Is filling your cavities audible?

[Emlin]

I'm talking speaker stands. Does filling them with sand or exotic gravel from the Atacama desert really make an audible difference, or does it just make them more expensive and difficult to move?

 

[HooStat]

I personally don't think anything is audible but I have never tried to do any test or measure anything. I am sure there is a theoretical argument to the control of vibrations but I can't say that it would be audible, or what frequency range it might affect. However, some added weight, particularly near the bottom, is good for stability. I say this from earthquake country (Los Angeles, CA).

 

[pseudoid]

Shouldn't this post be moved to the snake-oil thread as a question???
Himalayan sea-salt could be a much cheaper alternative.
If you try either method, then you can most definitely post your results in the audiophool thread.

 

[Emlin]

Shouldn't this post be moved to the snake-oil thread as a question???
Himalayan sea-salt could be a much cheaper alternative.
If you try either method, then you can most definitely post your results in the audiophool thread.

I had my curiosity piqued by the fact that Dutch&Dutch seem to recommend that you use sand in their 8c stands. They don't seem to be a snake oil company, but maybe they're pandering to the audiophile myths. Or their stands are crap...

But I'm not angling this at D&D, just curious as to whether stand resonance is a thing that anyone should be concerned about generally.

 

[dc655321]

I had my curiosity piqued by the fact that Dutch&Dutch seem to recommend that you use sand in their 8c stands. They don't seem to be a snake oil company, but maybe they're pandering to the audiophile myths. Or their stands are crap...

Or the speaker is quite heavy and stands should be as well to balance the assembly.

 

[Emlin]

Or the speaker is quite heavy and stands should be as well to balance the assembly.

"Special care has been taken to ensure the right acoustical properties and sand filling the stand is possible for minimum resonances," they say.

But this is not about D&D specifically.

 

[pseudoid]

I had my curiosity piqued by the fact that Dutch&Dutch seem to recommend that you use sand in their 8c stands. They don't seem to be a snake oil company, but maybe they're pandering to the audiophile myths. Or their stands are crap...

People used to argue about size/weight of the shot they were going to use in their speaker stands.
I practically live across a sandbar but never had the urge or the inclination to stuff anything inside my stands!
Mine are made of fairly thick, 1" square, powder coated, steel tubing.

 

[antcollinet]

Big an heavey = good sound. Everyone knows that. Amps, speakers, speaker stands, elephants etc etc.

 

[audio2920]

I don't doubt it reduces resonance. Probably not particularly audible on most, but I did have some very large steel stands (for main/midfield monitors) which had a real ring to them because the box section was all like 4x3 inch or thereabouts, but relatively thin walled. Even then, I don't know for absolute sure I would have heard it; it freaked me out so much I didn't try them without filling... Once filled with sand they were, essentially, completely dead.

So I dunno either, basically

But I really doubt the exact properties of what you fill them with matters too much, so long as it's heavy.

Big an heavey = good sound. Everyone knows that. Amps, speakers, speaker stands, elephants etc etc.

Haha, TRUE. And elephants do make a good sound, don't they!?

 

[Midwest Blade]

Great...speaker stand reviews.

Like I have posted before. My stands used to ring a bit when twacked with a finger. Filled them up with extra clean playground sand. Now they are the best stands I have ever heard.

Honestly, filled them up to make them a bit more stable after a guest accidently nearly tipped one over.

 

[antcollinet]

Haha, TRUE. And elephants do make a good sound, don't they!?

You should hear the lesser known Outer Mongolian elephants that are filled with sand....

 

[DonH56]

I and friends have had stands ring, rattle, and buzz, even moan/whine a bit during loud passages. And many (actually most) have not. Most of the metal stands I have had (large and small/cheap) seemed fine and did not intrude upon the listening experience whether I bothered to fil them or not (usually not). The worst offender I remember was a beautiful set of hand-made wooden columns by a friend that were really obnoxious. He sealed all the corners and filled them with lead shot (or BBs, don't remember) and they quieted down. "Open" wooden stands built like a cross or a T did fine, but the column acted like an organ pipe.

My current solution was to get some reasonably heavy floor-standing speakers since the floor area is about the same as a smaller speaker plus stand and I prefer the deeper bass they provide (among other things).

 

[audio2920]

filled them up to make them a bit more stable after a guest accidently nearly tipped one over

This is probably the best motivation.

I lost a speaker this way, once. It was my own fault for having the speaker on a stupid cheap stand and in a stupid place. But nothing I said made the guest feel any less bad, poor fella. It was only a speaker, and not some irreplaceable classic thing either. (Well I say it was only a speaker, now I think about it, it collapsed on the floor and put a massive dent in the wood, and took a chunk out of the wall as it fell.... so.... yes, lightweight stands are bad mm'kay)

 

[boXem]

May be that English is not my mother tongue but title...

 

[garbulky]

When the dentist filled mine it was very audible! I think there were screams even.

 

[JiiPee]

If Your speaker/stand combination is rather top heavy, it may be a good idea to add weight to the stands with sand to make them more stable, but don't expect any meaningful changes in sound quality.

 

[solderdude]

I'm talking speaker stands. Does filling them with sand or exotic gravel from the Atacama desert really make an audible difference, or does it just make them more expensive and difficult to move?

It could.... the D & D 8C stand is a single (hollow) pipe that is fitted directly onto the cabinet which can vibrate (flex) sideways I reckon (see post # 12).
Maybe that tube could (audibly) resonate.
Filling it with sand can make a difference when it does resonate. Don't think you need special sand though.

 

[fredoamigo]

I would never put speakers of this price on this kind of feet! imagine children around it and it becomes a nightmare !!

 

[Soniclife]

It could.... the D & D 8C stand is a single (hollow) pipe that is fitted directly onto the cabinet which can vibrate (flex) sideways I reckon (see post # 12).
Maybe that tube could (audibly) resonate.
Filling it with sand can make a difference when it does resonate. Don't think you need special sand though.

View attachment 197742

That's not their stand, just some marketing image from before they made their own stand. It's a boring 4 column job they made.

 

[charleski]

That's not their stand, just some marketing image from before they made their own stand. It's a boring 4 column job they made.

Here’s a picture of the current one on their website.