Kanto S2 Desktop Speaker Stands for Small Speakers - (Pair) Stainless Steel

I actually own both versions of these stands, so I feel I am well qualified to let others know the difference in the two. For one let me start off by saying I do not own Kanto speakers, I own Energy Speakers from Canada but liked these stands enough to give them a try, however my speakers are a little bigger and heavier then the basic black S2 stands were made for as they are aluminum not steel they did not really support the weight very well and were way too springy and soft. The orig description was a little confusing to say the least as it listed both steel and aluminum as the materials. I actually contacted the company first before making my purchase and was told they were steel, they were not so that was an error on Kanto's part that was quickly taken care of as noted below.So on this I have to say the customer service is excellent because when I reached out to them a second time letting them know the stands I received were aluminum, when I was told they would be steel, they quickly got back to me saying that they had a Stainless Steel version coming out that they could send me, would I like to try that? So knowing what I know about Stainless I said yes, and I am glad I did as the Stainless version of these stands is night and day over the aluminum even though they are the exact same size, that maters not because Stainless is both a lot stronger and heavier making them much better suited for slightly heavier speakers and actually work very well, and are nicely made and finished in a satin machine brushed surface and a design that not only works to support the Speakers at the right angle for listening and monitoring, but look great while doing so.In closing my review I suggest anyone who has slightly bigger and heavier speakers then the aluminum stands were originally engineered to work with definitely get the Stainless Steel version you will be happy you did.

I tried these in stainless steel with Audioengine desktop speakers but they did not isolate the resonance of the speaker from the desk. I then tried the Audioengine speaker stands which are about the same size. The Audioengine does not look as nice as the Kanto but they provide a fuller, richer, smoother, much less shrill sound because their sorbothane material fully separates the vibration of the speaker from the surface of the desk. The Kanto are quite attractive but they need to do a better job of acoustic absorption and isolation so the speakers can reach their full potential.