Getting the most out of your hi-fi system isn’t just about buying the best kit, it’s also about buying the right kit – and there’s one very simple addition that can make a real difference.
Putting your speakers on stands doesn’t just affect the aesthetics of your system; a solid, non-resonating base can also neutralise pesky vibrations and allow them to perform to their full potential, while also providing you with more flexible positioning options to ensure that your listening position is right in the middle of that all-important sweet spot.
You don’t need to spend a lot on a set of stands either. And because the technology involved is pretty basic, a fine pair of stands from a few years ago will be a fine pair of stands today. Indeed, some of the pairs featured on our list below were first reviewed nearly two decades ago, but they remain among our top picks all these years later.
There’s no need to focus on the latest and greatest, then, unless you want more contemporary styles. All you need to do is decide on your budget and then pick the stands that look and feel right for you. And that’s where we come in.
Below you’ll find our pick of the best speaker stands for various budgets, all reviewed in our dedicated test rooms by our expert team. If you’ve still got your speakers propped up on a cheap MDF bookshelf, do yourself a favour and make this simple upgrade to your system. You can thank us later.
The quick list
The perfect combination of performance, build quality and value, these speaker stands will improve any hi-fi system.
A brilliantly affordable way to upgrade the levels of detail, dynamics and rhythm delivered by your speakers.
You don’t need a pair of Q Acoustics speakers to appreciate the performance boost these superbly made stands can provide.
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Best premium
They’re the most expensive stands on our list, but the stylish Custom Design FS104 Signature are worth every penny.
I have been testing stereo speakers for over a decade, and know first-hand how much of a difference a good pair of speaker stands can make to the overall performance of your system. The speaker stands you choose should have a top plate that is big enough to accommodate the size of your speakers, be the correct height for your listening position, be sturdy and stable, and look good, too. Having had a hand in assembling and reviewing the speaker stands on this page, I can personally recommend every product on this list to guide you towards finding the best stands for your speakers.
The best speaker stands overall
There's a reason these Atacama speaker stands continue picking up What Hi-Fi? Awards. Two metal columns – one filled for better stability, one for cable management – and a bamboo base offer sturdy support and a neat look.
And they allow our system to flourish by letting the speakers deliver their best in terms of punch, detail and rhythm. For around a ton, you'll struggle to do better.
Read the full Atacama Moseco 6 review
The best budget speaker stands
The Soundstyle Z2 speaker stands have been favourites of ours for more than a decade, winning Awards at various prices, and they remain a solid (ahem) choice.
Soundstyle has added lockable spikes to the base and improved the bolt and socket assembly of the main support for additional rigidity, while also filling the stands with damping materials to reduce resonance. They also come with top spikes. The new stands can help improve detail, add drive and help bring out the excitement in your music.
Read the full Soundstyle Z2 review
The best mid-range speaker stands
Designed for the Q Acoustics Concept 20 but compatible with any speakers, these are a little more expensive but deliver a performance to justify the price.
The clever construction – a layer of compliant compound in the metal top plate that helps dampen unwanted resonances by turning them into heat energy – makes them superb supports for all types of speakers. They look classy and have some cable management, while sonically they will free up your system in terms of punch and bite.
Read the full Q Acoustics Concept 20 Speaker Stands review
The best premium speaker stands
The FS104 Signature has five columns: a large one in the middle and four satellites. Assembly is fairly simple, especially for anyone who’s ever played with construction sets or a certain brand of Swedish furniture.
There’s an all-black option but, for contrast, the satellites also come in gold, chrome and brushed chrome. Overall, these stands allowed our kit to perform with more control and precision than did their rivals, offering a livelier, clearer sound.
Read the full Custom Design FS104 Signature review
Also consider
Atacama Nexxus 600 Essential: While the Moseco 6 at the top of this page remain our number one pick, Atacama’s Nexxus range is worth a look if you have very specific requirements, with various heights and sizes of top plate available. They also deliver a sturdy, stable and clean sound from your speakers, albeit one that lacks the subtlety delivered by the Moseco 6.
How to choose the best speaker stands for you
Picking a pair of speaker stands can aesthetic decision as well as aout stability, but there are still a few things you should consider before hitting that buy button.
The first thing to do is make sure any stands you’re looking at can support the size and weight of your speakers. Stability is the name of the game here, so check the size of the top plate and make sure it’ll provide a sturdy base for your speakers – ideally you want it to be just slightly smaller than the footprint of the speaker, but no larger or it could affect the performance. Some manufacturers offer multiple sizes, but you might have to fork out extra for them.
As well as helping to eliminate vibrations and interference, putting your speakers on stands brings them closer to ear level, so you should also consider the height of the stands in relation to your primary listening position. Most stands will lift your speakers approximately 60cm off the ground, but if you have a particularly low sofa you might want to pick some that are at the shorter end of the scale.
Even our premium pick above is relatively affordable, especially in a world where prices can start to climb very quickly, but do make sure your allocated budget for stands is in proportion with the speakers you’re mounting on them. As a general rule, the stands shouldn’t cost more than the speakers they’re holding.
Finally, there’s likely to be some assembly involved, so make sure you’re prepared for some light DIY before your new stands will be ready to go. Some speaker stands have a hollow element in the middle tube where you can fill it with materials such as acoustic sand, which add extra weight/stability as well as additional damping, should your system demand it. You buy a tub of this material separately, and experiment with how much it needs filling to get the right balance of sound; or you might decide they don't need this filler material at all.
How we test speaker stands
Testing speaker stands is a little different to testing the speakers themselves. After all, these products don't make a sound themselves, but instead offer a sturdy, stable base whose primary function is to offer support for your speakers and reduce any unwanted vibrations from affecting the overall performance.
We test every speaker stand using multiple pairs of reference speakers in order to get the most comprehensive understanding of how they will affect the performance of speakers of different sizes, designs, and at various price points. We use What Hi-Fi? Award winners, including KEF’s LS50 Meta, which are kept in our stockroom for exactly this kind of comprehensive and comparative testing.
Using multiple sets of speakers on the same stands means we’re able to get an accurate and reliable understanding of how successful they are at eliminating vibrations and any associated distortion from your music, as well as the impact the stand's materials have on the system's overall performance. It also helps us note how well the stands can accommodate smaller, heavier or deeper speakers.
This comparative testing extends to the stands themselves, so we also keep the best-in-class products, such as the Atacama Moseco 6 featured at the top of this list, in our stockroom so we can pit new products against ones we know and love. We do our best to review as many new models in as many markets as possible to ensure our contextual knowledge is the best it can be.
All review verdicts are agreed upon by the team as a whole rather than an individual reviewer to eliminate any personal preference and to make sure we're being as thorough as possible. There's no input from PR companies or our sales team when it comes to the verdict, with What Hi-Fi? proud of having delivered honest, unbiased reviews for decades.
You can read more about how we test and review products on What Hi-Fi? here.
Recent updates
- January 2025: Added a 'how to choose' section and an 'also consider' section including the Atacama Nexxus 600 Essential.
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