Sanus SF26 Speaker Stands Reviewed

A

admin

Audioholics Robot
Staff member
An added expense with any pair of bookshelf speakers (unless you actually set them on a bookshelf) is speakers stands. We got our hands on the Sanus SF26 stands and tested them out. Read our full SF26 review and discuss it in this thread.

 
Marshall_Guthrie

Marshall_Guthrie

Audioholics Videographer Extraordinaire
It's not the most elegant solution, but some black zip ties will take care of your cable problem and not be very noticeable. Also, for a two inch lift and some isolation, something like the auralex mopad might be what the doctor ordered.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Instead of a zip tie, I just used some strips of that velcro that has the hook on one side and loop on the other. Works very well also.
 
Adam

Adam

Audioholic Jedi
I like Sanus stands. I bought some of the Steel Foundations (I'm pretty sure that's what they were called) back in the ~2000 time frame. They're built well, and I liked the base of the model that I bought better than their redesign that's out now. Just last year, I bought a pair of their Natural Foundations line and have been happy with them. They were only $60 (for a 24" pair - still the same price on Amazon from Vanns), and they have full-length wire channels on the back. Granted, the wire channel covers are a pain to install - but they look nice, IMO.
 
B

bikemig

Audioholic Chief
I like the Sanus SF26 stands. I bought a pair late last year. They went together well and they are very sturdy. The cable management could be more elegant but then it's really easy to route your cables which I appreciate.
 
S

skipnie

Audiophyte
Sanus,

Stands are alright, offer good amount of rigidity but Sanus provides an instruction about filing the pillars with sand or shot that is impossible since the holes in the pillars aren't wide enough to allow insertion of any kind of material! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyone wanting to fill the pillars with dampening material will need to widen the ridiculously tiny holes they provide by drilling wider holes into one of the ends of the pillar - -small ball of blue tack at the other end of the pillar will prevent sand/shot from spilling out. Why would Sanus provide an instruction for filling the pillars that is totally misleading thus frustrating the consumer and making him/her waste time and money to accomplish this task?
 
S

Stump909

Audioholic Intern
Does anyone know why the center channel stand is the same price as the L/R pair? I was about make the purchase until I saw the CC was $120 by itself.
 
B

bikemig

Audioholic Chief
Sanus,

Stands are alright, offer good amount of rigidity but Sanus provides an instruction about filing the pillars with sand or shot that is impossible since the holes in the pillars aren't wide enough to allow insertion of any kind of material! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyone wanting to fill the pillars with dampening material will need to widen the ridiculously tiny holes they provide by drilling wider holes into one of the ends of the pillar - -small ball of blue tack at the other end of the pillar will prevent sand/shot from spilling out. Why would Sanus provide an instruction for filling the pillars that is totally misleading thus frustrating the consumer and making him/her waste time and money to accomplish this task?
I've dealt with a lot of different instruction manuals before. Sanus is by far one of the worst that I have seen. I had to call the manufacturer when I put them together and I don't think I've every done that before.
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
Sanus,

Stands are alright, offer good amount of rigidity but Sanus provides an instruction about filing the pillars with sand or shot that is impossible since the holes in the pillars aren't wide enough to allow insertion of any kind of material! Stupid, stupid, stupid! Anyone wanting to fill the pillars with dampening material will need to widen the ridiculously tiny holes they provide by drilling wider holes into one of the ends of the pillar - -small ball of blue tack at the other end of the pillar will prevent sand/shot from spilling out. Why would Sanus provide an instruction for filling the pillars that is totally misleading thus frustrating the consumer and making him/her waste time and money to accomplish this task?
I haven't actually seen the holes in the sanus stands, but


As for the Blu-tack to plug the hole, anything heavy enough to be used as a fill in a stand is going to pop the blu-tack out over time.
 
S

skipnie

Audiophyte
Not even a funnel will do! Each pillar is sealed at each end with a metal cap that is welded to the inside of each pillar. The cap itself has one threaded hole in the center which anchors the pillar to the stand base, surrounded by three other smaller holes. None of these holes will allow anything to pass through them - -either shot nor fine play sand which is what I bought for this purpose.
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
Not even a funnel will do! Each pillar is sealed at each end with a metal cap that is welded to the inside of each pillar. The cap itself has one threaded hole in the center which anchors the pillar to the stand base, surrounded by three other smaller holes. None of these holes will allow anything to pass through them - -either shot nor fine play sand which is what I bought for this purpose.
I didn't fill mine with sand, but the holes definitely are small. Definitely something I could have mentioned in the review, but there is a work around.

I would use a stepped drill bit (like Irwin's Unibit) to round out the smaller holes a little more. With that type of bit it would be easy to fill the pillars. And thanks to a rubber gasket on the bottom plate nothing should leak out.
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
Definitely something I could have mentioned in the review, but there is a work around.
I will say I'm saddened that your listening evaluation section was cut short. Now I will never know if these stands compete with the Partington signature sound, namely bags of headroom, a solid soundstage, warmth and detail in the midrange, and deep bass sure to get your pulse racing in no time...

Partington Heavi review from the experts at whathifi.com

:D
 
Cliff_is

Cliff_is

Audioholics Content Manager
I will say I'm saddened that your listening evaluation section was cut short. Now I will never know if these stands compete with the Partington signature sound, namely bags of headroom, a solid soundstage, warmth and detail in the midrange, and deep bass sure to get your pulse racing in no time...

Partington Heavi review from the experts at whathifi.com

:D
Steve, how could I!

Allow me to add this to the review,

The SF26 completely re-defined how I listen to music. It was a religious experience to say the least, as soon as the bottom of my speakers touched the magical rubber pads (I think they must have been dipped in pixie dust), my entire life was transformed. No, I don't just mean the sound was transformed....my entire life was transformed. The next thing I knew I had won the lottery, gained an inch in height, and had super models pounding down my door.

As far as sound, it was even better than when started using cable lifts. Even better than when I paid the utility company $10,000,000 dollars to replace all of the power cabling from my home to the power company with high-end power cables. The soundstage was bigger (not sure how or why). The bass was more impactful (might have been because I added another sub). The highs were clearer and dialogue was more intelligible (then again, the speakers were just sitting on the floor before). And the speakers even played louder (I might have accidentally just turned the volume up).

Needless to say, I'm excited to try out some even more expensive stands after this experience. And I was going to invest money in acoustics treatments and better speakers, glad I realized what's really important.



There you go. How was that for listening tests? :p
 
Steve81

Steve81

Audioholics Five-0
There you go. How was that for listening tests? :p
Much better! From the sound of things, I might have to consider replacing my current stands which have been relegated to being the base of a makeshift bench in my "weight room". :D
 
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D

Dster

Audiophyte
I have the sf30, and can say I am quite satisfied. I filled mine with play sand. I just attached the pillars to the bottom plate first, then put a funnel into the threaded hole. After that I put a mess off duct tape from the outside of the pillar up to the funnel to contain any overflow. As for the top plate I used mo pads, they were good at isolating, but to tall and bulky for my application. I found a much slimmer (and cheaper) solution for this, or any other speaker isolating in Duck Brand Air Conditioner Foam Insulating Panels on amazon. They worked surprisingly well. Hope this helps.
[h=1][/h]
 
j_garcia

j_garcia

Audioholic Jedi
I used just the smaller leveling pieces from the MoPads for my mains.
 

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