Finding a speaker stand given speaker specs

October 1, 2007 5:03 PM

Finding compatible speaker stand for speaker. How do I read the specifications for speakers to determine compatible speaker stands...(specs inside for PSB Alpha B1)

I have a pair of PSB Alpha B1s. The specs are here:

http://www.psbspeakers.com/products/69

The back of each speaker has two female threaded holes. It also has what appears to be a hook for mounting on the wall.

I am interested in finding a speaker stand, and have no idea how to match the stand specs with my speaker specs.

Thanks!

posted by noahdubya to home & garden (6 comments total)

Most speaker stands are basically just shelves on small skinny legs.
posted by aubilenon at 5:24 PM on October 1, 2007

Generally, the threaded holes are to securely wall-mount them.
posted by smackfu at 5:40 PM on October 1, 2007

Most "universal" speaker stands come with all sorts of threaded metal bits for mounting the speakers. Just see which one fits. (If all else fails, some also ship with double-sided tape.)
posted by wsp at 5:45 PM on October 1, 2007

There is really no need to fasten the speaker to the stand, if we are talking about a normal vertically stacked 'pile' - gravity is enough. If you want, try putting something rubbery between the speaker and the stand.

If you must use the machine screw holes.. They are almost certainly 1/4-20 holes (1/4" screw outer diameter, with 20 threads per inch).

Speaker placement (just a random googled link) is a huge factor in the quality of your sound system, and that includes height. In practice, I think aligning the tweeter height with your ear height while seated in your preferred position is good enough.
posted by Chuckles at 6:31 PM on October 1, 2007

Must read link before commenting!
It says they are 1/4-20 right in the link..

Ikea used to have great telescoping speaker stands, but I can't find them anymore..
posted by Chuckles at 6:41 PM on October 1, 2007

Your speakers have a low frequency cut off of 55 Hz and I suspect they are mechanically down 6 to 9 db from their 65 Hz +/- 3db rating point, by the time they make it to 55 Hz. In other words, they roll off fast on the bottom end, to protect the small woofer cones. You don't have to worry about deep bass reproduction, or organ pedal harmonics, as your speakers won't even go there.

So, what you're going to find is that speaker placement is going to seemingly mostly affect mid-bass accuracy (120 - 240 Hz) [because of room physics] and "presence" (2 KHz to 4 KHz) [because of psycho-acoustics]. The conventional ways of optimizing small bookshelf speakers for these traits is to put them in room corner locations, about 1 foot from each corner's walls, and about 18 to 24 inches above floor height, with the units tilted slightlybackwards, towards the corner if possible. Typically this put the tweeter just a bit below your seated ear level, as Chuckles recommends, but in the cone of projection of the tweeter because of the tilt. At 18 to 24 inches above the floor, you are still effectively "corner loading" the mid-bass frequency to the room, via the corner placement, maximizing the efficiency of your small woofers. You can also "tune" the distance from the walls somewhat from the 1 foot recommendation; that distance is mostly for the low end of the "presence" band, around 1Khz, where the wavelength of a 1Khz wave in air is about 13.5 inches.

The main thing you want out of a speaker stands is that they be massive, and non-resonant, so that your speakers don't waste energy they create, vibrating their stands, which is not only energy wasteful, but will also make for lousy sound, and in very bad cases, buzzing. I've always tended towards sand filled plinths, of my own design, when I've been interested in speaker stands. It's fairly cheap to have a local kitchen cabinet shop make up laminate covered plywood boxes, in dimensions you specify, and you can choose innocuous laminates to cover them from the huge selection they will be happy to show you. Testing and prototyping dimensions for your plinth designs is easily done with a few, cheap concrete blocks, and some tea towels to protect your speakers, while you listen. Sometimes, I've worked in attractive lighting fixtures, or accent spots for art, or decorative vases, in my plinth designs. It's can be fun to design such things!

Failing that, you'll be dealing with things like this, as aubilenon notes, which are not all that great at high volumes, but are probably better, in most instances, than just setting the speakers on the floor. You can improve most such commercial stands simply by adding some mass to them, as low as practical, in the form of interesting rocks, lead shot bags, vases filled with sand, etc.
posted by paulsc at 7:37 PM on October 1, 2007