[soundboy]

I have a pair of 24" Standesign BB-75 speaker stands that I use with my Energy C-1 bookshelf speakers. They are made of steel and fillable with sand. Now, what kind of sand should be used? I went to my local home improvement center and there are several kinds. Who do you you use? Thanks in advance.

This is a pic of how the stands look; those are not my speakers.

 

[Old Pa]

In my Sanus component rack, I used graphited #5 steel shot of the type used to reload shotshells (see "reloading supplies" in your yellow pages). #5 shot is coarse enough to eliminate most leakage problems. I used an electric orbital sander with cardboard in place of sandpaper to vibrate the stand to settle the shot fill and fully pack the cavity. Graphited steel shot is fairly dense and serves to further dampen vibration by its motion against itself. Bechrest shooters rest their rifles on sandbags filled with special sand which is finer and denser than construction or landscaping sand. Both of these fill materials are more expensive than common sand, but do the damping job better.

EDIT: I intentionally avoided lead shot as lead is toxic and I did not want the spaniels (or anyone else) at risk for ingesting leaked lead shot.

 

[jefemeister]

I use only the finest sand from the pink beaches of Bermuda

[edit: add] It turns out you actually could if you wanted to:
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewIt...product=CS0901

 

[Old Pa]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister I use only the finest sand from the pink beaches of Bermuda

Let's go get some now! Thirsty work, this collecting sand on Bermuda!

 

[john_jcb]

I would use the sand that is pure white. You do not want any coloration at all in your system. I have found that the sand that has a tinge of gray lacks the transparency of the pure white variety. You also want to bake it then let it cool for at least 48 hours. Any residual moisture seriously degrades the dampening qualities.

 

[hempcamp]

[sarcasm]
I have found that the best sand is chemically treated sand imported from the beaches of the Caspian Sea ($1200 per scoop). You do not want the black sand of Hawaii variety, which is about $100 less, because it detracts from the overall timbre of the sound and takes all of the warmth away. Play sand is the worst and cheapest, for it is known to cause ultrasonic pops that are detected by people with ESP.
[end sarcasm]

Seriously, dude, just get some purified, kiln-dried, white, garden-variety sand. Or order a few bags of cheap lead shot from Cabelas.

--Chris

 

[DarkAngel]

I will give you little tip if you want to do it the easy way. You can get all kinds of sand at home improvement center, but it comes in plastic bag and it will be damp when you open. Must air dry sand for several days to use for stands etc. plus sand is very fine and can leak through small cracks.

Go to grocery store and get cheapest 20lb bag of kitty litter for a couple bucks. Will be perfectly dry and sterile and ready for immediate use............also will not leak through cracks.

 

[timoteus]

I would just get the sterilized, kiln-dried, graded sand that is used for sandblasting. About $5 - $8 for a 100 lb. bag in my area. It comes in #16, #20, #30 etc. grades. The bigger the number, the finer the sand. Get the fine sand and pour into the stands through a funnel and you're done. Sand is 90% self compacting.

 

[GlowWorm]

Quote:

Originally posted by jefemeister I use only the finest sand from the pink beaches of Bermuda

Oh yea! I got my sand from a couple of sand bags I snatched off a road sign they were holding down. Thats about as close to a beach as your going to get here in Pittsburgh, my friend.

 

[D-EJ915]

You might also be able to fill it with iron filings, or lead shot, I dunno, it may be interesting to see if there's a difference (kinda messy test though)...

 

[Carbonman]

I've built my own welded steel stands for a pair of monitors that I used to own. I became quite anal about what to fill them with, because I welded the columns closed after they were filled. I've also filled the cavities in the bottoms of my current speakers with sand as well.
Here's my accumulated wisdom/experience with mass loading and damping fillers:
Don't use lead. It's much more toxic than you think.
Steel shot works, but is expensive.
Kitty litter tends to absorb moisture from the air. In a humid climate, you can end up with rust inside the tubes.
Concrete mix. Even dry, it tends to be corrosive. Not really a good idea. Same sort of issues as kitty litter, too.
Playground sand works great. Make sure the bag is nice and dry and at room temperature. It's cheap, around $3-5 for 40 lbs. It is dusty though. Use it where you have good ventilation, prefferably outdoors. Remember that the dust is abrasive. carefully vacuum spilled and loose sand/dust up and wipe everything with a damp cloth after filling.
Quartz (white) sand, like is used to fill ashtrays in upscale hotels. Harder to find, but doesn't have the dust that ordinary sand has.
Whatever you use, tap the tubes as you fill them and let them sit for a day. Tap them every time you walk by to compact the filler a little more. Top them up and plug fill holes firmly. Taping the plugs in place is generally a good idea.
Hope this is of some sort of use.

Graham

 

[mkyy]

Carbonman, where in vancouver can you find white sand? and how much is it?

 

[daycart1]

I went to Lowe's and those dirtbags didn't have anything. Over at Home Depot I got some nice, dry, clean sand. No shot though.

Not enough hunting types around here to support a shot store....

The best thing would be to use shot and then pour in fine sand to fill the little gaps between the pellets.

 

[soundboy]

Thanks to everyone for their ideas, suggestions, and opinions.

I guess I will have to drop by my local Home Depot or Orchards (they have the actual sand in a plastic container to show what you're buying). Lowe's....there's only one or two around here and I don't want to drive 20 miles for a bag of sand.

I don't think I want to deal with shots.

There's that playground at the end of the block. Hmmmm....

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Actually, I don't think DarkAngel was kidding about that kitty litter...