How do i level speaker stands.


I have purchased a pair of monitor speakers; Reference 3A MM De CAPO. Haven't purchased stands let. When planing set up I found that the flooring is not level. Using a piece of weighted plywood (approximate foot print of speaker stands) and a bubble level, I will need to be able to raise or lower all four corners by as much as 1" (in reference to other speaker so both would be at the same height). Should i do this with just the stands or with a leveled platform that the stand will set on? It seems most of the spikes on stands don't have that much adjustment or if extented that far appear unstable.
Flooring is in an upper floor apartment. Its some kind of lightweight concrete poured over wood subfloor; 3/8" pad and carpet ontop?
Ot
otto_cm
There are several excellent stands available that should be able to accomodate your needs. I especially think the Epos ST12 (www.epos-acoustics.com)is an excellent stand, and it is also fairly inexpensive.
Otto: You have the same type of floor that we do (seems to be made of Plasterall). This material cracks when heavy weight is applied to spikes on it (also from just general use). Keeping this in mind, make tiny holes in the carpet (for the spikes) once you find where their optimal placement will be and allow only the weight of the speakers and stands to help make the contact. If you are lucky there will be no cracks in these areas. Chances are good that you may not require longer (than the norm) spikes as we are talking about four tiny areas (per speaker) which will be affected. The standard spikes on Target HR series stands are long enough for my application. I @ one time chiseled out the Pasterall and nailed in a couple of 2" x 12" Pine sections , between the floor joists, but did not care for the sound and ended up refilling the area with more plaster. If you can pull back the carpeting in your speaker location, you could also just relevel the area yourself with a small amout of floor compound (I would give it a week or two to cure properly). Our sub floor needs repair again (only the speaker area concerns me) as it it has multiple cracks once more from recent earthquakes. I may try something else this time (like concrete) as this was used @ the front entrance quite a few years ago and is still intact. The added weight is not really a concern as I/we would only be patching a small area (maybe 12" x 18" x 4"). We rent, but I do not involve the landlord in such matters. LOL.
Thanks for the info. My speakers base is 11" 13". Epos stand won't work.
DeKay
I'll check on the target stands. But what are normal size spikes? The carpet and pad are not the problem is't the flooring underneath. I would have to have spikes with a minimum of 1" of adjustment. I looked at stands at 3 stores last nignt the best had about 1/2" of adjustment.
Otto, most speaker stands have female threads that accept the male spikes. Why not find some longer male bolts that will fit in the female threads of the stand, and then grind them down to the various heights you need to end up with level stands? Cheap and easy enough to do, Jeff
Hi Otto: I did not realize that the Target spikes were so long. They have a "usable" height of 1 3/8" and are 1 5/8" in length. These are older models which were special ordered by the previous owner for Proac's, so yes, double check the length. I would assume that just the top plates are custom, but better safe than sorry. They look to be the same thread as the bottom spikes on my Studio Tech equipment rack and the ST spikes are @ least 2" in length. Maybe go with the best stand if longer after market spikes are available for a reasonable price? As Jeff mentions they should not be difficult to make yourself. They could even be made with just a simple hand file if power tools are not available.