Today's high fidelity audio systems commonly employ bookshelf satellite speakers and separate woofer/sub-woofer components. In spite of the name, it is difficult to get optimal performance from a bookshelf speaker in a bookshelf! When high compliance drivers get into full excursion, they want to move the cabinet back and forth too. The effect of the cabinet being in symphony with the speaker is present, albeit subdued, at lower listening levels. The result is a confused audio image, one that is muddy, blurred and seems poorly defined in space. The subtle cues that provide your ears with a pristine stereo image are damaged by these resonant events. The first solution is to get these speakers out of their bookshelves and away from the walls.

The final solution is to place them on a solid foundation, one that is acoustically dead. The SKYLAN Speaker Stand provides a solid foundation for your speakers, one that will not resonate with the cabinet, but contribute to its acoustical deadness instead. Every feature of its design contributes to support for your speakers, support that goes beyond that of a mere speaker stand.  It restores the magic to your sound.

SKYLAN stands bring your sound closer to perfection by providing a foundation that is designed for a speaker.

Important SKYLAN features:

Centre of Gravity

SKYLAN stands keep things in balance. The centre of gravity of most cabinets is to the front of the centreline due to the weight of the drivers. We pre-compensate for this by centring our columns toward the rear of the base plate.

This places support for the speaker where it should be: Along the centre of gravity. (Centre of gravity runs through the centre of the base.)

Pointed feet

Carpets are for comfort. They are soft, often spongy under our feet. The carpet usually rests on an underlay that further isolates us from the sub-floor. This is very good for your feet but NOT for your stands. The SKYLAN Stand, to be most effective, must couple with the sub-floor. Our stands ship with slim-shank pointed feet. They are designed to penetrate right through to the sub-floor. The actual contact area is minimal, (a combined 1/8" overall contact area avoids resonance effects).

Coupling with a solid unyielding surface is a minimal, essential requirement for good reproduction.

Rounded corners

The corners on all SKYLAN products are rounded. We insist on rounding the corners for several reasons.

• More aesthetic appeal

• Warmer in a room with the rest of your furniture

• Approachable - the stand actually looks smaller than it is

• Less corner damage over time

• Kind to your toes and child friendly

The Threaded Centre Rod

SKYLAN's unique design employs a threaded rod that runs down the centre of the stand and mates with top and bottom plates.  The rod serves more than the obvious purpose of holding the stand together.  It has another purpose as a transmission line. This transmission line takes vibrations from the top plate down to the bottom plate. The mass load (usually sand) surrounds the rod and absorbs this energy, damping vibration down its length.

Mass-loading

You can Mass-load SKYLAN speaker stands the same way you mass-load some high-end speakers. By filling an internal cavity with a Mass-Loading Medium you dampen vibrations on the cabinet's surface. It also adds weight to the stand improving coupling to the supporting surface.

SKYLAN stands allow the entire column to be mass-loaded.

You fill the column with a dry MEDIUM. The medium used most commonly is sand. Hygienic Play Sand is available at most home and garden stores. Intended for filling children's sandboxes, it is inexpensive and readily available.

Clay is an alternative medium. Montmorillonite and other similar materials are composed of hardened clay balls and sold as kitty litter.