speaker stands, aluminum or steel?

[longfinger]

Hey all,

I'm looking to buy a speaker stand for a single powered PA speaker that weighs about 45lbs (20kg). Looking around, all the common stands seem to be rated for much heavier loads. Some are are of aluminum, some are made of steel. Do people here have preferences between the two materials?

It seems to me that the parts that will break will the the little pins, handles or holders, not the big metal bars. Any recommendations of quality trouble free speaker stands based on experience?

thanks,

 

[yodedude2]

i've used aluminum stands for years, albeit not very often. my speakers' weight is slightly less than yours. no issues to report.

the aluminum stands are much lighter, which is why i use them.

 

[Big_Daws]

if you want a stand for life go for a K&M stand...

 

[Keithwah]

if you want a stand for life go for a K&M stand...

This is a fact! Go K&M!

 

[RustyAxe]

If I'm loading in and out, aluminum. If I'm not I don't care what they're made of. They all seem to work just fine.

 

[longfinger]

Ok thanks. So K&M (Konig & Meyer) make good quality stands.

I see these on their website...

steel: 5.3kg mass, 50kg max load.
Link Removed

and this

aluminum : 3.32 kg mass, 40kg max load
Link Removed

design seems similar. I notice that the height adjuster does not use the steel-pin-through-hole type of lock. Instead it has something described as "locking screw with push-button system". Is this an improvement?