using floorspeakers as stands?

enedwaith

New Member
hello,
i am running a pair of Focal Aria 906s, they're sitting on HPM60's (2' height) as makeshift speaker stands. i have a pair of the Focal S900 series stands on the way, all nice and heavy steel and $300 and whatever. i've been looking around on different sites trying to find a consensus about stands. are these HPM60's detracting from the sound because of dampening? would the steel Focal stands offer no serious benefit? would i be prudent in returning the stands for my $300 and just keep using the HPM60 cabinets as stands? the Focal stands and the HPM cabinets both sit at 24". i'd love your opinions and experiences.

thanks for reading!
 
I don't know anything about Focal's but, being a Pioneer fan I 'd rather being using the MPM60's myself, that's just my opinion and that's not worth a lot around here.
On the question of speaker stands I'd just make some yourself, easy enough to do if ya have any knowledge of saws, wood and fasteners and how to use them.
I plan on making my own very soon for my CS-701A's. $300 for something that just sits there seems a bit much to me But, I'm an cheap old bastard though.
 
The HPMs are not a good option as a permanent stand. They will impact the sound because your active speakers are sitting on top of a big, hollow, resonant box, which can/will "muddy up" the sound of the Focals. I agree with the post above--when the Focal stands arrive, put them up on them and I'm sure you will hear a major difference--better yet, put one on the stand and leave the other on the HPM and basically A/B them.
 
Use the Focal stands, you'll understand the reasoning when you put them in place. Don't forget to use the spikes.
Yes, use the stands! The bottom flat surface of one speaker resting on the top flat surface of another can add coloration to the sound.
 
I understand sir, I here that HPM100's are even better but, haven't the chance to hear them myself.
Real happy with my speakers but, would love to have a chance at HPM60's, sadly I'm all the way over in Utah.
Hope someone that appreciates them is able to get them.
 
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It's been said that woofer cones of idle speakers absorb energy from those that are active. In the days of sound rooms, a bank of speakers in a contained area was not considered an ideal environment for demoing a single pair for exactly that reason.
 
i did rest my hand against the 10" woofer on one of the HPMs while the Focals were bumping, and noticed quite a bit of vibration, yeah, it's like they're stealing my soundwaves!
 
If you must have those extra speakers (HPM's) as speaker stands. You should short the input terminals on them. It will reduce the vibrations you currently feel.
 
If you must stack another approach is to use small stands and rubber pads for isolation between the speakers to reduce the passing of vibration between the cabinets. The cabinet will still pick up vibrations from the room, true, but the sides are stiff enough that not much likely gets into the chamber that way.

As Joe noted, shorting the terminals does tend to slow cone movement, as the magnetic field induced in the voice coil acts as a brake, but it can't completely stop it. (For this reason drivers are often shipped with the terminals wired together, to minimize driver excursion from box movement.)

I've seen credible arguments that one ought to cover the faces of all unused speakers, a piece of lightweight masonite will work, to prevent cone movement by the powered speaker, as this sound absorption functions much like a room treatment, particularly near resonance.
 
naw. well i was hesitant that there would be any noticeable improvement, anyway. then with A/Bing the left speaker screwed into the stand and the right speaker on the HPM cabinet (with my receiver set to mono), i absolutely noticed that the left speaker had a more focused lower end, and the right speaker had a comparatively loose sounding/feeling lower end. i went back and forth 100 times with different music to sort of wrap my head around it and to see if i was crazy. ended up just concluding that the stands were just an appreciable improvement after all and i'm happy to have spend the cash to try them out
 
naw. well i was hesitant that there would be any noticeable improvement, anyway. then with A/Bing the left speaker screwed into the stand and the right speaker on the HPM cabinet (with my receiver set to mono), i absolutely noticed that the left speaker had a more focused lower end, and the right speaker had a comparatively loose sounding/feeling lower end. i went back and forth 100 times with different music to sort of wrap my head around it and to see if i was crazy. ended up just concluding that the stands were just an appreciable improvement after all and i'm happy to have spend the cash to try them out
Now you understand. :thumbsup:(silly pun intended)
 
hello,
i am running a pair of Focal Aria 906s, they're sitting on HPM60's (2' height) as makeshift speaker stands. i have a pair of the Focal S900 series stands on the way, all nice and heavy steel and $300 and whatever. i've been looking around on different sites trying to find a consensus about stands. are these HPM60's detracting from the sound because of dampening? would the steel Focal stands offer no serious benefit? would i be prudent in returning the stands for my $300 and just keep using the HPM60 cabinets as stands? the Focal stands and the HPM cabinets both sit at 24". i'd love your opinions and experiences.

thanks for reading!
What an interesting theory ! I have my SIGNET SL-280BL main speakers on top of my Genesis ll's , with them acting as stands, not currently hooked up. Although the SIGNETS sound great, I do wonder how the Genesis are affecting my sound. I will have to try moving the Genesis and putting proper stands under the mains. Probably will have to re-calibrate the system as I am running a Denon surround receiver to power things.
 
naw. well i was hesitant that there would be any noticeable improvement, anyway. then with A/Bing the left speaker screwed into the stand and the right speaker on the HPM cabinet (with my receiver set to mono), i absolutely noticed that the left speaker had a more focused lower end, and the right speaker had a comparatively loose sounding/feeling lower end. i went back and forth 100 times with different music to sort of wrap my head around it and to see if i was crazy. ended up just concluding that the stands were just an appreciable improvement after all and i'm happy to have spend the cash to try them out

See--I'm not a dumb as I look--my mother just dresses me funny! :thumbsup:

Glad all worked out well--ENJOY!!!
 
What an interesting theory ! I have my SIGNET SL-280BL main speakers on top of my Genesis ll's , with them acting as stands, not currently hooked up. Although the SIGNETS sound great, I do wonder how the Genesis are affecting my sound. I will have to try moving the Genesis and putting proper stands under the mains. Probably will have to re-calibrate the system as I am running a Denon surround receiver to power things.

Before you spend any money try placing jumpers across the input terminals of the Genesis speakers. It's most likely you'll hear a positive difference. The appropriate stands for the Signets will make an even bigger difference.

Usually the appropriate stands will place the tweeters at ear level when seated.
 
Wow and for all the times I've stacked speakers not really thinking about the effect one might have on another. I considered perhaps it was a dampening effect but I didn't think it would be substantial enough to notice.

This makes me want to try stands now
 
If you don't want to spend a bunch of money try using a couple of cinder blocks under each speaker for stands. You can always wrap them in Black trash bags (for looks).

FWIW: Linn is a manufacturer that pretty much requires single speaker demos. Many appointment only audio emporiums only do single speaker demos
 
If you don't want to spend a bunch of money try using a couple of cinder blocks under each speaker for stands.

Although a lot of speaker manufacturers market stands to match their speakers, the majority do not, and stand requirements are often very room/listening position dependent. I have built a lot of my own stands over the years, and before committing to a specific height/angle, I would "experiment" with cinder blocks, milk crates, plant stands, end tables, phone books, magazines, etc. as a means of establishing an appropriate height/angle, before commencing with an actual build (or seeking out something on the commercial market, for that matter). Not pretty while you are doing it, but gives you a good idea as to what height/angle you need in the final build/purchase. There are also a lot of plans on the web for building stands for specific models of speakers with height/angle recommendations.
 
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