About The Atacama SLX Speaker Stands
Sturdy and stable with adjustable heavy duty carpet Spikes and Gel Pads, the Atacama SLX speaker stands are the number one choice for any high quality, compact or medium size bookshelf speaker. Usually available in traditional black - contemporary silver metallic and diamond white are available to special order.
Atacama are a renowned and multi award winning manufacturer of quality hifi and home cinema furniture components, based in Leicester, UK. While many quality hifi stand manufacturing companies market and brand themselves as skilled carpenters and hifi fanatics, Atacama take great pride in offering a product that not only portrays true craftsmanship but also features the innovative brains of an 'engineering company', employing intricate and highly developed methods of reducing and dissipating mechanical noise from your hifi equipment to avoid these parasitic resonances from interfering with different hi-fi separates.
Supplied as a pair, the 'Sherman tank' SLX range of heavy duty speaker stands offers excellent sonic characteristics. The SLX Series is part of Atacama's professional range of speaker stands and caters for when a larger top plate is required. The stands are manufactured from heavy gauge carbon steel with high tensile fixings to maintain optimum rigidity and for improved performance Atacama SLX stands come with Isolation Gel pads as standard. These pads help protect the base of your speaker, reduce the chance of slippage and create a dampening barrier to the speaker so improving sound quality. The top plate is manufactured from 4mm thick steel plate and 8 carpet spikes are included. All SLX speaker stands have identical standard top plates of 255mm wide by 255mm deep. They come flat-packed and are quick and easy to assemble.
Note: If you have timber or tile floors then we recommend you purchase two sets of Atacama Spike Shoes. Removing the spikes and sitting the stands directly on the floor will degrade the audio performance.
Gel Pads: For improved performance Atacama SLX stands come with Isolation Gel Pads as standard. These pads help protect the base of your speaker, reduce the chance of slippage and create a dampening barrier to the speaker so improving sound quality. Gel Pads add an extra 10mm to the overall stand height.
Why Atacama?
Atacama MD Mr. Carl Sambell when embarking on production of quality speaker stands back in the early 1990's demonstrated that he and his company had a thorough understanding of what is needed when he stated: "The problem when designing a speaker stand is that it firstly needs to be functional, i.e. it needs to be sonically dead and be able to absorb the vibration from the speaker that it supports. Functionality is reasonably easy to achieve, but trying to combine functionality with visual appeal is not so, particularly when you consider that this type of product is likely to be sitting in someone's lounge. The design brief was clear, design a high performance speaker stand whilst creating a product that was aesthetically pleasing to the eye and at the same time retain a competitive price point."
Why Do You Need Speaker Stands?
That question is often quickly followed up with another: "Can't they just sit on the floor?" The truth is you can put the speakers wherever you like but the location and positioning absolutely and significantly affect performance. When bookshelf sized speakers are placed on the floor or against a wall their sonic output becomes 'connected' to the floor or walls. This results in sound that is muddy, distorted and lacking in clarity. Speaker stands elevate and isolate speakers from floors and walls. Sound is clearer and cleaner with much better imaging and a greater sense of realism.
Although all the staff at Audio Trends love music, there is no doubt that a number of these music enthusiast's - Andrew & Wes - are definitely in the audiophile category. They not only enjoy music here at the shop, but go home to tweak their system, enjoy a new album or download a high-res album. They have a variety of audio gear at home and have had everything you could imagine in the hi-fi department. Why am I telling you this? Because they are not salesmen (none of us are) and will discuss and demonstrate how quality stands make your music sound better. Come and meet them or call to discuss how a pair of quality bookshelf speakers and quality stands can sound amazing.
How To Make Stands Even Better
Where appropriate - like here with the Atacama SLX Series Stands - the four posts/tubes are hollow and can be 'filled' or mass-loaded to further dampen vibrations, help minimise unwanted resonances and as a bonus extra, provide added stability. You could fill them with lead shot or sand as some do. But eventually these will cause the stands to rust. Not good!
However, to make your stands sound better and increase stability, Audio Trends recommend that you fill the stands with Atabites SMD-Z 7.5HD inert filler to achieve maximum sonic performance and stability. Around five 7.5kg tubs (or a little more) can be used per pair.
All SLX series stands come with the standard sized Atacama Isolation Gel Pads. These Gel Pads will add 10mm to the overall height.
Main Features & Specifications
- Product Description: Bookshelf/Compact Speaker Stand
- Material: Steel construction
- Floor Spikes: Included
- Top Plate Gel Pads: Included
- Weight Capacity: 15 kgs each
- Dimensions (WxD): 305 x 305mm plus Spikes & Gel Pads
- Top Plate (WxD): 225 x 225mm
- Availble Heights: 300, 400, 500, 600 & 700mm
- Available Finishes: Black (White & Silver available to special order)
- Country Of Origin: Made in the UK
Note: Specifications Subject To Change Without Notice. E&OE.