[PeterPiper]

Anyone have guidance on filling a speaker stand with shot vs sand?  I just purchased the "Ultimate Support MS-90/45B 45" Studio Monitor Stands". http://www.ultimatesupport.com/ms-90-36b.html 

Thank you

[AlexH]

Lead shot will certainly weight more. The last pair of speaker stands I had filled with lead shot weighed about 35lbs. That being said the sand is going to be much cheaper.

[vilding]

Why not both?

Mix some ledshots or even old rusty srews and what-not in to the sand and get added weight without having to spend the price of a new pair of budget monitors on led (@17-18$/kg)

/Hilding

[Bioman]

Shot costs $43 for 25 lbs at Cabelas; shipping will add quite a bit to that.  Playbox sand is 50lbs $2.50 at HD or Lowes.

[mcgsxr]

I switched to kitty litter years ago.  Cheap.  Plentiful.  Does the trick for me.

[twitch54]

Why not both?

Mix some ledshots or even old rusty srews and what-not in to the sand and get added weight without having to spend the price of a new pair of budget monitors on led (@17-18$/kg)

that's exactly what I have done, in both my Totem Arro's and the four down legs of my audio rack. Seeing that I reload shot shells to support my shooting habit I buy lead shot from my local gun shop for far less than Cabelas, usually paying $30-35 a bag

[Wind Chaser]

I switched to kitty litter years ago.  Cheap.  Plentiful.  Does the trick for me.

That's pretty light stuff if it is dry. But it is heavy if it's wet, and very stinky too.

[Don_S]

Everyone please note:

When you sell your speaker stands be sure and tell potential buyers that you contaminated them with a hazardous substance.

Also note that when you remove the lead or lead/sand mix to make the items lighter for shipping the fill is a hazardous waste and must be disposed of in accordance with state and federal regulations. I worked in environmental compliance for 20 years so this is not just an opinion---it's the law. Separating the lead from sand is virtually impossible and even if it was possible the abrasive sand would probably still contain levels of the soft lead that would be classified as hazardous waste. 

Most people are not going to take the time to try to recycle lead shot especially if it is mixed with sand.  But the recycling problem does not end there.  I called a couple of the larger recycling companies in my area.  They said they recycled lead but not in shot form. They are not set up to handle loose material.

But it is not just the disposal of lead that is a problem. The mining and smelting of lead (including smelting recycled lead) also creates an environmental consequence in both air and water pollution. Sand is much greener. There is less environmental impact in the production and disposal.

Regulations have been passed to reduce or eliminate even minor amounts of lead and other toxic materials from new electronic equipment and to recover and recycle materials that have been used. Lead is a four letter word.  It does not belong in our electronics and it does not belong in our speaker stands.

[RonP]

I switched to kitty litter years ago.  Cheap.  Plentiful.  Does the trick for me.

What about uncooked Rice? I think I saw that mentioned in a New Record Day video on YouTube

[vilding]

you contaminated them with a hazardous substance.

Very, very , very valid point! here in Sweden lead is prohibited in solder, fishing lures and many more items. And for a good reason!


I think i would just go straight for gold! 

[Tyson]

I think i would just go straight for gold! 

Sounds better too

[mlundy57]

Sounds better too

Yes, makes for better contact I hear ...

[Sonicjoy]

I agree with Don S. Lead is toxic. I would not use it either. I just filled the Elac stands for the NX-Studio Montors that I just build with play sand yesterday. Plenty dense and inert stands now.

The most important thing you are trying to accomplish is to stop the ringing of hollow metal column's. Any fill like sand, cat litter, crushed walnut shells, rice etc. will work.

You won't likely get agreement on which sounds better, like anything else in this hobby.

[OzarkTom]

Very, very , very valid point! here in Sweden lead is prohibited in solder, fishing lures and many more items. And for a good reason!

Yep, some of my metal detector buddies here in Missouri had health problems by keeping too many civil war bullets in their house that they found.

[mhconley]

I used steel shot in my speaker stands. Nearly as heavy as lead without the environmental issues. And it is a little less expensive. I bought mine from a source that shipped in US Postal Service Priority Mail flat rate boxes. You should have seen the mail carrier struggling to carry that large flat rate box. 

Martin

[timind]

I switched to kitty litter a while back. Before that I used a lead shot - sand combo. The kitty litter does the job just fine, don't feel like I'm losing anything.

[PeterPiper]

Thank you all for the responses.

[sanlanman]

Late to the Party but hey, here I am. I am about to buy the same monitor stands. A guy on another thread suggested bags of aquarium gravel from Walmart. Steel shot as mentioned above should be a good idea. It would be a bit more costly but if you can buy copper BBs in bulk, that should work too. Also mentioned was the polymer fill sand used between patio paver blocks; that comes in a 5 gallon pail or 30 lb bag at your big box building supply.

[subsonic1050]

I used kitty litter - here was my thought process. Sand can have moisture in it - but it doesn't hold onto the moisture. In an MDF cabinet, I was worried that if the sand wasn't bone dry (how do you know?) that some of the moisture would lead to damaging the inside of the MDF cabinet. Cat litter is meant to absorb and hold onto moisture and is manufactured dry when it goes in. I have no idea if this is an answer to a problem that doesn't exist - but that's why I chose kitty litter over sand.

[artur9]

Living in/near coal country I've been tempted to try that as a fill for my stands.
I used stainless steel sandblaster beads.  Seems to be about 10lbs in about the space of a paperback.
I got it from eBay.