Apollo A1 review

Decent, well-finished stands, but you can do better Tested at £60

What Hi-Fi? Verdict

Decent, well-finished stands, but you can do better

Pros

  • +

    Nice finish

  • +

    Easy to build

Cons

  • -

    Our system sounded tired when using these stands

Why you can trust What Hi-Fi? Our expert team reviews products in dedicated test rooms, to help you make the best choice for your budget. Find out more about how we test.

The Apollo A1s are simple, well-finished stands, we like their crackle-black paint in particular. Because they use just one support, they’re easy to build, although we found the included spikes tricky to adjust in situ.

Placed underneath a pair of Monitor Audio Bronze BX2s and with a CD of Nine Days’ The Madding Crowd spinning in the drive, we were met with a sound that’s probably best described as ‘subdued’.

On the plus side, bass performance isn’t tubby, as it was when we used some price rivals – but overall we just couldn’t get too enthused by the sound we heard with the speakers placed on the A1s.

There’s nothing alarming here… it’s just all a bit tired, with a loss of detail, energy and dynamics compared with the best speaker stands around, which also means individual musical parts can become confused.

See all our speaker stand reviews

Follow whathifi on Twitter

Join whathifi on Facebook

What Hi-Fi?

What Hi-Fi?, founded in 1976, is the world's leading independent guide to buying and owning hi-fi and home entertainment products. Our comprehensive tests help you buy the very best for your money, with our advice sections giving you step-by-step information on how to get even more from your music and movies. Everything is tested by our dedicated team of in-house reviewers in our custom-built test rooms in London, Reading and Bath. Our coveted five-star rating and Awards are recognised all over the world as the ultimate seal of approval, so you can buy with absolute confidence.

Read more about how we test

Latest in Speaker Stands
Speaker stands: Atacama Nexxus 600 Essential
Atacama Nexxus 600 Essential
Atacama Nexxus 600 Essential
Atacama introduces NeXXus, its first modular, upgradable speaker stand
 B&O A1 2nd Gen is the world’s first Bluetooth-only speaker with Alexa
B&O A1 (2nd Gen) is the world’s first Bluetooth-only speaker with Alexa
Best speaker stands: budget and premium
Best speaker stands 2025: budget and premium models tested
Custom Design FS103
Q Acoustics Concept 20 Speaker Stands
Latest in Reviews
JBL SA550 integrated amplifier
JBL SA550 Classic
iFi Zen Phono 3 phono stage
iFi Zen Phono 3
Google TV Streamer video streamer
Google TV Streamer
Samsung QN990F on a white media unit with a grey curtain in the behind it and soundbar in front
Samsung QN990F 8K TV
Elac Debut 3.0 DB53 standmount speakers
Elac Debut 3.0 DB53
 iFi Zen DAC 3 digital-to-analogue converter
iFi Zen DAC 3