Do speaker stands get "tippy" when you fill them with sand/shot?

MichaelDDD · 10-06-2003, 06:51 AM

I will be constructing some speaker stands; they will be
24-30" tall. Not sure yet on the height.

They will be the PVC pipe type. I know that filling them with sand or steel shot is a very good thing.

My concern is that with all the added weight being on a vertical plane, the stand will be "tippy." Much different than say, if you bolted a plate of thick steel to the base of the stand to weight the bottom...make sense?

I'm not a physics major (I believe that's obvious

) but it seems to make sense to me.

Also, I've noticed that better premade stands come with carpet spikes. Do you NEED carpet spikes? Has anyone made their own stands with spikes? What did you use for the spikes? Nails? Are the spikes meant to secure the stand to carpet, or to keep the stand from sitting directly on the floor if you have wooden floors. Someone explain this spike thing, please.

Thanks.

Troy R · 10-06-2003, 07:47 AM

I put spikes on my stands. I got them HERE they are the Yung. 1-3/8" speaker spike towards the bottom of the page. My stands don't get "tippy" at all. The spikes help level them and also keep them from getting "tippy" on carpet. The spikes isolate the stand from the floor so you're not sending bass vibrations through the stand and into the floor. or so is my understanding...

depending on how tall your stands are sand in the PVC should be just fine and keep the stand from falling over. If you're stands are really tall then you might want to put some steal shot into the bottom half and fill the rest with sand.

Good luck!

Ronnie Ferrell · 10-06-2003, 08:23 AM

If you are worried about them being tippy, just make the base plate footprint bigger.

rf

MichaelDDD · 10-06-2003, 09:05 AM

Thanks for the detailed info Troy R.

The link is handy too.

Ronnie; I like Moose.

I've never had speaker stands before. Is a 30" stand considered "really tall?"

Troy R · 10-06-2003, 09:57 AM

30" is not too high. Ideally you want your stand to be high enough to put your tweeters at ear level.

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Russell R · 10-06-2003, 12:15 PM

I have a stand made of PVC that places the speaker at ear level when sitting. So, off the top of my head, it should be around 27" without the speaker. It is made of an 8" id PVC tube with end caps. The base is ~18" diameter circle finished in Piano Black. It is spiked. The tube is filled with a large bag of sand. I cannot remember how much this beast weighs, but it does not move. I do not have any pics, but will get some up very soon. It can be seen at The Roderplex Theater
RODERPLEX

Russ

MichaelDDD · 10-06-2003, 08:07 PM

Russ,
That's a big stand! You probably need a hand truck to move it...but I'll bet it doesn't vibrate at all.

Thanks again guys.

Russell R · 10-06-2003, 08:38 PM

I just posted new pics tonight

RODERPLEX

Thanks,
Russ

Your right. A hand truck maybe needed. When I move, I will have to empty the chamber of sand. No big deal, as I built it to take apart.