Ins and Outs of Audio Stands

If you own audio equipment, or any kind of equipment, you’ll need somewhere to store it. For audio-specific items, your best bet, usually, will be to get an audio stand.

What is an Audio Stand?

So you picked out a bunch of great hi-fi, hi-tech items to create an audio entertainment system. While you could pile the equipment in a heap on the floor, it’s usually safer and easier to use and audio stand. Simply put, an audio stand holds your speakers and equipment, which will help you to keep your possessions organized.

Sound Design

Some stands are designed to be acoustically 'dead' when you tap it, the idea being that any vibration arriving at the stand (through the floor, through the air, or due to movement within the equipment itself) is rapidly damped out and turned into harmless heat. Such stands often have shelves made of composite materials and may use soft, compliant mountings. This can make them somewhat wobbly, but the end result is a very detailed sound that's both honest and solid.

In opposition to these highly damped stands, many models exist that incorporate a higher degree of rigidity, often using metal and glass with point-contact support on spikes or other such supports. Tapping a stand like this usually produces a metallic 'ping', while in real-world use the sound will tend to be bright, exciting and lively though not always quite as multi-layered as with a dampened stand.

Add-Ons

Some stands have given particular importance to practical matters, for instance providing concealed cable conduits at the rear, while others are modular systems which can accommodate all kinds of hi-fi and AV gear, from mini-systems to widescreen TVs. Prices vary from under $350 to well over a thousand: most of the specialized stands designed with sound quality as top priority are in the higher price ranges, but for under $500 you can usually get some very good performance.

There's plenty to gain by carefully choosing an audio stand. At the very least, you can find something that suits your needs properly rather than ‘close enough’; if the cost seems high, compare it to the price of the same quality coffee tables and general-purpose shelve, which are often no cheaper. There are many practical, well made, good-looking hi-fi stands out there at decent prices: that they can also improve your sound is merely a bonus.

 

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