Uplifting/Standing Studio Desk: Anyone Using One in Your Studio?

[MojoBodies]

Yes! After going through some KRK, Adam, Yamaha and others in the same general price range, the Focals sounded the best to me. Enough bass and power without a sub to produce some nice cab thump, but not boomy. Sound good at all volumes.

Are those the Alpha 65? What Adams did you have?

 

[AZG]

Are those the Alpha 65? What Adams did you have?

They are Alpha 8's. I tried and returned the Adam A5X's. Nice mids and highs, but the bass was thin.

 

[WallyWest_KidFlash]

Bought just the frame from AnthroDesk in Canada. My son and I designed and built the top. These legs are heavy duty, pretty stable at all heights and have been changing heights for a few years now. I didn't want one with the driveshaft between the 2 legs so I got this one with dual motors.
I use 2 of the 4 preset heights. One for sitting (mixing, reading, browsing) and One for Raised when I'm jamming with my band.

 

[Warrior]

Curious if anyone uses a standing pad?

I just picked one up for my wife that I've seen several good reviews for.

Amazon product ASIN B01N8YE3VI

 

[fuzzyoctaves]

Curious if anyone uses a standing pad?

I just picked one up for my wife that I've seen several good reviews for.

Amazon product ASIN B01N8YE3VI

I don't use one in my studio because when I am playing, I move around a lot. However, I do use one for my stand up gaming PC setup because I am standing in the same spot for a long time. I got a cheaper one:
Amazon product ASIN B07HYC4RZ7
It is ok overall. It didn't have a toxic smell like some others and that's why I picked it. After a lot of use, the edges lift off the ground a bit as I am using it on carpet. I'll flip it upside down and use it that way for an hour or so and it is back to normal. Interested to hear how your wife likes the one you bought. The ridges seem like they could either be really effective or annoying...

 

[lqdsnddist]

I feel that Uplift, Vari, Flexispot, Monoprice etc all seem to use the same leg assembly? Probably made by the same factory overseas, with the differences largely being options and materials for the tops. Anyone confirm ?

they all seem to say they are more stable than the other brands but all look like the exact same design.

I want one that can go down to like 24” though so many models only do 27 or 28”. I want to have the keybed be at normal piano height if I set some synths on the desktop. This seems harder to find in the lower cost models. Uplift for example requires the commercial leg assembly to go 3” lower....

top price seems a bit silly too. Going from 48x30 to 60x30 adds like $120, and then if you get to 66 or 72x30 it’s another 150......
I’m thinking maybe just a 74x25” IKEA laminate countertop for under $100 may work well, but is a little narrow....

I want stable, I want it to go low, and I’d like a decent size work area but I’d like to avoid paying $799 or so for what I want... lol

 

[Nick Barba]

I bought this desk a while ago (although I think the price may have went up since I bought) https://www.azstudioworkstations.com/summit-sit-stand-keyboard-studio-desk/

I've been very happy with it. Only thing I wish is it was 3U instead of 2U Rack height (I'm sure he would custom build that but I didn't feel I had the need at the time). That being said I bought a little sidecar for my AxeFXIII and some other rack gear I had as I like having a little more desktop space so since removed the 2U racks and just use to store things. I may end up putting gear there at some point. Also not the desks fault but for best frequency response of my monitors I found it better to put my speakers on stands and they are setup for mixing while sitting. Also gives me more desktop space.

I'm changing a lot between sitting and standing so this desk really does help in that regard to keep me a little more active. Regardless of what you go for I wouldn't hesitate to get a sit stand desk. Even the manual ones at the lowest cost would probably be nice and you wouldn't ever have to worry about any issues that could come from the base (I did have some issues which took getting all my gear off of it and replacing a leg and the control unit).

(EDIT: wow so actually the price went down since I bought it)

 

[iaresee]

I want one that can go down to like 24” though

All the Uplift V2 Commercial frames will go that low. They comply with laws for accessibility in the workplace that necessitate being able to go lower than the 25" height the non-commerical frames go.

I feel that Uplift, Vari, Flexispot, Monoprice etc all seem to use the same leg assembly? Probably made by the same factory overseas, with the differences largely being options and materials for the tops. Anyone confirm ?

Probably do share factories and a lot of common parts, yes. Motor configuration varies from vendor to vendor and matters. Uplift has 2 motors in their two leg design vs. the 1 motor configuration the Monoprice desk seems to have. At the end of the day, this is one of those problems that only has a few ways to solve it so you're going to see a lot of similarities from vendor to vendor.

top price seems a bit silly too.

