Has anyone tried the new FMS16 stands? I wonder if they can be filled to aid stability: that plus the clamping mechanism might save my M22's from two raging greyhounds and a maniacal cat often seen chasing the two raging greyhounds.

www.axiomaudio.com/fms16.html

I have them. It's a hollow tube to allow the routing of the speaker cable. If you want to fill the tube, you might try filling a nylon stocking w/ pea gravel. But you probably would need to put the speaker cable thru first though...

I like the stands, though I wouldn't say they are dog/cat/kid proof. They will tip. I have a 2 year old girl and a crazy 80 lb lab but they're not too attracted to the speakers so it's not bad.

I'm about 80% done reconfiguring my HT so I'll post when I'm done.

That got me thinking... the main "tipping" problem I have is from feet snagging the cables, not the speakers themselves. Does anyone run their speaker cables up the wall to "middle of the speaker" height then out so the cables don't touch the floor...

... or am I the only slob with speaker cables on the floor ?

eh, mine are on the floor run close to the base boards. It's not a long run to the av stand.

However, my problem was that I bought a nice Salamander Twin, hoping that I could hide all the cables inside. NOPE! Using a Pio 45TX and STIFF cables like blue jeans, I can't even put the back on. Now all the cables are hanging in the back. It looks like a rat's nest, despite my attempt at bundling the cables by type: power, video, audio. It looks good from the front though...

I have had similar speaker stands in the past and needed to make them pet proof. If you have a steel fabricator/supplier in your area, see about a piece of 1/2 or 3/4 plate steel, cut to size, bolt on and paint. It makes a great counter weight and keeps pets from knocking speakers over.

"It looks good from the front though... "

That's what counts man!

Interesting comment about the Salamander though. I was considering some of their stuff, it looks beautiful on the web- never seen any in person, but if there is no room for cables, or no cable management in the back, then...

The Salamanders are actually nice. I have a Pioneer 45TX and it's a beast. I wanted something to hide everything AND be somewhat narrow as this sits underneath a wall mounted plasma.

Many stands were too narrow and wouldn't fit the depth of the 45TX. The Salamander seemed to have the specs but now w/ stiff cables, they stick out and I can't screw the back on. However, the rear of the rack is nice, because it's easy to access and remove.

Here's what the rat's next looks like.

rats nest

Funny, I called Axiom asking the same question just a day or two ago. Mike or Brent, can't remember who I was talking to, mentioned lead shot or sand would work well.

Since Canada went lead free a couple years ago, I can't think of a better way to use my leftover #4 and #5 lead shot from my shotgun shell reloading days. It wouldn't take much volume to make the base real heavy and stable against tipping.

<Mike or Brent, can't remember who I was talking to, mentioned lead shot or sand would work well.>

Thansk, that's good to know. Since I know nothing about guns, can you give me an idea of what kind of lead shot to look for and about how much to buy? I was also thinking that very little would be needed since the whole point is to lower the center of gravity of the stands.

There are all kinds of expensive lead shot (plated, harder alloys etc..) but you don't need any of that, just the most basic "plain lead shot"

It comes in different sizes -- like wire, the larger the number the smaller the shot -- something around a #4 will be a good compromise between "small enough to pack a lot of weight into a small space" and "big enough that it doesn't fall out through a tiny hole in the sock/bag/whatever you put it in before dropping into the stand".

If you drop the shot loose into the stand I can pretty much promise it will find a way out onto your floor.

I don't know what diameter the tubes are in the stands but I'm sure inexpensive BB Shot for the old "Daisy" brand BB guns would work great. You can probably get this stuff at any Walmart/Kmart type store.

As John B. recommends, I'd stick to plain old #4 lead shot or larger (e.g. #4, 3, 2, BB, BBB).

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