The Easy Way To Upgrade Your Speakers? Get One of These Stands

A speaker stand is great for really showing off your speakers — as well as making them sound their absolute best.

Published June 29, 2024

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Speaker stands do several jobs. They hold your speakers in place, prevent them from shaking, to make them sound their best. They elevate your speakers to the proper listening height — your ear level. They allow you to place your speakers anywhere in the room (not just on furniture). And they allow you to show off your speakers for those who want to make a statement.

How We Tested

We’ve been writing about and reviewing audio products — including speakers, headphones, earbuds and other audio components that run the gamut from consumer to hi-fi — for near-on a decade. We also work with major brands and talk to experts within the audio industry. We’ve had hands-on experience with all the below speaker stands and isolation pads (as well as many others). These are our favorites.

To learn more about our testing methodology and how we evaluate products, head here.

The Speaker Stands

When picking out speaker stands, you must make sure that they’ll fit your speakers. Most speaker stands are specifically designed to fit computer or bookshelf speakers. Then you can decide on the height, size and design of the stands you want.

(Note: it’s quite common for speaker manufacturers to make stands for specific speakers, making selecting stands quite straightforward.)

The Best Stands for Computer Speakers

Kanto SE2 Elevated Speaker Stands

$39.99 at Amazon

The Kanto SE2 are elevated stands designed to fit computer speakers. They’re relatively affordable, yet far from cheap — each stand is made out of steel and painted either black or white (so you can get a pair to match your speakers). Each stand lifts your speaker just shy of four inches off your desk. They are not adjustable.

Note: Kanto makes larger versions of these stands, the SE4 and SE6, for holding larger bookshelf speakers and monitors.

Kanto speaker stands — The Kanto SE2 pictured holding the Kanto Ora speakers.

High-End Floorstanding Stands for Bookshelf Speakers

Output Speaker Stands

$249.00 at de-fi.com

Output is a Los Angeles-based audio company that makes specialty studio gear — including some of the most gorgeous speaker stands that you can buy. They beautifully blend metal and wood, and uniquely, they are height adjustable (from 37″ to 43″) making them great for a dedicated hi-fi system or home theater.

These stands are heavy (at roughly 25 pounds each) and wide at the base, making them great at sound isolation but not the easiest to fit in tight corners. They also come with their own isolation pads that you place under each speaker to further dampen vibrations. You get them with one of three wooden finishes: brown, gray or natural.

Metal Floorstanding Stands for Bookshelf Speakers

Q Acoustics 3000 Series Speaker Stands

$146.00 at Amazon

These speaker stands were specifically designed to hold any of Acoustics’s 3000 speaker range, which includes its beloved 3010i and 3020i bookshelf speakers. They are fairly heavy stands (weighing roughly 17 pounds each) that have integrated cable management and come with carpet spikes (with optional rubber caps). You can get them in either white or black to match your speakers.

Desktop Stands for Bookshelf Speakers

Kanto Living SP6HD

$89.99 at B&H Photo

These are one of our favorite desktop stands (and are perfect for those wishing to turn their bookshelf speakers into computer speakers). Each stand is 6″ high and is made of pure steel — they are surprisingly heavy for their size, weighing roughly 14 pounds each.

The trunk of each stand is hollow for built-in cable management. And you can rotate the top plate to your speakers positioned perfectly. Available in white or black.

Note: Kanto makes taller versions of these stands, the SP9, for elevating your speakers higher off your desk.

Adjustable Desktop Stands for Bookshelf Speakers

IsoAcoustics Iso-Stands (ISO-155)

$117.99 at Amazon

IsoAcoustics is a company specializing in isolation products for speakers and studio monitors — and its Iso-Stands securely add height to your speakers while also decoupling them for your desk (and thus preventing vibrations). They come in several different sizes, but the Iso-155 are the best bet for bookshelf-sized speakers.

When you buy them, they come with two different-sized tubes — either short (3) or tall (8.5″) — so you can choose how high you want your speakers to rest. You can also adjust the tilt (either upward or downward, up to 6.5 degrees) to angle them just right.

Tilted Speaker Stands for Computer Speakers

Kanto S2 Tilted Speaker Stands

$29.99 at Amazon

The Kanto S2 are essentially smaller versions of the company’s S2E. They’re designed to hold the same sized computer speakers, but they don’t elevate the speakers (much). Instead, they just tilt the speakers upwards and towards your listening direction. They’re made of real steel and you can get them in either black or white finishes.

Note: Kanto makes larger versions of these stands, the S4 and S6, for holding larger bookshelf speakers and monitors.

Floorstanding Stands for Sonos Speakers

Sonos One Stands

$449.00 at Sonos

$899.00 (50% off)

The Sonos One (or One SL or Play:1) isn’t a bookshelf speaker, but it is one of the most popular “bookshelf-sized” speakers out there, so it only seems right to use it here.

The One has numerous stand options, but this Sonos-made one combines elegance, simplicity, and price. It’s the ideal height for rear-channel speakers in a home theater system with either of Sonos’s soundbars. (For a slightly more refined and pricier option, check out these stands by Floyd.)

(Sonos’s new entry-level smart speaker is the Era 100, which it also makes special stands for, here.)

Isolation Pads

An isolation pad is a foam accessory that you place underneath the speaker to dampen vibrations and preserve its sound quality. Some speaker stands come with these kinds of isolation pads, but not every one does — so you buy one to compliment your speaker stand. If you don’t want to increase the height of your speakers yet want to preserve its acoustics, you can place isolation pads between your speaker and the surface it’s resting one.

Isolation Pads for Bookshelf Speakers

Auralex Acoustics Mopad XL

$29.99 at Amazon

$39.99 (25% off)

These are simple yet advanced isolation pads. They’re made of high density foam and come with two layers so you can adjust tilt (down, level or upwards). They’re also bespoke and fairly compact, making them the perfect option to supplement your speaker stands.

Auralex Acoustics’s Mopads are available in several different sizes.

Isolation Pads with Extra Padding

Sound Addicted Isolation Pads

$22.95 at Amazon

These are great isolation pads for people shopping on a budget. They’re foam isn’t quite as high-density as the above MoPad XL (above), but they work in exactly the same way. They come with two layers of foam so that they can adjust tilt (down, level or upwards) and get the perfect speaker positioning.

Isolation Pucks for Desktop Speakers

IsoAcoustics Iso-Puck 76 (2-Pack)

$59.99 at Amazon

These Iso-Pucks are a slightly more expensive proposition than standard isolation pads, but they’re more bespoke. The little isolation pucks sit under your speakers (or any of your other hi-fi components) to soak up vibrations, and they’re easier to conceal. We recommend four of these pucks per speaker, which, again, can get pricey.