[Orpheus]

i got some fancy metal 24" audiophile stands that cost a bunch of money. forgot the name though. anyway, they weigh a lot by themselves. so, i just left them empty, though everyone suggests to fill them. never had any problems, and never had the urge to fill them up. i also have a pair of custom stands that were made for my 300lb urei's... and soundanchor, the manufacturer, recommended i fill them up. sure........ and use a forklift to move them around right?....

whatever.

...there was also a thread here like a year ago describing the positive effects of aurios? or daruhma bearing stuff or whatever to be used under the feet of speakers. ...just thought they were really smoking something at the time, considering that would be the opposite of logic and what we're doing here in this thread. i tried to argue with them, but i gave up....

 

[AIM9x]

use potting soil... what better place to store it than inside a speaker stand? Then when you get tired of hi-fi, you can start a garden.

But seriously... just fill it with almost anything that has a decent weight. Potting soil might be a little too moist straight out of the bag and may rott your stands out, but some plain old dry dirt or crumbly animal droppings will even work. Just stick whatever you have or can find in there.

 

[soundboy]

Oh, I heard of the kitty litter alternative to sand. Not being a cat or pet owner, does it smell?

 

[Carbonman]

Quote:

Originally posted by soundboy Oh, I heard of the kitty litter alternative to sand. Not being a cat or pet owner, does it smell?

Only if it's been previously used. Sorry, couldn't resist.

Graham

 

[Carbonman]

Quote:

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

I think you can find it at the Richmond Home Despot, near Ikea. Give them a call and ask if they have any white quartz sand in stock. Aquarium supply stores will probably have it too.

Graham

 

[Melchior]

Regular white clay kitty litter is best if you can find it, it should be pretty easy to find, it also has no smell whatsoever. Most kitty litter does have anti-cat crap odor additives in it that give it a smell I find unpleasant. The stuff also has alot of clay dust, it wont hurt you but leaves a fine white dust over everything, so if you fill the stands with litter do it outside.

 

[daycart1]

Quote:

Originally posted by Melchior Regular white clay kitty litter is best if you can find it,

By "best" I guess you mean "cheapest".
But unless you get really high quality stuff, it will be dusty. And the high quality stuff isn't very dense.

"Best" in the audiophile sense is shot filled in with fine, dustfree sand.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Use the finest silver sand you can get your hands on. I'm fortunate to live next door to a beach so it's a simple case of a wheelbarrow and shovel to collect the sand.

Wherever you source your sand it's imperative that you rinse it over and over again with plenty of water to remove all traces of salt from it. Choose a good drying day and arm yourself with a large fine mesh seive, from your pile of sand scoop some into the seive and rinse through thoroughly.... once you are satisfied that all the salt has been rinsed away (you can tell this by dipping your finger in and tasting the sand) spread this rinsed sand out on a patio or pavement and let the sun dry it (won't take too long on a nice day) repeat this process until your pile of salty sand has been converted into salt free dry sand.

The finer the grain the better as it forms a more compact mass inside the stand. I'm also fortunate to have a company nearby that produces lead shot for shotgun cartridges and I add a few kilos of shot into the mix for greater weight / density.

Fill your stands about 90% full with the sand / shot mix (omit the shot if you cant source it) and if your stands loading hole is at the top pour in some car engine oil until it penetrates the sand, this can take a few days to fully saturate the sand but the process can be speeded up if you heat the oil in a pan before you pour it in. The oil does 2 things.... firstly it stops the sand resonating and, secondly, it prevents rust. You'll be AMAZED at how much oil you have to use to complete this process! (EDIT) it does 3 things, in fact, .... it adds serious weight

This really works but only add the oil after you've ascertained that the bottom of the stand (cavity) is waterproof... most good quality fillable stands will be.

Hope this has helped.

All the best.

Pinkie.

EDIT Just looked at those stands of yours..... you ain't gonna get a lot of sand and oil into them! Forget the wheelbarrow and shovel approach...... take an ice cream scoop to the beach and "scoop" 3 carrier bags full up.... that should do the job.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally posted by 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.

You should try the oil infill too Old Pa

 

[stuartr]

I'm with Pinky on the shot/sand mix. It really made a difference in my system (my stands were heavy, but they were ringing a bit with the music, when I filled them up, the music was not as bright, and the bass improved).
Anyway, I used fine lead shot and Silica sand (sandblasting sand).
One very very important thing.

WEAR A MASK!!!

Even for sandblasting sand, this is not beach sand, the dust will get in your lungs and do very bad things. I just used a traditional mask, but ideally you should use something with its own oxygen. This is even more important if you are using lead, as the dust from the lead shot is still a heavy metal. Lead is one of the most toxic substances on the planet, not far after mercury and the radioactive metals....you don't want to be breathing it in. Also, wash your hands and so forth, don't rub your eyes etc.

 

[PinkFloyd]

They should survive a "one off" silicone blast without a mask Stuart? As long as it's not a "daily" inhalation they should survive?

Pinkie

Quote:

Originally posted by stuartr I'm with Pinky on the shot/sand mix. It really made a difference in my system (my stands were heavy, but they were ringing a bit with the music, when I filled them up, the music was not as bright, and the bass improved). Anyway, I used fine lead shot and Silica sand (sandblasting sand). One very very important thing. WEAR A MASK!!! Even for sandblasting sand, this is not beach sand, the dust will get in your lungs and do very bad things. I just used a traditional mask, but ideally you should use something with its own oxygen. This is even more important if you are using lead, as the dust from the lead shot is still a heavy metal. Lead is one of the most toxic substances on the planet, not far after mercury and the radioactive metals....you don't want to be breathing it in. Also, wash your hands and so forth, don't rub your eyes etc.

 

[stuartr]

Yeah, that's what I thought too. I started off without a mask, and just my fan going. Then I started coughing and sneezing incessantly. I went and bought a disposable mask. My throat still hurt for several days after. You'll survive, but it's more comfortable with a mask.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally posted by stuartr Yeah, that's what I thought too. I started off without a mask, and just my fan going. Then I started coughing and sneezing incessantly. I went and bought a disposable mask. My throat still hurt for several days after. You'll survive, but it's more comfortable with a mask.

Was it an acoustically treated mask?

 

[Melchior]

Heh, yeah, kitty litter isnt something I'd use to fill speaker stands with, it just isnt very dense. But someone asked about the smell, and as far as smell goes untreated white clay is about as oderless as you get.

 

[Budgie]

As mentioned earlier- kitty litter is designed to suck up moisture, Not really what you want inside a steel container.