belial Posted June 5, 2001 Share Posted June 5, 2001 I want to build speaker stands for the RB-5 bookshelfs, which I plan on purchasing. I guess my question is, how hard would this be? I know how to work with wood, which is what I plan to build them out of, staining them to match my TV cabinent which I built also. But, I'm concerned about vibrations. A lot of speaker stands seem to be made out of metal, and I know some people simply use cinder blocks, to dampen any vibrations that may result ... Will wood work? Or is it not heavy enough? Anything I need to watch out for? Any advice much appreciated. I posted this in home theater as well. Hope that isn't too annoying! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 6, 2001 Share Posted June 6, 2001 No one else has stepped up to the plate. So I will. My guess is that a lot of the talk in adversing of stands is just hype to distinguish one manufacturer's design from others. The big issue is getting the speakers up higher, and you should have no problem with accomplishing that with home carpentry. At least it will get you 90 percent of what anyone else is doing. Wood should work well enough and there is not a resonance issue that I can see. Normally you think of a metal structure "ringing" more than a wooden one. On the other hand, I think there is a ligit issue about keeping the speakers relatively still. This is more an issue of mechanical stability based more on design than material. Therefore, if you build at platform on a pole to sit the boxes on, there should be some mechanical means to fix the boxes to the platform. Maybe a recess and perhaps some sort of clamping. You'll have some sort of bottom platform. You should consider making some design so it will not rock or tip. If you have a hardwood floor, probably some rubber feet will do well. If you have carpet, some thought should be given. There is a school of thought advocating the use of pointy conical feet. These penetrate the carpet so the unit gets mechancial contact with the underlying floor. Of course this is dangerous to carpet, much less orientals. One alternate solution might be to build a boxlike platform at the bottom and fill it with sand or the like just to give it some weight. This would also help the issue of top heavy-ness. A bigger base extending outwards a farther distance would do the same, naturally. Overall these structural considerations are pretty intuitive. Your own solutions should do as well as anybody else's, if not better. If you want to get fancy, consider how you are going to run the speaker wire. Maybe use a hollow pole, or just have a some means of tying the the cable in the back for the run down the pole or other supports. Kids, pets, and parties are a worry. Will someone use the speaker and stands as a handhold, a scratching post, fire hydrant, or cocktail table. Something to think. What could ruin the installation, or how could the stands hurt a member of the household if they are tipped over. Such are my thoughts. Gil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belial Posted June 8, 2001 Author Share Posted June 8, 2001 Wow. Thanks Gil. You more than made up for the fact that no one else had any advice! No kids, pets, and parties to worry about--just me and my girlfriend, and she's not too clumsy. We'll probably have all three someday, but I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. When you talk about keeping the speakers "relatively still," you're talking about for sound purposes, right? Or do you mean to keep it from toppling over? I'm pretty sure I can construct something sturdy enough to keep the speaker from falling, it is more the issues of rattling/vibrating affecting the sound kind of thing I was concerned about. I saw some photos of Sanus speaker stands and thought they looked real nice, so maybe I'll model my design after those. The landlord put in a cheap, thin carpet, so that is what I am dealing with ... Thanks for all your advice! I thought I'd never get an answer on this one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted June 8, 2001 Share Posted June 8, 2001 Try www.partsexpress.com .They have stands at reasonable prices.Do a search on part numbers 240-740, 240-742,240-744,240-766. Keith This message has been edited by talktoKeith on 06-08-2001 at 02:05 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Colin Posted June 8, 2001 Share Posted June 8, 2001 Sorry I didnt see the post or I would have penned one of my long replies: The best speaker I ever had are at my mothers and she wont give them back. I bought a pair of triangular dark wood church statue pedestals the kind that adorn the sides of the alter. They are hand made, unique, solid and beautiful to look at and they just happened to be about 30 high which put the center of the speaker at 36 ideal for my couch position - I think they were about $100 from a antique store and I dont think they will ever leave the family I see used and new wood night stands that are solid, the right height and look attractive I would seriously consider those Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WMcD Posted June 11, 2001 Share Posted June 11, 2001 In my mind, I'm waffling on the vibration issue. I see claims that "spiking" does wonderful things for floor standing speakers by keeping them from moving. I can't really buy that they move that much give the relative masses of the box and the speaker cone. The argument is that the tail (bass diaphragm) is wagging the dog (speaker box) by some effective amount. On the other hand, maybe the vibrations are transmitted into the floor and makes it vibrate a little, so the sound changes. But that is a little contrary to my own theory. I shouldn't be such a non-believer in every little tweek, particularly since I haven't done the experiment. I get even a bit more wishy-washy over "spiking" tall stands. Maybe given the long leverage arm of the pedistal, the speakers would rock and vibrate. I dunno. It makes more sense that there is a potential problem which spikes would solve, if there is a problem to begin with. Let us know if you hear anything. BTW. There are those people who get $20 worth of enjoyment out of building something they could buy for $5. If it costs $10 in parts to do that, they consider it a bargain. I'm that type of guy. Perhaps you are too. The rest of the world considers it over- spending and a waste of time. That is not a dig at TalktoKeith. Just an apologia. Regards, Gil This message has been edited by William F. Gil McDermott on 06-11-2001 at 12:50 AM Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
belial Posted June 11, 2001 Author Share Posted June 11, 2001 Thanks to all you guys again for responding. Yes, William, I was planning on building my own, just so they would match in color with the TV stand I already built. I just can't figure out what would look nicer, the RB-5 on stands I build myself, or the RF-3 towers just standing there. The RF-3 towers are 38 inches tall, and I guess I would want the 17 inch RB-5s to be around that height ... I've gotten so neurotic about this I actually think I'm going to build carboard mockups of the tower and the bookshelf and place them next to my TV to try to get a better feel for how they'd look! Crazy, I know, but asthetics are almost as important to me as sound is ... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
T2K Posted June 13, 2001 Share Posted June 13, 2001 Gil, I can dig it.I recently bought a pair of stands from the folks above and they were very good quality stands for the price.Hence my recommendation considering price/utility. Good luck to you with the stands, belial. Keith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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