Anyone know where i can get a decent set of stands for my wharfedale bookshelf speakers? Nothing too fancy, about £50 or so. Everyone keeps telling me that i shouldn't have my speakers on a shelf. does buying a stand really make that much of a difference?

These are pretty cheap (£20 before delivery costs) but would probably do the job nicely for you, Dave - http://www.unbeatable.co.uk/CatalogueItem_3371.html

Thanks Alex - do you happen to know how tall these ones are? Ideally I'd like them to be at least 75cm high so that they're at the right height when i'm sitting at my computer desk (as they'll be positionned either side).

Hmm, what sort of speakers are you planning to mount on them? If it's computer speakers, you're probably best off with the height ajustable stands that often come with surround-sound systems. They'd easily reach 70 cms.

No, they're not computer speakers, they're a pair of fairly budget wharfedale's. I'm using my pc to watch DVDs on at the moment and so i want the speakers either side of my screen, rather than on the other side of the room as they are currently!

Dan, speaker stands will genuinely make a difference to thesound quality especially if you keep them away from walls, but I would not advocate spending a fortune on them. If you go on ebay people are spending rediculous amounts for stands if you include postage. If you have a Richer Sounds close to you get them there, although I did get a good set of stands from ebay at a buy now price of £24 inclusive just after it was advertised so bargains can be found. Cheers. Paul.

Thanks for the info Paul. Had a look at the Richer Sounds website, they've got a pair of Gale T50's for 30 quid. They've got the option to be filled with sand. Will this improve things considerably? Seems like a bit of a hassle to do that! (yes, I am one lazy person! :-) )

Hi Dan, filling or part filling them with sand may or may not improve the sound. If you get the stands try them without anf if you are not heppy with the sound try part filling them and so on until you are happy, but just getting the speakers away from the wall and off the shelf will definately improve the sound. Cheers. paul.

Thanks for your help Paul. Got my pair of Gale T50's coming in the post, so I'll give the sand thing a try.

Does anyone think the speakers could get damaged if they sit closely to my computer monitor?

The speakers won't get damaged, but your monitor will if it's a CRT model. You'll get funny purple patches appearing!