Heavy duty speaker stands in Thailand? Where to buy them or get them custom made?

[OneMoreFarang]

2 hours ago, Bandersnatch said:

 

Piyanas gets my vote. I was able to demo all the equipment for my cinema at their Fortune Town store

 

https://www.piyanas.com/search?search_type=3&search_keyword=Speaker+stand

 

 

 

 

That looks interesting.

 

When I look at all those (expensive) speaker stands, one thing is annoying. Not on one of them is a drawing of the mounting plate so that I could check if the holes of my speakers match.

I would have thought that many people would be interested to see those dimensions...

 

 

[ravip]

Speaker Stand LOVAN AFFINITI
฿4,500.00 ฿4,050

 

[Grusa]

Given a decent drawing with measurements, any reputable stainless welding shop will make whatever you want, well finished, or you could use steel and powder coat it. Anti-vibration pads, mounts, feet, etc., are easy to find on Lazada. It need not cost a fortune, or take very long. I can recommend businesses to use in Pattaya, if that is any help.

[OneMoreFarang]

14 minutes ago, ravip said:

Speaker Stand LOVAN AFFINITI
฿4,500.00 ฿4,050

 

Thanks, they look good and are not too expensive.

[OneMoreFarang]

Just now, Grusa said:

Given a decent drawing with measurements, any reputable stainless welding shop will make whatever you want, well finished, or you could use steel and powder coat it. Anti-vibration pads, mounts, feet, etc., are easy to find on Lazada. It need not cost a fortune, or take very long. I can recommend businesses to use in Pattaya, if that is any help.

 

Thanks, that is what I thought.

But I know from watching "welding videos" that it is easy to put screw up the angles, i.e. 89 degrees instead of 90 degrees.

I guess if I am seeing the speaker stands and they are not straight, that would somehow irritate me...

 

I will look if I can find a shop in Bangkok which can produce such stands in good quality.

To be sure the height is perfect I have to wait until my sofa will be delivered next month. Then I can measure which height I need.

[Prubangboy]

As a former audiophile sucker, you'd have to be a bat to notice the so-called sound vibrations. 

 

Helpful hint: put mouse pads under the speakers to minimize vibrations. If you absolutely feel the need.

 

You can also get little cones to elevate the speakers so that air can pass beneath them to make the bass sound "tighter". This too is imaginary.

 

I did a blind test of sterling silver speaker wires and lamp cord from the hardware store. The lamp cord won by a mile.

 

 

[Will B Good]

 

 

 

I know I'll be shot down for this....but........ Apple airpods pro 3 are due out soon.

 

 

Those, set to noise cancelling, will be mind blowingly good.

 

 

 

[IsaanT]

I've got a circa £1,000 external power supply for my DAC (Digital Analogue Converter).  It provides better quality electricity to the DAC, even though the DAC has its own internal power supply and can be plugged straight into the mains.  Does the external power supply make a difference, after all 240v AC is 240 volts, isn't it?

The difference is immediately audible and my friends and family can hear it too.  The improved clarity reveals things in the recordings that you hadn't heard before.  To paraphrase the great British audio component manufacturer Quad, I try to get the closest approach to the original sound.

Most of the audio 'black magic' that people talk about (better cables, power supplies, anti-vibration mountings, etc.) can work and cause a noticeable increase in sound quality but will probably not work if not matched carefully.  For example, not all expensive cables might sound better on a particular system but almost anything should be better than twin-core bell wire.

Personally, I would try to get a Thai welding shop to create something because the fundamental requirements are basic.  It needs to have a lot of mass and rigidity, i.e. thick steel.  A filling inside a hollow stand is good, as has already been discussed.  Sand is good for dampening vibrations, as the vibrations can be absorbed by the friction of the grains of sand moving against each other.  Lead shot is denser and can provide a more substantial mass to minimise ringing and unwanted noise.  A combination of the two would be possible, i.e. lead shot in the bottom half of the stand for improved mass (low c of g) and the top half filled with sand.

If I was getting stands commissioned, I would also think about how to route the speaker cable(s) inside the stand at the bottom and exiting at the top near the connectors for improved aesthetics.

Having created the rigid stand, you then have the choice of mounting the speakers on felt (or similar pads) to isolate them from the stands or bolting them rigidly to the stand.  Bigger speakers, such as the OP alludes to, probably benefit from being connected rigidly.  Isolation mounting typically gives a more natural sound.  Experimentation is necessary to achieve the best sound for the listener but that's all part of the fun, as I expect the OP knows.

Floor mounting is the final touch.  This is typically done with spikes.  Spikes allow for effective coupling between the speaker and the floor and help to improve the clarity (not level!) of the bass, among other things.  When placed at the corners of a stand or speaker they facilitate even distribution of vibrational energy, allowing it to dissipate from the cabinet into the ground.  This "purging" of vibrations helps to control resonances that could otherwise interfere with sound clarity. Rubber pads would be better than nothing if spikes are unacceptable, e.g. the speakers are to be mounted on a nice polished wooden floor.  Stainless steel is the preferred material for metal spikes.

Lastly, great sounding hi-fi is not about volume, it's about sound quality.  Many listeners with loud systems need to have them loud to make their system produce some of the sounds they expect or wish to hear but these may be produced at the expense of excessive sound levels in the other frequencies.  A high-quality system can sound excellent at moderate sound levels because all the right sounds are being produced, e.g. just like listening to an accoustic player or band - natural sounds, no amplification necessary.

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Prubangboy said:

As a former audiophile sucker, you'd have to be a bat to notice the so-called sound vibrations. 

 

Helpful hint: put mouse pads under the speakers to minimize vibrations. If you absolutely feel the need.

 

You can also get little cones to elevate the speakers so that air can pass beneath them to make the bass sound "tighter". This too is imaginary.