It is. See above. Build your own top. It's not hard. I regret not doing that.

I’m thinking maybe just a 74x25” IKEA laminate countertop for under $100 may work well, but is a little narrow....

You need to be super careful with desk tops from Ikea now. Most of their desk lineup (including their cheap IDASEN model) have switched to "particle- and fiberboard with honeycomb paper filling (100% recycled paper), Ash veneer, Stain, Clear acrylic lacquer, Plastic edging".

Yes, these tops are now lighter (so you don't need motors with as much torque) but that honeycomb pattern loses it's strength pretty quickly if you have to drill into or through the top. That makes doing things like mounting cable management and trays, headphone hangers, monitor stands, etc. to the top hard to do without destroying it. And because the desk legs are tuned for a lighter top, if you replace the lousy top with solid wood the weight is more than the motors can handle.

I want stable, I want it to go low, and I’d like a decent size work area but I’d like to avoid paying $799 or so for what I want... lol

Yeeeeaaaaa....

 

[LizzyD]

I've got the IKEA "IDÅSEN" one and for me it's perfect. I'm in a 11' x 11' spare bedroom with every inch of wall packed with other gear, cases and storage furniture so a 63" wide desk is about my limit. I wanted something high and wide enough to fit a 88 key controller underneath and this was the best option I could find that wasn't too big for my space. I found a keyboard stand with wheels that easily slides under, then out when I need it. The desk height is adjustable with a bluetooth phone app where I can store my favorite settings.

 

[lqdsnddist]

I've got the IKEA "IDÅSEN" one and for me it's perfect. I'm in a 11' x 11' spare bedroom with every inch of wall packed with other gear, cases and storage furniture so a 63" wide desk is about my limit. I wanted something high and wide enough to fit a 88 key controller underneath and this was the best option I could find that wasn't too big for my space. I found a keyboard stand with wheels that easily slides under, then out when I need it. The desk height is adjustable with a bluetooth phone app where I can store my favorite settings.

View attachment 80983

how do you find the stability of that one ? I found I can get the legs for $449 and I do like the style a bit more than the rest of the options. Says it has a 10 year warranty as well which seems better as many brands only have 5 years on motors and ikea will probably be far more likely to be in business in 10 years to honor it perhaps

 

[LizzyD]

how do you find the stability of that one ? I found I can get the legs for $449 and I do like the style a bit more than the rest of the options. Says it has a 10 year warranty as well which seems better as many brands only have 5 years on motors and ikea will probably be far more likely to be in business in 10 years to honor it perhaps

It's stable enough for me, but I'm not jumping up and down on it or anything. Or banging on a keyboard. The top is wiggle-able if I lean on it, then everything on it jiggles. Nothing that concerns me, but maybe a larger person might be bothered by it.

 

[lqdsnddist]

It's stable enough for me, but I'm not jumping up and down on it or anything. Or banging on a keyboard. The top is wiggle-able if I lean on it, then everything on it jiggles. Nothing that concerns me, but maybe a larger person might be bothered by it.

thanks for the feedback on it. My ikea is over an hour away so didn’t want to drive there to check one out in person if it’s totally wobbly. I’d probably play keys with it low, where I assume any is more stable, but I saw a few clips of various models online that really swayed around like crazy up high, so those are the ones to avoid lol

saw a 4 leg one come up on my news feed ads (spy on my search history much ? Lol) and that no doubt adds stability but it started at $1099!!

 

[Admin M@]

I use the Bamboo Motion-X Board from Uplift instead of a mat.

 

[Nick Barba]

thanks for the feedback on it. My ikea is over an hour away so didn’t want to drive there to check one out in person if it’s totally wobbly. I’d probably play keys with it low, where I assume any is more stable, but I saw a few clips of various models online that really swayed around like crazy up high, so those are the ones to avoid lol

saw a 4 leg one come up on my news feed ads (spy on my search history much ? Lol) and that no doubt adds stability but it started at $1099!!

This might fit your requirements:

https://www.fully.com/standing-desks/jarvis/jarvis-frame-only.html

I believe it's the base on my desk. There are some options you can choose for which height range you would need.

