic properties, you can use for instance some coins to protect the floor, before investing in separate floor protectors." I hope it helps, Christopher.

@@dynaudio Thank you Christopher & thanks to Otto as well. I did try both the options a long time ago but I really couldn't tell the difference for certain. Anyway, I'm most likely going to stick with having spikes on spike shoes.

Since you didnt notice any audible differences, stick to the most stable option.

We messaged you on FB!

Hi Eric. We would still recommend that you decouple the stands from the wooden floor. But add enough weight to make sure it's stable. //Christopher.

Thank you 😊

No problem. I'm glad you liked! //Christopher

The "narrow side" (in case of the Stand 20) contains the cable management compartment, leading straight to a hole in the base plate. The front compartment can be filled with lead, steal, sand. It's all very obvious once you're holding it in your own hands. Impossible to get it wrong.

Hi Bob, Lead shot is the idea, but as pointed out by others it's not really environment-friendly... // Lilli

Haha 😂 Gotta make eye contact with the viewer, haierthanhai. Maybe not look into the abyss of their soul, but still... I hope you got something out of the episode, though. Cheers, Christopher.

thanks for the reply! did not mean to offend anyone, the content is the most important part that was done well. it's not the eye contact itself that is the problem - it's the timing of the eye contact. it feels natural to hold eye contact with, or look in the general direction of the person who is talking. Christopher keeps looking into the camera during Otto's dialogue - which feels awkward. Again, nothing to "really" complain about. Cheers!

No offense taken! At all. And you're taking to Christopher from the video. I'm happy you liked the content, haierthanhai. That's what matters the most to me ☺️

@@EddyTeetree Yeah, when he looked into the camera like that I felt violated and dirty. I'll never think of speaker stands the same.

Goddammit! I'm never drifting down to the comments again before the video ends..

That's a stand 20 :)

Hello! Thanks for the comment :) We cannot comment on other brands speakers, therefore we'd advise you to direct that question towards the company in question! Please let us know if there's anything else we can help you with :)

@@dynaudio thanks for your reply. So I am asking the same question ( Basic Question ) regarding Big floor speakers on a Ceramic floor ? As of now I am using spikes and Spikes Shoes with Metel cover and neoprene / Like Rubber inside the Shoes , Don't understand if that's OK.

Oh, stop it, you! You're making us blush ☺️ I will ask Otto about your question on Monday. Cheers, Christopher.

Hi Marc. Do you mean that the tweeter would be too low for ear-height?

@@dynaudio Thanks for the follow-up reply. Yes, assuming a standard chair/sitting position and a person of 'average' height, the tweeter on a standard bookshelf speaker would be approx. 30cm below ear level using a 60/61cm speaker stand. I therefore wonder why you recommend speaker stands of 60/61cm (which are also commonly recommended)? Thanks.

@@marcfoss7687 In reality, having the tweeter at ear-height shouldn't necessarily be taken too literally. It refers more to the optimal "listening window" which is where the speakers just sound "right," which can be a window of 15cm +/- In that sense, whether the tweeter is 15cm above or below your ear precisely should be negligible. Also, just keep in mind that one tends to sit lower in a sofa :-)

@@dynaudio Thanks, appreciate your reply and advice...I will definitely check out the height of my sofa :-)

@@marcfoss7687 I as well do not understand why they recommend 24 inches or around 61cm for speaker stands. I sit in my sofa I'm six foot one and that's 41 inches to my ear. I have 28 inch speaker stands and measuring the Tweeter is 39 inches from the floor. If I were to use the 24 in stands that would only be 35 inches. Maybe if you're 5 foot 6 inches tall you'd get 24 inch stands.

Sand would fill better than gravel I feel, gravel could have spacing and cause vibration?

also, as i see it, the point of spikes is to minimize the transference of energy from the speaker to the stand, similar to using a soft fabric. either way this is not clear. I hope you could explain better how you mean what you said.

Hi Jonathan, yes you're right! There is of course a difference, we didn't communicate it properly. Sorry about that and thanks for correcting 😇

thx for the response. so does that mean that using spike is not adviced on a heavy stand? or is it still advised but only the reason why is different?