 

I did a blind test of sterling silver speaker wires and lamp cord from the hardware store. The lamp cord won by a mile.

 

I agree that many so-called audiophiles are a little or a lot crazy.

I have all digital from the source including digital input in the active speakers. So at least I don't have to worry about cables. And yes, some audiophiles are so crazy that they even want gold plated digital connectors.

 

But vibrations are real. And speaker stands like from my original picture resonate in a easily hearable frequency - except if they are filled with sand.

 

I follow expert advice if the experts can also measure what they pretend to hear. And I don't care about all those who hear things which are not measurable.

My favorite expert Amir runs this forum with lots of interesting information.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php

 

 

 

[IsaanT]

3 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

 

I agree that many so-called audiophiles are a little or a lot crazy.

I have all digital from the source including digital input in the active speakers. So at least I don't have to worry about cables. And yes, some audiophiles are so crazy that they even want gold plated digital connectors.

 

But vibrations are real. And speaker stands like from my original picture resonate in a easily hearable frequency - except if they are filled with sand.

 

I follow expert advice if the experts can also measure what they pretend to hear. And I don't care about all those who hear things which are not measurable.

My favorite expert Amir runs this forum with lots of interesting information.

https://www.audiosciencereview.com/forum/index.php

 

 

 

It's when people produce gold-plated terminals on Toslink (optical) cables that I smell snake oil...

[IsaanT]

17 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

I follow expert advice if the experts can also measure what they pretend to hear. And I don't care about all those who hear things which are not measurable.

 

I understand your sentiment, in principle.  I, too, had a long and happy career in IT and am typically very logical.

However, I found water on my land here in Thailand using a pair of bent sticks.  The well digger told me it was a very strong water supply so we fitted a 1500w solar pump and had it running all day for weeks in April (dry season - lowest water table levels) to fill my new pond.  Nobody can explain water divining scientifically but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.  😉 

[OneMoreFarang]

5 minutes ago, IsaanT said:

It's when people produce gold-plated terminals on Toslink (optical) cables that I smell snake oil...

I guess they should be diamond crusted or something like that... 

[OneMoreFarang]

Just now, IsaanT said:

I understand your sentiment, in principle.  I, too, had a long and happy career in IT and am typically very logical.

However, I found water on my land here in Thailand using a pair of bent sticks.  The well digger told me it was a very strong water supply so we fitted a 1500w pump and had it running all day for weeks earlier this year to fill my new pond.  Nobody can explain water divining scientifically but that doesn't mean it doesn't work.  😉 

 

Let's say I am open to the concept that there are lots of things which we don't know. 

 

But there are also lots of things which we know and which we can measure. If some idiots use super-size braided power cables for a meter between the socket in the wall and the amp power input, then that is just stupid. 

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

1 hour ago, Will B Good said:

 

 

 

I know I'll be shot down for this....but........ Apple airpods pro 3 are due out soon.

 

 

Those, set to noise cancelling, will be mind blowingly good.

 

 

 

Can you feel them?

 

 

[Will B Good]

Just now, OneMoreFarang said:

Can you feel them?

 

 

 

 

YES.

 

Down three flights and four doors along.......looking for my 3D printed Glock....5555

[OneMoreFarang]

49 minutes ago, IsaanT said:

I've got a circa £1,000 external power supply for my DAC (Digital Analogue Converter).

You paid too much, way too much!

A decent power supply is a good idea. But for the little power which a DAC needs, it is relatively simple to build them.

 

Apart from above, the rest of your post makes sense. 

[IsaanT]

24 minutes ago, OneMoreFarang said:

You paid too much, way too much!

A decent power supply is a good idea. But for the little power which a DAC needs, it is relatively simple to build them.

I expect you're right - the packaging alone probably cost 5% of the total to design and produce... 😄

However, I don't have the ability to design and build something myself so the sound improvement is worth every penny to me as all these incremental gains add up.

[OneMoreFarang]

A little update.

In the past I bought aluminium profiles from a company in Bangkok. 

I contacted them again and asked them if they can produce custom made plates with holes. They confirmed they do that with up to 10mm thick aluminium plates.

So now I have to make some drawings and then I can order my custom-made plates to get exactly what I want.

 

They manufacture mostly profiles like these which can be used for lots of things.

 

[mogandave]

I know you are asking about stands, but have you considered wall brackets?

[OneMoreFarang]

Just now, mogandave said:

I know you are asking about stands, but have you considered wall brackets?

Absolutely no!

 

For best sound quality speakers should be away from walls, depending on who you ask about a meter or more.

And stands should have "little surface". I.e. bricks might be very stable, but having a pile of bricks under the speakers is not a good idea.

 

This is an example about a good speaker placement.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sometimewoodworker]

4 hours ago, mogandave said:

I know you are asking about stands, but have you considered wall brackets?

Depending on your requirements they can be effective, these are mine and with the Apple sound shaping function well, I have 3 stereo pairs one set of HomePods two sets of HomePod minis. That reminds me, I must get round to making stands for the HomePod minis.

[sharksy]

Late reply, but this small upmarket area has a few highend systems, maybe they can help?

https://www.fazwaz.com/overview/thailand/bangkok/suan-luang/suan-luang/the-nine-center-rama-9

 

[OneMoreFarang]

46 minutes ago, sharksy said:

Late reply, but this small upmarket area has a few highend systems, maybe they can help?

https://www.fazwaz.com/overview/thailand/bangkok/suan-luang/suan-luang/the-nine-center-rama-9

 

Thanks

 

Maybe a month to two ago I built my stands myself from 3030 aluminium profiles. 

I like them. They look good for my taste, and they will probably last at least 100 years.

I also made a TV stand from similar material.