Speaker Stand Height And Recommendations For Spendor SP100 Speakers

Here is an old A'Gon ad that you can caculate the dimensions from.

Seems about right as I listened to S100's with SA stands and the stands was approx. 2" taller than some albums leaning against one of them.

DeKay

Harbeth 40.2 owner here. My experience is that open-topped stands are better than ones with a plate, and my preference runs to wood stands rather than metal. I went with custom stands from a local woodworker because everything commercial placed the Harbeth tweeter too high for my listening position. I’m aware that the Spendor tweeter is in the "mid" position, but allowing for that I still think you should aim to have it close to ear-height.

Other considerations: are you going to use something like Herbie’s footers or Isoacoustics Gaias on the feet of the stand? What kind of interface will you use between the bottom of the speaker and the plate/tops of the legs. I ended up using cork pads, but there are many options. Factor in all these, feet/interface etc., into your height considerations.

Dimensions: I’m guessing SA expect a slight overhang on all four sides; more elegant I suppose than having the speaker smaller than the plate it’s sitting on.

I just went through this with my Wharfedale Lintons. In my case I needed low stands to match my reclined seating. The tweeter should be at ear level or as close as possible. Do whatever it takes to get that dimension right. There are a large number of custom speaker stands on Amazon but they are custom made and shipped from China. I ended up with the Warfedale stands but they would be too low for most people. I also have a pair of Pangea stands that are very sturdy. 

Look at Atacama, they have all kinds of stands. I have three pair of their stands, great quality, made in UK. If I could find stands for my unconventional sized tannoy eatons, then you should be succesful in finding stands for the spendors, the answer is Atacama. 

I owned SP100's in the late '90's for about 7 years and just bought a used pair again one month ago. I called Sound Anchor about the height and they said 16" inches for their stands, but I find 17.5 better for me. It will depend of course on the height of your listening chair, but that said, I don't find them to be really picky about the height. I do like to have the midrange driver around ear height.  

Owned SP-100s years ago and ran them with Sound Anchor stands—do not remember the height but did not try to elevate the tweeter to ear height (too high) but rather if I recall correctly my ears were roughly between the mid and tweet. Great speakers—had that midrange realism that is so important. If I had them today I would go with the thin steel open stands—they look nicer and present a less enormous visual for such large box speakers.

If you don’t want to change stands, use one or more paving slabs to increase relative tweeter height and provide stability or add taller feet to chair to decrease relative tweeter height. (SP2/2 owner)

I would also say to the OP that I think from what I’ve seen that Spendor does not endorse Sound Anchors and seems to prefer lighter, open architecture steel stands, although I’m sure that wood would work well too, like the aftermarket ones that are made for the large Harbeth 40’s.

I’m doing a hybrid solution, with 11" cherry wood stands made for me by Timbernation (solid top and bottom, (4) 2" pillars) sitting atop a Starsound SP100 support that I used for a dozen years underneath large floorstanders. They are so effective at draining vibrational energy and making speakers perform better that I didn’t want to give them up. The new stands are arriving on Wednesday. I’m looking forward to trying it all out.

I’m thinking differently than they do about stands, but here’s a link to what they make to support the classics, which are basically very much the same as the SP100.

Spendor Classic Speaker Stands (Pair) - Analogue Seduction

That is incorrect info about Sound Anchor. I rep for them in the US and they can be made to any height you want. You just need to tell them what height you want and what plate size you’d prefer (out of the three of four plate sizes they have). Then you can get the price and you order them from a dealer and you are all set.

Brad

Lone Mountain Audio

Excuse me, what is incorrect information lonemountain? If you're speaking about my earlier post on this thread. I got the 16" height spec from the horse's mouth over the phone two weeks ago. I never asked or said here that they couldn't be made in other sizes. For the price you're charging they should be made in other colors too!

I owned a set of them with my first pair of SP100's. Not that impressed.

Everyone,

Much appreciated for your comments.

Spoke to Sound Anchors again today and I used the term Top Plate incorrectly in my initial Post. If you look at the Website it is 4 Rectangular Bars and not a Plate. I also had the Dimension wrong so here are the correct Dimensions for the Spendor SP100; 16" High and the Speaker Platform is 14" Wide and 16.5" Deep. Sound Anchors was pretty clear on these Dimensions via a conversation today.

I also received information from a member of the Spendor Group informing me that the Original Sound Anchor Stand was 14" High. Therefore, the current Sound Anchor offering appears very reasonable.

@dekay You were right on the money with your Post

Memory is certainly fleeting but I recall with my first SP100's it was common to tilt the Stands slightly utilizing the front Spikes or Footers just slightly up and more than Level. I also recall faintly utilizing a butt ended Laser Pointer and holding it in proximity to the Speaker Tweeter to align for the Sitting Ear Height that is marked with Blue Painters Tape on the opposite wall.

Regarding some of your comments;

@twoleftears I owned Harbeth 40.1's after my first set of SP100's and they were on Skylan Stands. I utilize Spiked Adjustable Footers and I also like to use Herbies Big Fat Dots between the Stand Platform & Speaker Bottom. I really like the Herbies since they are nonmarring and they also have somewhat of a slip resistance along with their built in properties. 

@audioguy85 Thank You for your tip to look at Atacama. I did review them initially and I will also need to Contact them to see if it is feasible since I reside in the US.

 @roxy54 I would really appreciate it if you could contact me with some details about your Timbernation Project. There is one style that caught my eye on Timbernation since it is a similar style to Sound Anchors with the Base extending past the Platform Pillars. Since I am in California I need the extra width on the Base for Stability and my Second Level Plywood Flooring loves either the Sound Anchor type and or the Skylan type. I have looked at the Spendor Classic Stand and that type would not fly here whatsover. I also spoke to Skylan today and he did not seem interested in making some for me since he has his Bases & Tops made elsewhere now and he has not made a set for the SP100 in quite some time. 

djohn,

Skylan was the name that I couldn’t recall, so I didn’t mention them. When I was deciding what to do, I called them several weeks ago and he was cordial and seemed to have no problem making them if I wanted them, he even quoted a price of approximately$750. I was originally seriously considering metal stands that Starsound Technologies was going to make for me, but in the end the price was going to be beyond what I could afford, although knowing their products, I’m sure that it would be worth it.

I know the stands that you are referring to on the Timber nation site with the extended woob at the base, like an "H", and that’s what I would choose if I wasn’t doing what I described earlier. I got mine in cherry because it has what my new SP 100’s are. My last ones were black ash. I think the price is ridiculously reasonable in comparison to other options.

@roxy54 Correct that I like the H Style on the Timbernation Site.