How do speaker stands work and what should I look for when choosing them?
The knowledge involved in properly setting up any of the many different home electronics components is not something that everybody possesses. In fact, most of us need to have a pro (or more savvy elder sibling, or what have you) install our video and audio systems, so as to avoid the frustration that inevitably follows a failed attempt on our own behalf (something which usually takes many more hours than it should). One aspect of a good home entertainment system that many people don’t have the foggiest clue about would have to be the speakers system: where to arrange them, what kinds of stands to use, etc.
Speaker stands are nothing more than physical props upon which to rest a speaker, with the intention of improving the audio dynamics in a given room—that is to say, to reduce destructive interference, achieve better sound depth, balance, and clarity. Speaker stands weren’t always a common item in home entertainment systems or even as part of the stage set up for major musical acts. It wasn’t till roughly the 1980s that musicians began to notice that when they propped their speakers on other items, raising the speakers higher up into the air, the sounds were much, much better. From there, further research and perfection has led to the products that we can easily find today at any audio store.
Professional speaker stands are made out of special materials that deaden vibrations as much as possible, able to resist the vibrations of the sound waves being emitted by the speakers. If this were not the case, the speaker stands would absorb part of the noise being produced by the speakers, and the improvement over having these placed on the floor would be negligible to nonexistent, and we would be back at square one. Hence, whenever buying speaker stands, verify that they are made of non-vibrating material. The need for specialized materials was made evident after experimentation with ordinary home furniture equipment, which proved too susceptible to the vibrations and performed rather poorly. Nonetheless, there are some ordinary household items that have proven to serve fairly well as converted speaker stands, such as the base of an adjustable fan (the adjustability of the height is indeed a key quality that has made this item a popular one among audio enthusiasts).
The alignment of your speakers is crucial, and along with deadening vibrations this is the main function of speaker stands. Research has shown that, for best results, the speakers in a room should be more or less on the ear-level of the person(s) listening—hence, when arranging the speakers for your home theater system, use the level of your ears when you are seated on the couch, or whatever article of furniture you sit on when watching the tube. In particular, the tweeter (the driver in a speaker system that is responsible for reproducing high frequency sounds) should be roughly at, if not slightly above your ear level; tweeters, when built into a multi-driver speaker cabinet, are usually installed in the upper portions of the cabinet (looking at it in the upright position).
All precautions need to be taken to minimize resonance of other surfaces, especially those surfaces close to or in contact with your speakers. Even if your speaker stand equipment says that it deadens vibrations with maximum efficiency, try to take a few extra steps to guarantee that this really is the case. For example, put rubber pads on the bottom of your speaker stands, isolating them from the ground: the rubber will minimize and possible vibration between the speakers themselves and the stands. Always look for the sturdiest possible speaker stands, and feel free to use the reliable “shake test” to verify their quality…if you hear or feel something moving around when you shake them, they aren’t as good as they say they are! In general, thick glass and steel stands will perform above and beyond the quality of most other materials.
When buying your speaker stands, make sure you get enough to really round out your home theater system. Use separate stands for your large and mid-size speakers, your satellite speakers, your center channel speaker, and any other ones you may have. Speaker stands aren’t the only option, of course; there are a variety of wall mounts that can serve your purposes perfectly well.
Knowing where to position speaker stands is perhaps just as important as knowing what to look for in a speaker stand. Read the manual that came with the speakers themselves, and ask at the place you buy your speaker stands from if they have any recommendations on distances and arrangements for optimal sound quality in the room you are setting your system up in. The dimensions of the room (position of the walls and furniture) will be the determining factor in this. Basically, you need to think of yourself and your two principal speakers (or speaker stands, since they occupy the same space) as the three angles of an equilateral triangle; make the distance of one side of that triangle roughly equal to 8 feet, or less if your room isn’t that spacious. Have your speakers pointing towards you (the third angle of the triangle), instead of pointing straight back to the far wall (the one behind you, or in front of the speakers, however you want to look at it). Remember, as said earlier, that your speaker stands should be adjusted so that the speakers themselves are roughly at the level of your ears.
To recap, don’t settle for speaker stands made out of inferior quality materials, like ordinary furniture wood, cheap plastics, or thin metals or glass. Sturdiness means reliability when it comes to speaker stands! And make sure that the contact between speaker and stand, and stand and floor, is such that no resonance is occurring, with contact at the most minimal levels possible. From there, it will take some time experimenting with different positions for your stands to achieve the best arrangement possible—and you will know when you get there.
Tags: acoustics, home cinemas, home entertainment systems, home theatres, speaker stands, speakers