(This DIY speaker stand article has been contributed with the intention of encouraging more audiophiles to share some of their DIY projects in 1388.com and make the hi-fi scene of Singapore more vibrant.)

Very often, audiophiles place a lot of emphasis on the qualities of  their sound system components (like speakers, speakers cables amplifier, etc.). However, few of them will bother to take a closer look at their speaker stands.  Most audiophiles may think: ”Aiya, what’s so special about speaker stands? As long as they’re heavy enough, they should be good enough liao lah...”

Although weight is one important aspect, it should not be the only criteria used for judging speaker stands. We should BEAR IN MIND that speaker stands are actually part of the speaker system used for coupling our speakers to the ground. Thus the material that they’re made of can affect the overall sonic character of our sound system as well. Since almost all speaker boxes are made of wood, so what other material can give a better coupling effect for our speakers other than solid wood itself!

However, if we observe the speaker stand products in the market, we can seldom find stands that are incorporated with solid wood. So far, I only know Sonus Faber stands have such feature. But, I don’t think they’re something I can afford...Because of this I’ve decided to embark to this speaker stand project. Furthermore, by building our own speaker stands, we CAN CUSTOMISE their dimensions to suit our system requirements! 

The wood I’ve used is hard maple wood. Why maple wood? Simple!  Because it can sound very musical! If you don’t believe in such a claim, think about this: if maple wood is not musical, why will it be used for making such  musical instruments as the violin? Make sense?

Improvements Noted After Using the Maple Wood Stands

The following are the improvements I’ve noted after using the completed maple wood stands:

1. More details can heard, especially the various layering of sound during the playing of string instruments (e.g. plucking of guitar strings). 2. More authoritative bass. 3. Improvement in soundstage due to the greater depth. 4. Most importantly , my system sounds more musical!

So, having seen the potential improvements that can be derived from the maple wood stands, has that motivated you to want to build a pair for your own speakers? If yes, just read on!

Building the Stands

Before building the stands, we need to consider the features needed and how they may be achieved:

1. The stands have  to be stable. This can be fulfilled by trying to make the stands as heavy as possible by using thick metal plates. Wide base plates should also be employed to make the stands more stable. 2. The stands should be supported by 3 spikes so that they can take on any slight undulation or slope on the floor easily. 3. Excessive resonating effect or vibration of the speaker system (i.e. speaker plus the stands) should be controlled. This can be achieved by incorporating copper washers in our speaker stands. (Why use copper washer and not steel or brass washers? I got the notion that copper washers may be better based on the Joe’s recommendation in 1388.com. In addition, I’ve observed that Sonus Faber Concerto Grand Piano speakers use  copper ring in their mid woofer as well. This further adds to my belief that  copper material can do a better job when it comes to resonance controlling.

With the above-mentioned points in mind the following stand is designed.

Fig 1: 3-D View of Speaker Stand Fig 2: Top View of Speaker Stand click on the thumbnail to view a full-sized  picture.

Note!
The dimensions of the following speaker stand are customised for my speakers with  dimensions 22cm (W) x 31cm (L) x 33cm (H). If your speakers are of about the same size as my speakers, it should be all right for you to follow the dimensions of the speaker stand presented below. 

Otherwise you’ll need to work out the dimensions of the  stands to suit your requirement. When determining the position of the beams on  the base plate, you first need to know that the centre of gravity of the base  plate is 1/3 the height of the base plate as shown in Figure 2. Then estimate  where the combined centre of gravity of the top plate and 3 identical maple wood stems is (viewed from the top). Align this centre of gravity with that of the base plate.

Further Improvements ForThe  Stand

After looking through the above maple wood stand design, for those of you who have the intention to build a pair yourself, I’ve something else to say which I hope can be useful to you.

Basically, the design of the stands is quite simple. However, it requires a lot of patience to source for the raw materials needed and to build them. For those of you who have the perseverance to finish building the stands,  your efforts will be well rewarded. And don’t forget to give the maple wood  stems a layer of lacquer to make the stands look more classy! File away the sharp edges of the metal plates as well to prevent hurting yourself or your  family members.

Below are some views that I think can further improve the performance of the stands.

For those of you who think your speakers may be a bit light, use a thicker base plate (say 12 -15mm) so that a better bass response can be obtained. (For my case, as my solid wood speakers are 12kg each, thus they’re heavy enough to allow me to use a 9mm base plate.)

If possible, use high-carbon steel instead of mild steel for the base and top plates of your stands. High-carbon steel is tougher and heavier.

HaveFUN with this project!

Please click here to read this article in Chinese.