With a recent addition to the BR studio in the form of Focal Trio6-be monitoring, it was time to work out what to sit the shiny new speakers on. And after a little research it was clear there were not all that many options out there that would, a) be fully up to the job (these speakers are heavy!), and b) not require a re-mortgage! So the obvious thing to do was to get out the drawing board (literally) and scale ruler (why the heck not!) and design a made to measure solution.
A speaker stand is not a complex thing; It needs to provide a solid, stable base for the speaker positioned in horizontal or vertical mode, look neat and tidy, and of course not vibrate and make any strange resonant noises when the speakers are pushing out some serious frequencies. So to keep things simple, a box design was carefully sketched out to the correct dimensions, ready for fabrication.
We are lucky to be located near a hundred+ year old forge that used to make iron shoes for working shire horses back in the day. As you can see from some of the photos, it's an incredible place, so full of the history of making and crafting metal. Following a chat with Grant at Morgan Forge, we knew the designs would be feasible, including the need for a small nut under each leg to allow for adjustable spikes.
It's nice when you can find craftsmen locally rather than always buying online without knowing the manufacture process or materials backstory. When you can speak to someone in person It's so much more real! And in this case the person happened to also be a fountain of local music knowledge - who'd have thought we would end up chatting for ages about Pink Floyd, Black Sabbath, Nigel Kennedy and all the local history of rock and roll gigs and stories going back through the years!
Once the stands were fabricated at the forge, the next step was to get them painted, or to be specific, powder coated. And again, keeping things local, a Worcestershire company was sourced and used - County Powder Coatings - and thanks to Sam at CPC for an excellent finish. We opted for matte black to keep things simple, although have to say, the temptation was there to go for neon blue or yellow... perhaps for the next BR fabrication project. We are currently in between studios, so will take some pics once the stands are in situ [*EDIT: see below]. But they have been tested and are true things of beauty; so well engineered and perfectly proportioned - real quality that should last a lifetime.
As a final note, If you are thinking about buying something made overseas, just because that is what you see online and its cheap, stop and think for a moment. Perhaps you could design and have made locally as we have done. There are many small local manufacturers all over the country who will likely exceed your expectations when it comes to skill, service and finish quality.
Shout out to Matt and Nick at Giraffe Audio in Birmingham.