Recently I purchased the FOSI LC30 speaker/amplifier selector. It has really changed the way I “voice” my speakers, allowing me to A/B the speaker I am designing with two different crossovers (A & B) or A/B against an existing speaker that I can use as a reference.
However, I don’t currently have good places to listen to the speakers so I use my home-office. Below is a picture of the setup I used before CSS Detroit. To keep my speaker building privileges intact, I needed to put the kitchen island stools back in the kitchen.
I looked for some commercial stands but the reviews tended to be underwhelming. I figured I could build something more substantial while also customizing it to my house. I have a lot of scrap MDF for wainscotting the house, so built these much like I would wainscot a wall. I also have plenty of construction adhesive, wood glue and paint for the house.
Not counting the cost of MDF, glue or paint, these cost about $67 a pair. ($134 for all four stands.) Some of the costs could have easily been avoided (e.g., kitty litter and neoprene foam) but I was focused on making them sturdy and attractive. Construction screws ($10), Inside-corner moulding ($24), shoe moulding ($48), two 30-lb bags of Tidy Cat kitty litter ($18), 1/8-inch neoprene sponge foam ($22), heavy-duty 1-inch rubber feet ($12).
For comparison, Dayton Audio’s wood or steel stands are ~$110, weigh 28 lbs and have a capacity of 75-130lbs. The tall ones below are 32-inches and weigh 40 lbs, the shorter ones are 26 inches and weigh 45 lbs. I’m sure they can hold 200+ lbs.
LEFT: Stand 1 is a half-done tower speaker. Stand 2 is a kitchen stool plus two HiVi speaker boxes.
RIGHT: New DIY stands.
Base stand is a rectangle of MDF, glued with Loctite PL200 construction adhesive and attached with 1-3/4” construction screws. Pic below is building up the rectangular column and adding the equivalent of rails and stiles.
I flush-trimmed and then added a 3/4-inch roundover to eliminate sharp edges.
Added trim moulding. Inexpensive PVC inside-corner trim and shoe moulding from Lowes.
Somehow I did not get a picture of the top and base. Top is 3/4-inch MDF with a 3/4-inch roundover. Top is kept as small as possible. I measured several of my speakers and choose a size that such that a typical speaker would fit right on top or even hang over the edges of the stand about 1/2-inch. Bottom is two layers of 3/4-inch MDF with a 1-inch roundover. Top and bottom attached with construction adhesive and 4 construction screws. I didn’t weigh them before adding 15lbs of kitty litter to each they would have been 25lbs (tall, skinny) and 30lbs (short) without.
Cheap 1-inch furniture feat from Amazon (12 for $12)
Some 1/8-inch neoprene sponge foam for the top (12-inch x 54-inch roll for $22 on Amazon).
32-inch stand. 40 lbs ea.
26-inch stand. 45lbs ea.
Super heavy and solid. In comparison, the cheapy pine stands that I sometimes bring to events are only 15 lbs. How do you like the FOSI LC30 speaker/amplifier selector?
