In my experience, Douglas_Schroeder is correct about the benefits of speaker elevation alone, irrespective of the pedigree of the stand. Although the stand design can add performance, it need not be expensive.
I discovered this first-hand, when I compared two well-known vibration products at $400 and $1100. During my evaluation of each, a person pointed out to me what Doug posted above: much of what I was liking was attributable to the roughly 3” height increase of the speakers. So to test that, I placed 16” square concrete pavers with an oak plywood square on top to equal the height of the purchased products. The SQ improvement was shockingly close for almost no money. Then I tested the stack with Herbie’s Big Fat Dots added (about $100, IIRC). That set up was better in SQ to my ear, providing what sounded like deeper and more solid bass. My situation is mine. Others might reach different conclusions. My floor is suspended with carpet. Not concrete.
Then after a new chair raised my ears by over 3”, I became very aware that my sound image was undesirably low, so I built custom adjustable platforms for the Herbies/speakers that allowed me to experiment with height (between 4 and almost 9 inches off the floor) and assure plumb/level—which I find absolutely critical to achieving exact set-up symmetry. For insanely good imaging.
But now I am onto evaluating springs. And, thus far, inexpensive springs from Amazon are a significant improvement over the Herbie’s on my platforms. Next, going to evaluate some higher performing springs and make a platform of greater mass and rigidity.