Hi Jonathan, in our experience, the best result comes from using a soft material between the stand and the speaker, although bolting the speaker to the stand is safer with regards to the risk of the speaker tipping over. However, the end result depends on many different factors, so there isn‘t ONE correct answer. Try out the options and see which one works best for you! // Lilli

I disagree with this and with Dynaudio's answer. :) Spikes on the top plate WILL punch holes in your speaker's cabinets. While the surface area might still be small, the amount of pressure applied is very high. The result is definitely a fixed coupling with a lot of horizontal friction. Very similar to bolting a speaker to the top plate, except you can still lift it so it's less safe. There is this old myth of spikes acting as a kind of "mechanical diode", thus minimizing the transfer of energy. I call this a myth since I see no scientific proof for it. Also, if this was the case, spikes would need to have the same orientation on the top plate and the base plate (which they never have).

I discovered this by accident and it’s so secure

We're happy to hear it helped :)

Hi Felipe. You can get discs to put under the spikes, or even use coins or similar, to protect the floor. This will retain the advantage of a small contact area, which is the purpose of the spike. //Christopher.

Thank you very much, Christopher.

You´re very welcome, Felipe 😊

Hi Oystein. The decoupling is in the rubber so any hard object would do the trick. Something as simple as a coin could do 😌 //Christopher.

​@@dynaudio OK. It would be quite easy to test out the coin trick. I will look into it.

@@dynaudio I tried the coin trick, and it did not make the sound any better. Lot of smear. I bought Auralex Gramma V2 and put my speakers on top of them, and now they work fenomenaly. My floor is too soft for the built in feet, so I had to do more to get the most out of my speakers. But now the sound is better than ever.

@Fat Rat The solution I have already found can't be beat.... Auralex Gramma V2 makes wonders of the Dali Evoke 50. Finally I can hear single bass tones cleanly.... I could not do that before.

@Fat Rat Yes, having a concrete block, or some hard stone block under the speakers could also do the trick. My solution is quite conveniet since the pad is quite light. An other alternative could be isoacoustics gaia series feet which also isolates speakers from the surface that they stand on, but at three times the cost of my solution.

Lower center of of gravity is more difficult to tilt.

Steel beads are 30% lighter but non-toxic and cheaper.

Also, after working with lead powder for 6-months, my lead blood count was lower than when first arrived in Chicago. When used by itself the density of silicone elastomer is 80-pounds per square foot. We would add lead powder for a 150-pound density. Plenty enough for speaker stands. Dow-Corning was the manufacturer...if you can get any.

Yes. Perfect

For "normal" stereo speakers? Who is saying that they should be right up against the wall?

Alex Tomlins id go with the mentioned, the luxury of being able to move the speaker around, and away from side/back walls to get better imaging, manufacturers design and build stands to approx 60cm 2nd, to accommodate a rough ideal speaker height once in position. 👍🏻

Alex Tomlins but jeeze! Screwing holes in your speakers! Then it got worse! Put a brick on top of it🤔😐.

You are absolutely right - it was a slip of the tongue. You see the lead thing is an old hi-fi tip that's been around for too long. We would recommend steel, not lead. Thanks for pointing this out! //Otto

Thanks Otto, these videos are interesting and are helping me to get the best out of my sound system.

Thanks you 😊 You've made our day!

Don't fill with sand, fill with mercury!

@surfitlive I'll ring up Area 51 and see if they have any laying around. Preferably some glowing green shit like the cartoons.

That would look tacky

MJ, meet another MJ. Ordered a pair of 80-cm stands from China for $271-shipped. Have never seen better for much much more! They are titled audio scaffolding.

@@happydogg312 long time since my original post. I have to say…the cheaper, heavy stands are serving me well. Filled with sand and use that isolation putty (forget what it’s called) between the speaker and stand. If I used higher quality stands…sure…might ink out maybe 1-2% better fidelity, but not sure it wouldn’t be an exercise in diminishing returns.

@@happydogg312 you’ll enjoy those farrrrr better than of you had sprung for $1200 in stands. No discernible difference and honestly could be better than those. That self-satisfaction though…

In a smaller room, the additional bass that a floor-standing speaker provides, is usually not necessary. Floor-standing speakers can be too boomy for a smaller room, as the room itself will already emphasize the bass. That’s where bookshelf speakers come in play.

So true. A slip of the tongue. Albeit several slips 🙃 I hope you enjoyed the video, though. //Christopher.

Most normal people tolerate little mistakes when someone is talking in what is to them, a foreign language. So actually, you're probably not being rude, just very picky.

So, true! See our pinned comment above 👆//Christopher.

@Steven Turner the dust and any contact with the material is highly toxic

Roobish! I dont ave no bukshelfs cos I dont ave no buks! I'mm ilitttttterate! KO?

Agreed. Fortunately we didn't.

Yes, you're somewhat right. Wood still resonates more than concrete, but you know, it really depends on "your religion" in this case. // All the best, Lilli