I have a pair of Totem 1 Signature speakers with a pair of stands which were supposedly designed to be used with them. The top plate of the stand is exactly the same as the planform of the speakers so looks like that’s most likely.
Now these speaker stands are *kin’ heavy and probably have a resonant frequency of a dog whistle. The speakers are fairly diminutive and plonking them on top of the stands isn’t an option because at some point they’ll no doubt get knocked off. So safety is important but also the acoustic sound quality aspect also, obviously.
Therefore, I’m looking for something to attach the speakers to the stands but not blu tack which contains oils and can, when it drys out, apparently tear lumps off the bottom of the speakers veneer. Some of the rubber pads can over time settle to a nasty tar like substance which is a swine to get off so don’t want to go there either. Any recommendations for attachment that satisfy both the safety and acoustic aspects of attaching the speakers without them degrading and causing issues down the line. In fairness they are more likely to be slid off the stand than toppled off it, if that makes sense so anything that resists sliding on the stand is better than nothing.
It got me thinking though. What is the ideal for a speaker/stand combination. Is it to make the speaker and stand one rigidly coupled single entity or to totally decouple the speaker from the stand (accepting that neither is in reality physically possible). In the former case some stands used to be bolted to the speaker and in the latter case the speaker was decoupled from the stand using upward facing spikes so I find it somewhat confusing what the objective is. My gut feeling it that because the speakers are small then a rigid coupling would be the preferred option to enhance bass response but these stands are so big, heavy and stiff will that even make a difference? I’m not sure if they are filled (5 large diameter circular posts each) but if I need to move them around I may as well order a surgical truss at the same time as I order the coupling solution.
Not heard of Patafix. Might we worth trying that on a test piece to see how it performs. Looks like they have a heavy duty version too. Have you used it?
I use Herbie’s Fat Dots as an interface between speaker and stand, they won’t leave any residue and provide a good grip. They are offered in various sizes.
Use silicone earthquake pads. If you get the ones rated for M7 quakes for your speaker weight then even a serious knock and a tip won’t dislodge them. And yet if you lift the speakers slowly they are easily removed.
Another vote for Herbie’s Fat Dots, won’t mar the speakers or stands, won’t let them slide either, and there’s a good chance that performance will also be improved. Fairly priced too.
Blu Tack should be fine. The key is to use really small blobs to keep the contact area small, and when you remove the speakers to twist them rather than try to pull them straight off. PMC supply Blu Tack with their stands and my speakers have come to no harm, and nor will they if they are decently made, which your Totems very much are.
If you live in a country with earthquakes you can buy them in a hardware store in the aisle that has all the disaster preparedness stuff for your home. Otherwise Amazon.
Not sure about brand names as I’ve never paid attention. They come in all shapes and sizes for stopping small things flying off shelves to holding down 500Kg book cases. I’m confident if you search you will find (use keywords like “earthquake pads”). While tack will provide some inertia it won’t hold a 15Kg speaker down if a stand is wobbled off half it’s feet by a dog or child in the same way silicone will. The cost is about the same though. i.e. peanuts
In the old days my Kan stands had spikes on the top for the speakers to sit on, which ensured that they were well-coupled to the stand and didn’t rock. Atacama make some silicone type stick-on pucks which you could try, although I’m not entirely convinced that anything even slightly compliant such as this or Blu tack is quite the right thing for best performance. I had heard of one dealer who was a Kan fanatic using them with Sara stands, which he believed gave superior performance, and placing small metal nuts between the speakers and stands which he was adamant gave the best sound. Of course if you want something that will prevent the speakers from being accidentally knocked off the stands then this won’t be an option. What about thin double sided sticky tape of some description - just a thought.
I had small screws into the bottom of my kans/Saras/Isobariks so the spikes would then rest in the cross head. Best option but not for some I fear, but you could put a hardened plastic stick on foot on the bottom of the speaker to sit on the spikes as an alternative.
Quite easy actually - put the speaker on once and you then have the pin holes for the centre of the screw. Adjust screw depths until speakers are rock solid
Reckon spikes are the best way to isolate the speakers from the stands but it would frighten me so much as there’s not a whole lot holding the speakers in place
Personally I’m a BlueTac fan or something like it so the speakers have a bit of grab onto the stand top plates
I used Kans with top plate spikes for years without issue. I think unless the stands are prone to being knocked, you are very clumsy(!) or you have pets or children around then there shouldn’t really be any problem. Of course the Kans were hard up against the wall which made knocking them off the stands far less likely. With speakers out in free space and the stands more exposed I suppose there’s a greater risk of an accident. One of the reasons why I would never opt for such speakers. Having a pair of speakers several feet out into our lounge is something I just wouldn’t tolerate, however good they were.
Initially I used Blu-Tack to secure my speakers to the top plates of my Custom Design FS104 stands, but this was unsatisfactory. The Blu-Tack tended to flatten and spread, and because the top plate was slightly uneven, it would touch the base of the speakers in places.
My solution was to use Black Tack, and embed a single Atabite (approx 2 mm. thick and 4 mm. in diameter) in each blob. This ensured just enough clearance, and prevented the spreading, with no loss of stability.
I was looking at thos IsoAcoustic pucks. It wasn’t clear to me that they also worked as suction devices but looking at them again they do at least have a concave upper surface so that would suggest they do. Is that the case? Is the lower surface also concave? That sounds like it could be a good solution.
