AV Maxman looks at Audio Speaker Stands

People often ask me why I chose to be or how did I become “Maxman”.

Well its quite simple actually, I just wanted to give people some good information that they could really understand without being confused in the process.

I mean there is a ton of good info out there but it’s not always delivered in a way that everybody can understand and in a lot of cases even the Maxman doesn’t have a clue.

As I have been traveling through this wonderful thing we call the web it dawned on me that if I am getting confused then surely other people must be as well and this is what gave birth to AV Maxman.

So now that I have officially introduced myself lets get down to business shall we?

Speaker Stands

Today we are gonna focus on speaker stands and go over why you might need them. Oh who are we kidding? It’s not about the need it’s about the want right?

Audio speaker stands provide you with both style and functionality. If you have a home theater system you will need the right mounts to create the perfect audio sensation. You will love the craftsmanship that is offered by many of today’s audio/video furniture manufacturers and the wealth of options they can bring to your home theater experience.

Speaker stands are an often overlooked element when most people shop for their home theater. You know you’re excited you just bought a plasma screen TV, a great amplifier and of course some kick arse speakers.

You get home, you set your new system up and you notice you have nothing to put your speakers on. So you either leave them on the floor or put them on a coffee or end table or even go outside to your garage to see what you can find.

Perfect you say to yourself when you spot a great selection 2x4 off cuts from your previous home reno project that you never did finish cause you were too busy shopping for home theater equipment. You pick a few of these up and mosy on inside and before you know it you’ve created a temporary stand for your speakers.

You tell yourself it’s just temporary then you just cover the eyesore up with a pretty little blanket you stole from your daughters doll house.

Yes, yes I’m guilty of doing the same thing except I have a son and I stole his “Bob the Builder blanket”

My point here is that most of us don’t realize the injustice we are doing to our overall home theater experience by not mounting our speakers correctly, so to get the full impact of the home theater experience, the quality of your speaker stands will definitely influence the audio quality produced by your home theater system.

If you cheap out on speaker stands, the audio reproduction quality produced by your system will be affected. If you buy lesser quality speaker stands than those made by Sanus, Raxxess, Studio Tech and Lovan (just to name a few manufactures), you can get vibrations in the stand that will deteriorate the sound quality.

Many Speaker Stands Meet Dolby Laboratories Sound Standards

If you are looking for satellite speaker stands you will likely find most that are positioned at ear level which you would think is the ideal height for your home theater satellite speakers.

Wrong!

Dolby Laboratories has proven that the ideal height for satellite speaker stands is 1-3 feet above your ear level depending on your system.

Speaker Stand Options

Wall Mounts: There are a variety of wall mounts available in the market for speakers. These are basically in the form of brackets and are available in various shapes and sizes and with various functions. Wall mounts are easy to install. These wall mounts allow facing the speakers in any direction possible. Some mounts allow only vertical adjustability while some allow only horizontal.

There are others that allow both vertical and horizontal adjustability.

Ceiling mounts are also available that can support speakers of different weights. So before purchasing a wall or ceiling mount take the weight of your speaker into consideration.

These wall mounts are available in various textures and colors to match the speakers. Most common are the black, white and chrome finish. These mounts allow the speaker to face directly towards the listener, giving a better effect.

Mounting the speakers removes all barriers that would otherwise block the sound from reaching the listener.

Speaker Stands: Sleek looking speaker standsare available and are perfect to mount speakers.

There are floor stands, which are placed on the ground, as well as tall and deck stands that can be kept on tables, bookshelves, etc. They are available in various styles and sizes, and are made to support speakers of various shapes and sizes.

There are stands that can be adjusted vertically so that you can increase or lower the height as per your requirement.

Speaker stands are available in sets or can be purchased separately in a variety of wood or metal textures. Some of these stands need assembling.

The risers for these stands conceal the cables that can be filled with sand or pellets. This reduces resonance and enhances the quality of sound.

Or, depending on your needs and desires, you might want to fill the bottom half with sand and the top half with insulation. This keeps the weight and center of gravity very low preventing the stands from becoming top heavy once the speaker is mounted.

Keep in mind that sand can be like water. What I mean is if there is a chance the sand can escape it will, so rather than have a big mess on your floor a good option is to line the stand with a plastic bag (where possible) and then fill it with sand.

Speaker stands are normally used with satellite speakers and can be placed anywhere in the room but remember incorrect positioning will affect your home theater experience.

Center Channel Stands: This is often overlooked as a piece of required equipment and that is because we tend to just put the center channel in front of the TV on what ever we have the TV on.

Now there is nothing wrong with that at all as long as you use a TV.

However nowadays TV’s are getting larger and Projection Screens are also becoming more and more popular as well, hence the need for a center channel stand.

Remember you need a center channel speaker because this is where the dialogue from the movie is emitted.

Many manufacturers make center channel stands of all shapes and sizes giving you many of the same options as your standard speaker stands.

Making Your Own: Now now don’t be laughing at the Maxman. This is definitely an option if you consider yourself a do it yourselfer as long as you have a little bit of know how and access to the right tools and materials.

However I will point out that to make a comparable stand it could end up costing you more that you think but on the flip side the sense of accomplishment and satisfaction you get when you finish will be well worth it.

That’s it from me for now.

Remember Avmaxman.com for “Maximum Value Minimal Confusion”

Maxman Out.