Can A Stand Mounted Speaker Be Considered "High Fidelity?"

[hardisj]

No. None of them.

/thread

 

[Pearljam5000]

Before the existences of subwoofers I would agree a stand mount is inferior in every way but now that you can add any number of subs to match or exceed the performance of big speakers then I would say no.
Also 15 inch speakers are huge don't always look good, not to mention would cost a lot more than smaller speakers + subs

 

[thewas]

With subwoofer(s) definitely yes and actually is in most cases the acoustically better option.

Also standmounters doesn't mean much as there existed and exist examples which are more bass capable than most modern skinny floorstanders with their 5"-8" woofers like the large 3-way Japanese or JBL ones. Also almost all mid and main monitors are not floorstanding but need stands of flush in-wall mounting and they are on the top of the sound reproduction quality.

 

[freemansteve]

I'm wondering if my lounge is HiFi or not....

Almost everything in it is floor standing or on bookshelves.

 

[fineMen]

I'm wondering if my lounge is HiFi or not....

Almost everything in it is floor standing or on bookshelves.

High fidelity in its original definition means that You have to doubt it. High fidelity can only be experienced as long as You care. Once You don't care, high fidelity becomes irrelevant.

But, believe it or not, a regular 'stand mount' speaker will, even if top notch up to date (Purify etc), please You with tons of distortion. Due to very limited bass capabilities that is. Yes, people got used to the sonic signature of an overloaded loudspeaker, and some actually crave for it. Maybe even the studios depend on it to give the recording some 'bite' and 'life'. No drama without the loudspeaker's contribution.

The most boring solution is to just accept the need for subs. The benefit of 'floor standers' with bigger drivers for the low-mid section is the opportunity to x/o to the subs at a lower frequency. While I personally suggest to have at least two subs, which are placed not too far from the mains, and try, out of curiosity only, to x/o them higher @ about 150Hz or so ...

To expect the real thing from a 5" used solo is wishful thinking.

 

[JRS]

What is the music that digs deepest (generally)? Classical music and techno ... can I imagine but regular pop, jazz, rock, blues down to 20 Hz? Does it get even below 30 Hz, (usually)?

Home theater, on the other hand, I can understand.

Then what you mention to weigh in, neighbors (who can get annoyed at bass even in the higher registers).

Suspect it's like power on an amp. You want a headroom (for safety's sake).

Edit:
Then everyone knows that even if a small bookshelf speaker can dig a little deep, it does not mean that it will sound particularly good in those bass regions. Especially not if it has a bass driver that in itself has a high distortion to start with. It may sound.. hm ok at low volume. At best ok on normal listening volume but damn bad distorting on higher volume. But that's something most people quickly figure out and add one or more subwoffers.

.... There is something I point out here:

250$-300$ Compact (powered) Bookshelf speakers that don't look ugly?

There is no shortcut to the perfect HiFi sound so ...he he ..:D.....o_O Edit: In fact, a friend when he was in his 20s received an ultimatum from his then-girlfriend, who was jealous. Zappa collection (which should be mentioned he spent the most time on) or more time with his girlfriend ... he...

audiosciencereview.com

Consider that distance, the placement of the small speakers and the sofa ( it's not my stuff or my listening room but people can do exactly what they want as long as they are happy and cheerful )

I would argue that some of the newer woofers (Purifi, Dayton Audio Epique, and others) are blurring that distinction big time. 35Hz is achevable at decent levels with less than say 15% distortion, all of which is a good thing. No longer do we have to pay big bucks for tricked out stand monitors from Genelec, Nuemann or D&D, et al.

It might just be the dawn of a golden age for <30liter speakers.

 

[Talisman]

This question is absolutely interesting but also incomplete.
the very concept of fidelity alone does not stand up, because something is faithful it needs a reference, faithful TO WHAT?
For example, if you wanted to reproduce as faithfully as possible the sound of a brass bell struck by a wooden stick, the best system would be ... well a brass bell struck by a wooden stick, and no implant of hundreds of thousands of euro will be able to reproduce it with EXACTLY the same fidelity.
Any instrument can be high fidelity, or not, depending on what is being played.
Disco music hardly drops below 50hz, but it needs a lot of sound pressure to be enjoyed. better many small speakers than one larger, vice versa if I wanted to reproduce a huge ship propeller at 25hz it would be more useful a single speaker capable of going lower.
There is no perfect audio reproduction system, we have to decide what interests us and buy the system that more than others is faithful to what we want.
for some it will be the extension at the bottom, for others the linearity.
It cannot be decided a priori.

 

[noise17]

1) It depends on the bandwidth of the music to which you listen. Why demand deep bass if you music has none? So the standmount with greater fidelity MIGHT be fine.

This is a good point. I'm in a phase of listening to blues recorded in the early 1900s. My sub has been quiet for a few weeks.