VTI Speaker Stands

Part of why I bought this brand and model is that the speakers are fairly large and heavy and deep for book shelf speakers. This brand and model (including the 29 inch height) has a wide and deep) top plate that most others do not have. This brand and model also has a naturally heavy base plate made of cast iron. What VTI could do to improve this model and this series is: 1. Make the base plate thicker (perhaps twice as thick) and solid instead of mostly a shell like it is for extra material = more weight where it is needed at the bottom. 2. Use a mounting template to position the VTI emblems consistently from one stand to the next as they are not even close or straight. 3. Substantially increase the diameter of the holes in the end caps of the legs for pouring lead shot or sand into as they are ridiculously small. You would need a small diameter funnel or straw and lots of time. Here is an idea for VTI for safety concerns: My wife and I have two very young boys who love to sit and play near these stands and the speakers on top of them. I drilled a rectangular pattern of four 7/32 inch diameter holes in each top plate using a carbide or cobalt drill bit as that is the type needed. Before assembling the stands, I turned the speakers upside down and placed the top plates on the bottoms of the speakers where I wanted them, marked the centers of the holes, and drilled four pilot holes into the bottom of each speaker. I then assembled the stands, turned the each one upside down, placed it on top of the bottom of each speaker, and used pan head sheet metal screws to securely fasten each speaker to each stand. I then also inserted a small screw eye into the bottom of each speaker and used several strands of heavy string back and forth to a second large screw eye that got screwed into a stud in the wall as close to each speaker so that neither speaker nor the stand could fall or sway more than one inch. Now my children cannot topple the speakers off of the stands or topple the stands themselves and are fully safe to play and roam around."..."  Read more

These stands, as others have pointed out, are sturdy enough on initial construction, with a few minor concerns. Which are: the slightly shifting top plate (something which could have been remedied with one more bolt), the ability to actually fill these w/ damping material, and the color (minor). I am using a rather large Dynaudio speaker on these, and they seem to rest quite comfortably atop of these stands, making them good for larger speakers. They also look half-way attractive, too, with the matte silver finish (others have noted the color-to my eye, it's probably more a matter of taste, and I would not be off put by this. They do not look far off in color from what I recollect the silver 805 stands to look like). On a side note, I do not understand why it's so hard to find a relatively sturdy and attractive speaker (and/or) audio stand in USA, while they seem to abound in other countries. I would have ordered from an International seller if this was an option, but choices were limited and these come close to the real deal. (i.e. I refuse to pay $300-$500 dollars on a speaker stand)"..."  Read more

These stands are exactly what I wanted -- sturdy and nice looking. And the metal surface looks much better than it does in the photos. It's a smoother black metal, not as rough, but not piano-black shiny either. Plus, the bases now have a nice VTI badge on them that makes them look more professional/high-end. So they've improved the appearance of the stands since the original photos were taken IMO (assuming the photos are accurate). I found that the carpet spikes made the stands *less* stable than without on carpet. However, be aware that without the spikes, the stands are ~1/2" shorter (making mine 28.5" instead of 29"). These are quite strong and heavy (though not too heavy, just right for bookshelf speakers -- my speakers are ~20 lbs apiece). And, as previously noted, you can either fill the stand poles with sand/shot or fish the speaker wires through them. Very easy assembly -- it only takes minutes. To align the top plate with the base, simply lay the stand on the floor before tightening the base. I would install the top plate first, then attach the base with the stand on the floor to get the proper alignment."..."  Read more

Like other reviewers have noted about VTI stands, I had one screw that immediately stripped out upon assembling the column to the base. No big deal for me since the screw thread is 6mm and I happen to know that re-tapping with a 1/4 - 20 tap perfectly creates threads for the slightly larger 1/4 - 20 screw that I put into this hole. Other than this slight annoyance, the stand is very nice. Note that this model holds the speaker level, and not tipped upward like other VTI center channel speaker stands."..."  Read more