SOLIDSTEEL SS-6 SPEAKER STANDS REVIEW

Solidsteel is a HiFi furniture manufacturer based in Italy that makes a wide range of speaker stands and HiFi supports. They are used at HiFi PiG Towers, but in this review, Oscar Stewart takes a “listen” to their SS-6 loudspeaker stands.

SolidSteel is a familiar brand in the hi-fi furniture world. Based in Italy, they make a range of speaker stands and AV/hi-fi racks. Founded in 1990, they handcraft all their products in Italy, engineered for stability, vibration damping, and a truly immersive audio experience. So, how do these stands stack up in real terms? Let’s dig right in.

BUILD QUALITY AND FEATURES OF THE SS-6

First, the build quality is exceptional. I opted for the Raw finish, which may be polarising, yet it shows off the sheer craftsmanship that goes into making these tripod-styled speaker stands. You can see the welds that hold the tubed sections together, with an array of colours from the heat. They might look unfinished to some, which is why they also offer them in black and white finishes. I like this slightly more industrial look.

The design is quite iconic; most of you will likely have seen this stand used at shows across the globe (if you read our show reports). The legs are cylindrical and hollow, so they can be filled with a material of your choice to dampen them. The feet are screw-in spikes, and they come with some metal floor protectors, too. The top plate is MDF, and they offer a couple of different sizes depending on which speaker you plan to use them with. They come with “Pata-fix” to properly secure the speakers to the stands, and the top plate is decoupled from the metal stands by three precision steel ball bearings.
They are easy to assemble following the included instructions and, once built, are nice and sturdy. I have yet to fill the legs with any damping material; however, it is on my to-do list. This review, however, will focus on using them as they are out of the box. I used the spikes on top of granite slabs I have, due to the suspended floor in my room. These were used with a pair of Alchris TX-1 speakers, which fit perfectly on the smaller top plate that is supplied as standard with the SS-6 stands. The height of 63.5 cm is perfect for bringing the tweeter up to ear level in my setup. They offer them in a shorter SS-5 model and a taller SS-7, depending on your speakers and listening position.

SOUND QUALITY

So, as you can guess, stands shouldn’t really have a sound of their own. They should provide a solid platform for the speakers to sit on, alongside decoupling them from the floor (or coupling them, I guess, depending on your take). In this respect, the SS-6 stands do a fantastic job. The solidity of their build allows them to be rigid whilst also offering great decoupling capabilities. The ball bearing support means minimal vibration transfer to the legs, whilst the solid build means that stability is high – both things that are incredibly important in a speaker stand.

Listening to speakers on the SS-6 stands gives you more of the character of the speakers, with less influence from the stands themselves. You shouldn’t be able to hear a good stand; sadly, though, that cannot be said for all speaker stands. SolidSteel have gone through the effort of having their stands certified, and the lab results show that the top plate and speaker are effectively decoupled from the legs, and attenuation of low frequencies at the bottom of the legs was incredibly effective (full study on their site: https://solidsteel.it/vibro-acoustic-technical-certifications/).

This translates to a clearer sonic presentation from your speakers, and it is audible. The sound from speakers on these stands is tighter, more precise, and more focused. I’ve had other stands in the past that do their job; however, they did need filling with damping material, and also never quite sounded as controlled as when using the SS-6. Audibly, stands won’t necessarily make a night and day difference like speakers, yet if you have a nice pair of standmount speakers, they deserve a solid platform to be able to deliver the best sound possible. The SS-6 do just that. They are not the cheapest stands around, nor are they particularly pricey. They do, however, provide a solid base for your speakers to deliver what they were tuned to do, without any muddying from resonant frequencies or loss of energy being transmitted down the stands to your floor.

I see investing in a set of these stands as a one-off, lifetime purchase. They are built incredibly well and will take pretty much any standmount speaker you choose to use with them (with help from the slightly bigger top plate SolidSteel offer). They are such a solid and sturdy platform that, unless you are the kind of person that wants matching speakers and stands, they do not need changing – ever. It is clear that a lot of time went into refining the design of these stands, the decoupling mechanism of the top plate, and overall, you are rewarded by a stand that doesn’t influence the sound of the speakers sat on them.

QUIBBLES

I really cannot think of any. Everything you need is in the box, and the stands themselves are incredibly robust with effective decoupling of the top plate.

CONCLUSION

A solid pair of speaker stands is paramount to getting the best sound from any standmount speaker, and that is what SolidSteel offer with their SS range. You are also purchasing a wonderfully hand-crafted piece of audio furniture that will last a lifetime whilst never impacting the sonic signature of your speakers. They may not be the cheapest stands out there, yet their striking looks and impeccable build really do stand out in a world of varying designs of a similar nature. Luckily, the good looks and excellent build are backed up by a cleverly decoupled top plate and scientific measurements showing the effectiveness of their design – a geeky read for anyone interested in that kind of thing.

AT A GLANCE

Build Quality And Features:

Everything you need is included in the box

The raw finish shows off the superb build quality

Sound Quality:

They get out of the way of the speaker’s sound, which is what you want in a speaker stand

Value For Money:

Not cheap, yet they are built to last a lifetime

We Loved:

The design and build quality

The way they get out of the way of the sound of the speakers used with them

We Didn’t Love So Much:

Nothing to note

Elevator Pitch Review: If you have a good pair of standmount speakers, it makes sense to have a solid pair of stands that do the job they are supposed to. This is where the SolidSteel SS-6 stand out. Their design looks great, and they are made to effectively stop any vibrations getting to the bottom of the legs and muddying the sound of the speakers – something they do to great effect. These stands are very much a buy-once item that will happily last a lifetime and give you an excellent platform for whichever standmount speakers you choose to use with them.

Price: £549

Oscar Stewart

SUPPLIED BY SolidSteel

SUPPLIED SPECIFICATION

Frame
Stainless steel: [Ball bearings for decoupling the top plates from the frame], [Adjustable spikes], [Protective floor discs (Pads)].
Steel: [Main Frame, hand-welded with brass]
Plastic (PLA): [Screw Concealing Spacer]
Rubber: [O-ring on Top Plates]
Ennobled MDF wood: Standard top plates of 160×160 mm (6.3 x 6.3 in); Large of 190×190 mm (7.48 x 7.48 in).
Top Plate Dimensions [mm]: SS-5: [190×190] / SS-6: [160×160] or [190×190, custom] / SS-7: [160×160]
Colours: Black, Raw, White
Size: SS-5, SS-6, SS-7