Placed on a piece of furniture or a shelf, a compact speaker often ends up too low, right against the wall and in contact with a support that vibrates with it. Sold in pairs, the Stylum 2 from NorStone positions it 60 cm above the floor on a rigid steel column, decouples it from the floor using spikes and conceals its cable inside the tube, for a tidy installation in the middle of the room.
A steel column with an asymmetrical cross-section
The structure is built around a steel tube with an asymmetrical cross-section, connected to a 165 × 220 mm top plate and a 250 × 250 mm square base. This base, wider than the top plate, lowers the centre of gravity and gives the stand a firm footing, even with a heavy speaker placed on top. Each stand weighs approximately 5.5 kg (10.9 kg per pair) and supports loads of up to 50 kg, a comfortable margin for a bookshelf speaker, which rarely weighs more than around ten kilos.
Rigidity is the main consideration for a speaker stand. When the woofer operates, the cabinet moves very slightly, and a support that flexes or resonates follows this movement rather than restraining it. A stable metal column keeps the speaker still, resulting in tighter bass and more precise stereo imaging.
Spikes or pads beneath the speaker
Two options are supplied for the top plate, to be chosen during assembly: spikes, which reduce contact between the speaker and the stand to a few points, or non-slip pads, which protect the underside of the cabinet and prevent it from sliding. The 16.5 × 22 cm top plate accommodates most compact speakers. A slight overhang is acceptable, but a speaker with a significantly larger footprint would lose stability.
At floor level, the base rests on adjustable spikes, supplied with spike cups. These small cups sit between the spike and a delicate floor (parquet, tiles, stone) to prevent marks. On carpet, the spikes pass through the fibres and rest on the slab, stabilising the stand more effectively than a base resting flat on a soft floor covering.
A cable that disappears inside the tube
The speaker cable runs down inside the column, along the axis of the tube, and exits at the base. The passage accommodates a cross-section of up to 6 mm², covering the vast majority of speaker cables on the market. Viewed from the front or the side, the assembly leaves no wire hanging along the stand, a practical advantage when speakers are positioned away from the wall, in the middle of a living room.
Height and placement in the room
At 60 cm tall, the Stylum 2 places a compact speaker’s tweeter close to ear level for a listener seated on a sofa. At this height, the highly directional treble reaches the listener most directly, with a better-defined soundstage than a speaker placed too low and projecting sound towards the legs.
The stand also offers freedom of placement that a shelf cannot provide. Moving the speaker away from the rear wall and corners reduces the artificial bass reinforcement caused by walls and allows it to be angled slightly towards the listening position. In a home cinema setup, the pair is also suitable for surround channels positioned beside or behind the sofa.
Delivery and assembly
The two stands arrive disassembled in a single 630 × 105 × 285 mm box (11.7 kg), with the screws, instructions and tools required for assembly. Assembly involves securing the column between the base and the top plate, then choosing spikes or pads for the speaker side and adjusting the floor spikes to eliminate any rocking.
