Studio Monitor/Speaker Stands: DIY Project
I have long wanted a good pair of solid, heavy duty monitor stands.
Most 'speaker stands' on the market are not sufficiently robust. And I do not wish to desk-mount the monitors.
It dawned on me a week or two ago.... what if I considered non-studio alternatives ?
What type of furniture can comfortably take the weight ?
And I discovered a bar stool from IKEA ! The seating dimensions are favorable, and the load rating is most adequate (110kg)
But this thread is not a "...story about a guy who assembled flatpack furniture, then placed his monitors on top..."
That would be a little bit dull.
So I'm designing a mechanical platter system, in order to rotate the monitor's output direction. This is of particular benefit for my dual-use, being both a 'music maker' and a 'music listener'. Quite significantly different seating positions.
I also do not have a wood workshop, or any specialized tools. Actually, all that is required is a screwdriver and a large spade bit (to drill a single hole).
Here is the project documentation, as a PDF:
> >
Most 'speaker stands' on the market are not sufficiently robust. And I do not wish to desk-mount the monitors.
It dawned on me a week or two ago.... what if I considered non-studio alternatives ?
What type of furniture can comfortably take the weight ?
And I discovered a bar stool from IKEA ! The seating dimensions are favorable, and the load rating is most adequate (110kg)
But this thread is not a "...story about a guy who assembled flatpack furniture, then placed his monitors on top..."
That would be a little bit dull.
So I'm designing a mechanical platter system, in order to rotate the monitor's output direction. This is of particular benefit for my dual-use, being both a 'music maker' and a 'music listener'. Quite significantly different seating positions.
I also do not have a wood workshop, or any specialized tools. Actually, all that is required is a screwdriver and a large spade bit (to drill a single hole).
Here is the project documentation, as a PDF:
> >
Last edited by Proboscis on 11 May 2020, edited 1 time in total.
won't you get a pair of stands cheaper than that from a store ?
As mentioned, I'm looking for 'robust', and no speaker stands I have seen offer anything close to the stability of the stools. There is a consideration of them being as tip-proof as possible, when faced with mischievous pets, children and drunk dancing.
My set up is currently moved to my living room, so there is an aesthetic aspect also. I'm working on 'de-studioing' the vibe of the room, and working on a pleasing dual-purpose living space.
The legs will sit in rigid 'castor feet', which have multiple spikes on the underside, to lock in to the carpet. There is also close to no vibrations travelling into the stool (this is without even installing the bearing yet), thanks to the isolation pads. Further to that, when the bearing and platter are installed, there is only an effective vibration transfer vector of 150x150mm. Well actually a lot less, since the bearing has a large hole in the center
As for extra weight - why ? I haven't yet measured the tipping force required to topple them over (I plan to, and have equipment to measure), but I would guess it's at least 30kg.
Well spotted - and no, thats an error. thickness is 15mm
Because at high volumes that lightweight wooden stand will resonate in sympathy with the bass, coupling through the air not through the rubber. Being wood, it will not "ring" like metal but it may still colour the sound. I'd also worry about that metal bearing resonating at certain frequencies. It depends on your monitors and on the listening level.
Regardless of that some extra low-down weight would definitely help decrease the knockoverability.
Anyhow, good project. Go for it and report back!
Fair points, theoretically, but if 'air coupling' is likely to be an issue, then surely a larger surface area grounding would aid this, not hinder it. For a wooden frame being suspended between spikes and the bearing I wouldn't want it to exist in free space, rather to be absorbed by he ground (which is carpet over concrete).DaveyG wrote: ↑12 May 2020Because at high volumes that lightweight wooden stand will resonate in sympathy with the bass, coupling through the air not through the rubber. Being wood, it will not "ring" like metal but it may still colour the sound. I'd also worry about that metal bearing resonating at certain frequencies. It depends on your monitors and on the listening level.
Regardless of that some extra low-down weight would definitely help decrease the knockoverability.
Anyhow, good project. Go for it and report back!
And my room is not acoustically treated, so when volumes are high, there is a much bigger potential issue with room resonance, at two specific frequencies. I have completely re-arranged the room since I last tested resonating frequencies though, with some ideas in mind to address some problems, so it will be intriguing to see what my test results are when I run another test after I've set everything up.
So its been over three weeks, and I decided today to try and sort this out, for one side at least.
Some issues I encountered were drilling a massive 25mm pilot hole to assemble the whole bearing between the plates. ( my drill went flat), and also some screws that were too long. I will get more bits & pieces before the next one.
I thought I would measure the weight of my monitors. 11kg / 25lb each.
Thats some heavy-ass electronics !
>
Some issues I encountered were drilling a massive 25mm pilot hole to assemble the whole bearing between the plates. ( my drill went flat), and also some screws that were too long. I will get more bits & pieces before the next one.
I thought I would measure the weight of my monitors. 11kg / 25lb each.
Thats some heavy-ass electronics !
>
Its a challenge to find round pieces of timber, especially in the size I required. In my first post, I found a cutting board from a local chain store. But since then, I discovered a product from IKEA that was only 1cm less in diameter, and also of a timber type (and therefor color) that fit better with the stool.
Ironically, the "Snudda", an IKEA product, is sold as a Lazy Susan, which is what I set out to do.
> >
However I assume the bearing load on the product to be quite light, so I set about to completely disassembling the product. I only want the top platter, as an almost perfect diameter of timber. It is made from birch.
> >
I can use the two lower halves, and one of the bearing mechanisms, to make another Lazy Susan to place under an indoor house plant in the future.
Ironically, the "Snudda", an IKEA product, is sold as a Lazy Susan, which is what I set out to do.
> >
However I assume the bearing load on the product to be quite light, so I set about to completely disassembling the product. I only want the top platter, as an almost perfect diameter of timber. It is made from birch.
> >
I can use the two lower halves, and one of the bearing mechanisms, to make another Lazy Susan to place under an indoor house plant in the future.
I am coming back to this... I wonder how I might measure the resonance ?DaveyG wrote: ↑12 May 2020Because at high volumes that lightweight wooden stand will resonate in sympathy with the bass, coupling through the air not through the rubber. Being wood, it will not "ring" like metal but it may still colour the sound. I'd also worry about that metal bearing resonating at certain frequencies. It depends on your monitors and on the listening level.
I have a 'contact microphone' which I never use. It clips onto a surface to pick up the movement of whatever it's clipped to.
If I could affix that to a leg of a stool, try running a frequency sweep (and record it) and see where (or if) it's resonating, and compare it to the monitor on the stool (with the isopads), and again with the monitor straight on the stool top, I may see some differences ..... ,maybe not.
Is this an experiment in sound that people might like to see ? If so, now would be the time for me to consider it, before I convert the second stand.
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Great project! Keep us updated! I'm currently looking for a new studio monitor through the resource so I also will keep you posted what I get.
For just $75 more you could have been rocking these stands for the past 6 months:
https://output.com/products/stands
I love them, SUPER stable, never going to tip over even with my big JBLs on them.
https://output.com/products/stands
I love them, SUPER stable, never going to tip over even with my big JBLs on them.
Selig Audio, LLC
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