Speaker Stands

Speaker stands give a standmount speaker a rigid base at the right height, and ours run from universal Atacama, Solidsteel, Triangle and Blok designs to stands made for one specific model. You'll also find centre channel stands, angled desktop stands and floor stands for wireless speakers. If your bookshelf speakers currently live on a sideboard, this is where to start.

Universal stands or ones made for your speaker

A dedicated stand is designed around one model's footprint, weight and height. Bowers & Wilkins makes the FS-805 D5 for the 805 D5, the FS-700 S3 and FS-600 S3 for the stand-mount speakers in those series, and the FS-M1 for the compact M-1. Triangle's S08 is built for the Duetto 40th with a locking system that holds the speaker in place, and Pylon's Jade 10 stands set the column at a 2° angle for a slight rake. Wharfedale makes matched stands for its AURA and EVO 5 speakers, and LEAK, Marten, Chario, Mission and Acoustic Energy do the same for theirs.

Universal stands suit almost everything else, and Atacama speaker stands make up the biggest share of them. The range covers the SLX series from SLX 300 to SLX 700, the bamboo Moseco 6 and Moseco XL, the HMS 2X and the NeXXus family. The Solidsteel SS comes in SS-5, SS-6 and SS-7 versions in black, white or raw finish. Triangle's S01, S02 and S05, Wharfedale's ST1 and ST3 and the Kanto SP32PL round out the universal choices.

Height, top plate and footprint

The usual aim is to put the tweeter close to your ear height when seated, so start by measuring that from the floor. Several stands come in more than one height: the Blok Axis in 500, 600 and 700mm and the Atacama NeXXus Essential in 600, 700 and 1000mm, while the Moseco 6 and HMS 2X are fixed at 600mm.

The top plate should suit the base of your speaker. The Atacama Audition has a 360 by 225mm top plate that reverses for speakers deeper than they are wide. The Triangle S05 carries an 18 by 29.5cm plate with a non-slip coating, rated for speakers up to 25kg, and offers a choice of adjustable steel spikes or rubber feet.

Mass loading and speaker stand filler

Many stands have hollow columns designed to be filled. Adding mass is intended to make the stand more inert, so it is less inclined to ring or move with the speaker. The Atacama NeXXus Pro Studio uses twin 76.2mm tubes that take up to 42.5kg of Atabite fill per pair, while the NeXXus HiFi Audio has a larger front tube for heavier loading. The Blok Axis has a mass-fillable column on a plywood base with steel spikes, and the Triangle S05 is fillable as well.

Centre, desktop and wireless stands

For home cinema, our centre channel stands include the Bowers & Wilkins FS-HTM D5 (made for the HTM81 D5 and HTM82 D5) and FS-HTM D4, plus the Triangle S08C, designed to keep the centre speaker clear of the screen. On a desk, Audioengine's DS1, DS1M, DS2 and DS2M raise the speakers off the desktop (the DS2M adds a 15° upward tilt), and you'll find them with our other desktop speaker stands.

Active speakers bring extra cables to hide. The Atacama NeXXus CM 700 is designed to take most standard power and interconnect cables inside its rear tube. Devialet's Tree and Treepod are made for the Phantom Ultimate, and Bluesound offers a floor stand for the Pulse M and Pulse FLEX.

Questions we get asked

What height should speaker stands be?

Measure from the floor to your ears in your usual seat, then subtract the height of the tweeter above the base of the speaker. The result is roughly the stand height to aim for.

Do stands make a difference to bookshelf speakers?

Stands are designed to do three things a shelf usually can't: raise the tweeter towards ear height, let you move the speaker away from walls and corners, and keep it on a rigid base rather than a hollow cabinet. How much that changes things depends on the speaker and the room.

Should I use spikes or rubber feet?

Spikes are designed to pierce carpet and couple the stand to the floor beneath. On timber, tiles or stone, rubber feet or a protective disc under each spike help protect the floor. Some stands, like the Triangle S05, come with both.

Choosing bookshelf speakers and a stand together makes it simpler to match height and footprint, and our hi-fi racks can keep the electronics tidy between them. Give the team a call or visit the Murarrie showroom to talk it through. Demos are by appointment, so call or message first.