Infected Mushroom’s ‘Avratz’ has bass punch, stereo image and a big soundstage, and Jane Monheit singing ‘Over The Rainbow’ is a difficult recording for a lot of systems since the female voice can be harsh and, depending on the system, finds Jane in front of, next to or even in the piano. Next Stacey Kent singing ‘The Summer We Crossed Europe’, this chosen for its recording quality with piano and guitar amongst other instruments.
I chose five tracks that I use on a regular basis, the first is Allan Taylor with ‘The Beat Hotel’, it features a deep male voice, heavy bass and some nice spatial percussion in a well recorded stereo image. I made sure that the speakers remained at the same distance from the walls. Little silicone pads were glued on the top plates or bars to hold the loudspeakers. Both the Target and the Custom Design stands were on Soundcare Superspikes to protect my floor. I am aware that most users would choose the Signature version of the FS104 under Harbeths, but I opted for the contrast between stands. The Custom Design FS104 (£130) is an open stand without a top or base, and four slim columns and some steel bars to support the loudspeakers. The third pair of stands is quite the opposite. The total weight is over 25 kilos per stand. The next is a heavy Target MR60 ($579), same height, but this time with a steel top and base, each has four upright steel tubes, all of them filled with sand.
The first is an old Sonus faber Minima Fixed stand, consisting of a steel top plate, wooden legs and a stone base without any form of spikes. I gathered three stands to see what differences they would produce. The forums led me to expect huge changes in sound quality, I had my doubts but thought I would give it a try. I was wondering how much influence a loudspeaker stand would have under the Harbeth P3ESR loudspeakers in my smaller system in the study.