Best Overall Speaker Stand 2023 - Popular Science
The Absolute Best Budget Bookshelf Speaker Stand 2023 - hifitrends.com
Rock-Solid, Dual-Pier All-Steel Speaker Stand
With its all-steel construction and advanced feature set, Pangea Audio's DS200 is the perfect speaker stand for a wide range of monitors and bookshelf speakers, especially those on the heavier side. It includes integral cable management, adjustable carpet-piercing spikes, rubberized speaker support pads, and sand-fillable support piers.
Pangea Audio looked to the construction industry when designing the DS200. Pangea engineers know that when using two upright support piers placed at ninety-degree angles to each other increases the stability of the top platform in both directions for maximum support. This arrangement allowed Pangea to manufacture a highly affordable speaker stand that uses just two support piers to solidly hold speakers weighing up to 100 pounds.
As always, Pangea provides huge amount of performance for a remarkably low price. You’ll have to pay a whole lot more to get a stand that rivals the DS200’s combination of build quality and performance-enhancing features.
"Best Overall Speaker Stand
Popular Science magazine honored the DS200 as its Best Overall Speaker Stand 2023.
"All-steel and delightfully sturdy, these stands deliver audiophile results at consumer-level prices," raves Popular Science. "In use, Pangea’s DS200 stands reduce vibrations and thus distortion, contributing to tight bass and detailed highs, mids, and sound stage."
"The Absolute Best"
The hifitrends.com staff named the Pangea DS200 its "Absolute Best Budget Bookshelf Speaker Stand" for 2023.
"It has very strong support piers that create a dependable and rigid foundation for small monitors and other shelf-type speakers," notes the review. "As is usual, Pangea Audio delivers an affordable product with outstanding performance. To experience a stand comparable to the DS200 in terms of quality and features that boost performance, you would probably need to invest a lot more money."
"A Noticeable Improvement"
An in-depth May 13, 2023 review from Paul Cash at hifitrends.com notes, "I have been using the Pangea Audio DS200 Speaker Stands for several weeks now and am very impressed with them. They are remarkably stable, have a durable finish, and seem to have made a noticeable improvement in the sound of my speakers (compared to some cheaper metal stands I had). The bass seems tighter and more controlled, and the mids and highs, along with the soundstage, seem more detailed and precise."
The Importance of a Speaker Stand
Inside a conventional loudspeaker are piston-type drivers that move back and forth to generate sound waves in the air. This energy vibrates the speaker cabinet, speaker stand and, in fact, the entire room. When this cabinet vibration is not controlled or properly damped, it distorts the sound coming from the speaker – reducing image clarity and focus, muddying the bass and midrange, and more. The small cabinet of a monitor or bookshelf speaker simply cannot provide optimal sound unless it is mounted on a properly designed speaker stand.
Steel Construction is Far Superior to Wood
Many manufacturers make their speaker stands out of wood, because wood is inexpensive and easy to work with. But wood has poor acoustic properties. It absorbs and stores vibration energy before slowly releasing it and muddying the sound coming from the speakers.
Although it costs more to use, steel is a far better material for speaker stands. Steel doesn't 'hang onto' energy like wood. And it releases vibration very quickly. A well-designed all-steel stand like the DS200 solidly supports your speaker while improving image focus, reducing mid-range coloration, and tightening the bass performance.
Rock-Solid Rectangular Pier Construction
In the architectural world, non-round columns made of steel called piers support huge structures like skyscrapers that weigh untold numbers of tons. These same rectangular columns allow the Pangea DS200 to deliver rock-solid support for all types of monitor and bookshelf loudspeakers. Both support piers can be filled with sand or steel shot for even better vibration damping. Pangea put cable management holes in the back support pier for keeping speaker cables neat and tidy and includes plugs for the holes in case you want to add one of these damping materials.
Heavy-Duty Hardware Makes a Huge Difference
Nuts, bolts, spikes, and other hardware hold a stand together and make it perform optimally. Many manufacturers use columns and steel plates, but then couple them with cheap hardware that undermines the performance of the assembled stand. The DS200 uses a total of four heavy-duty, large-diameter bolts to rigidly couple each of the piers to the top plate and the bottom plate.
Heavy-Duty Top Plate and Bottom Plate
The Pangea Audio DS200 features a 6" wide by 8.5" deep steel top plate to match a wide range of compact or monitor-type speakers and an extra heavy duty, 3mm-thick, 9.75" by 12" bottom plate. The bottom plate has welded channels to support the adjustable carpet-piercing steel floor spikes. The DS200 bottom plate weighs 5.3 lbs. The top plate weighs 1.25 lbs.
Cable Management Feature
The DS200 also includes a clever cable management/cable hiding feature. By removing the plugs in the rear support, you can hide your speaker cables by routing them through the support pillar.
Choose the Height You Need
The DS200 is available in your choice of five heights. Choose 20", 24", 28" 32", or 36".