 

[Admin M@]

I promised I'd share the details of my desk. Here they are:

UPLIFT V2 Standing Desk
1" thick Carbonized Bamboo, Curved 30"x80"
V2-Commercial C-Frame with Casters
This monitor arm (with two 27" monitors.
https://www.upliftdesk.com/range-dual-monitor-arm-uplift-desk/
ISO Acoustics ISO-200 stands (I use Adam S2V Monitors)

I'd recommend these products to anyone trying to combine pro audio and an ergonomic standing setup.

 

[fuzzyoctaves]

I use the Bamboo Motion-X Board from Uplift instead of a mat.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it - looks like a great way to strengthen your ankles without trying. I wonder if it encourages you to keep the same foot position though?

 

[Admin M@]

Here is the desk in standing position.

I'd love to hear your thoughts on it - looks like a great way to strengthen your ankles without trying. I wonder if it encourages you to keep the same foot position though?

If you've never met me, you won't know that I don't ever stay in any one position for very long
I also have a foam mat, but that technically belongs to the cat now.
One thing: I did have to put some anti-skid tape on it when winter came and socks became normal footwear.

 

[Warrior]

Let's talk studio monitor height/placement
​

Monitor Height
I typically have my studio monitors placed on stands behind the desk. The monitors sit on top of Primeacoustics isolation pads.
They're designed so the tweeter height is at 50.5" - which is the distance from the floor to my ear opening.

This puts the bottom of the monitors at 41.75" from the floor.

The max height of the IsoAcoustin ISO-200 is 8.75".
This would mean I would need to set my desk height at 33" when seated to achieve the 50.5" height for my tweeters.

My current desk height is 28.5" - which seems to be perfect for ergonomics (when seated).

Am I being too critical with the height / is there more of a tolerance window without degrading critical listening quality?

Early Reflections
I know there are a lot of studios that have their monitors placed on their desks.

How do they (and you guys) deal with early reflections off the desk?

My previous studio
This was the studio in my previous home showing the monitors on the stands.
And the treatment design from ReadyAcoustics. It was a small room but the results were very good.








New Studio
My new studio is going to be larger. Still one room but quite a bit larger. I had hoped to soffit-mount my monitors but the builder put the electrical panel in just the wrong place to allow that.

 

[Nick Barba]

Let's talk studio monitor height/placement
​

Monitor Height
I typically have my studio monitors placed on stands behind the desk. The monitors sit on top of Primeacoustics isolation pads.
They're designed so the tweeter height is at 50.5" - which is the distance from the floor to my ear opening.

This puts the bottom of the monitors at 41.75" from the floor.

The max height of the IsoAcoustin ISO-200 is 8.75".
This would mean I would need to set my desk height at 33" when seated to achieve the 50.5" height for my tweeters.

My current desk height is 28.5" - which seems to be perfect for ergonomics (when seated).

Am I being too critical with the height / is there more of a tolerance window without degrading critical listening quality?

Early Reflections
I know there are a lot of studios that have their monitors placed on their desks.

How do they (and you guys) deal with early reflections off the desk?

My previous studio
This was the studio in my previous home showing the monitors on the stands.
And the treatment design from ReadyAcoustics. It was a small room but the results were very good.

There is definitely a tolerance window and some of it depends on the dispersion characteristics of your speakers and then how it is interacting with the room at that height. I would try experimenting with slight changes to speaker and listening height and use your ears to learn about how it changes in your room with your speakers

There is also nice built in feature to the free software Room EQ Wizard which allows you to define your room dimensions and then add treatment to the room and place the speakers and the listening position in the 3D space. I found it to be very valuable info for choosing my approximate speaker and listening position and helping me to visualize the resulting frequency response based on those choices.

Then after physically setting up the room I use REQW to test the freq response, decay time, etc to get a view of where I am at and to help in further decisions. I go back and forth between using REQW and then just listening to a lot of music and experimenting with small tweaks to the speaker placement and angles and my listening position. Once I feel good about all of that I will then do the same with very conservative room correction eq using REQW to test and listening a lot. For all of it I use the science to get close and the ears to finalize all decisions. Really the science helps more in the beginning of the process with relying on the ears more and more towards the end. An inverse relationship

 

[Warrior]

So I did a thing.
Solid Pheasant Wood top. Decided to just do it. No time right now to build my own and wanted it thick enough to add a keyboard tray later if I decide to.

You wouldn’t believe how heavy this top is!

Temp studio in spare room while I build my new studio so not worried about cable management.