Do you prefer floorstanding speakers or bookshelf speakers? Which do you find sound generally better at the same pricepoint?

[BobbyTimmons]

Do you prefer floorstanding speakers or bookshelf speakers? Which do you find sound generally better at the same pricepoint, and ceteris paribus?

Also what speakers and brands in particular have impressed you?

 

[Doodski]

At retail and at the service department I've handled hundreds of different speaker models and I generally consider shape and size to be secondary to the sound quality. Some bookshelf speakers like Paradigm, Polk Audio, Definitive Technology, MB Quart, Magnat, Celestion, B&W, KEF, Energy, Mission, JBL and others have sounded very good regardless of their size. After listening to so many speaker models I've decided that most stuff less than $1000 is not for me. I like snappy midrange and sharp high end and a tight bass and so I'm attracted to sharp sounding speakers and headphones. If we are looking at speakers up to $1000.00 then a bookshelf will probably be the better choice and above that price some larger cabinet models get pretty good too. As per speakers that have impressed me they are usually not models I have sold or serviced. I bought stuff that was different than what I was selling and servicing. I go for big cabinets and I like to make my own stuff and then tri-amplify. The most important part of owning is liking the sound you have and everything else is secondary. Have you considered making a small bi-amp or tri-amp system with a active crossover?

 

[iLoveCats]

I'm just a guy, but I prefer a good B&W, Kef, Focal bookshelf on a nice sand filled, metal stand with decent placement and a sealed subwoofer over any floor stander. Even models from the same family, I like the bookshelf version. I type this as I sit here listening to magnepans lol

 

[DonH56]

Generally floor-standing. I appreciate the deeper bass, given that crossovers are not brick walls dropping to zero response either side of the crossover frequency, so having decent response an octave either side is desirable in my mind. A lower crossover reduces bass localization and facilitates optimum subwoofer placement for the smoothest (flattest) in-room response. These days floorstanders often take about the same space as a bookshelf on a stand, provide deeper bass, are more stable (important if you have kids or pets), and generally present a larger sound source due to the additional drivers.

On the con side they are physically larger and more imposing even if the footprint is smaller and generally cost more (though usually have deeper bass and high output due to the extra drivers and larger cabinets). And of course usually cannot be placed on a shelf (Floyd Toole's Salon2 positions a notable exception).

Magnepans were my main speakers for many years, recently replaced by Revel, but I also like KEF and many others. I have flirted with B&W many times but never bought a pair -- never sounded quite right to me. I have lost count of how many I heard over the years but have not been auditioning much the past few years (too many other things requiring my time). There are many good choices these days.

FWIWFM - Don

 

[Snarfie]

I started about 10 years ago buying gear not so in the high end audio gear but more studio gear like Allen & Heath digital console. Ableton controllers, diffuser panels to get rid of first reflections bass traps and not to forget Monitors like KRK vst series an Adam A7 monitor (i ended up with). Years before in the 80ties i owned decent audio gear (so called high-end) a class A amplifier with about 90.000 microfarad of elco capacity floor standing speakers all from JK Accoustics a Dutch brand something in between Krell and a Mark Levinson sound.

So getting back to the studio gear. The sound was not bad and it is used for making remixes, listening to uncolored sound it sounded quite good. However my CD collection never sounded as i heard with my JK Acoustic gear. That is also not so surprising till i could get hold of some 40 year old IMF compact monitors. Took an older NAD integrated amp put the IMF's on for fun an compared it to the Adam A7 i was shocked regarding detail an clean sound from the IMF's IMO way better in all aspects. The Adams where sold cost around 1400,- new an the IMF Monitors are still used cost 70,- Euro for both. Basically with the Adams and or KRK with kevlar bass drivers you could play much louder but that was for me the only advantage. When using later room correction software the difference was much more apparent so i bought some floor standing speakers (again) for now i ended up with Vandersteen Model 1 speakers which have a breath taking staging sound. More important I play all my old Cd's again an hear things I never heard before for about 45 years. When I sit behind my desk I listen to my IMF's when I need staging I sit in my Poang chair listening to the Vandies.

 

[Frank Dernie]

It is much cheaper and easier to make a cabinet "quiet" if it is smaller. Any vibration in the walls is radiated as sound, good in a musical instrument, bad in a speaker.
I think it is educational to rest a finger gently on the main speaker cone whilst playing music then feel the cabinet then think about how much greater a radiating area the cabinet has than the cone area.
Big boxes give more bass but not necessarily a clean sound in the budget case. It is hard to separate the sound coming from the box from that coming from the drive units by measurement, though it can be calculated.
The speakers I like best all have a lot of effort put into the cabinet. (KEF LS50, Proac EBS, Yamaha NS1000, Goldmund Epilog)
My main speakers are modular with the midrange and tweeter in one cabinet and the bass in another, rather like bookshelf speakers and a sub.
I also, rather surprisingly, markedly preferred the ATC SCM50 on stands to its tower version SCM50T, both big speakers. No idea why but it was a clear preference, and their pro versions are all stand mount not tower type FWIW.

 

[Kal Rubinson]

Generally floor-standing. I appreciate the deeper bass, given that crossovers are not brick walls dropping to zero response either side of the crossover frequency, so having decent response an octave either side is desirable in my mind. A lower crossover reduces bass localization and facilitates optimum subwoofer placement for the smoothest (flattest) in-room response. These days floorstanders often take about the same space as a bookshelf on a stand, provide deeper bass, are more stable (important if you have kids or pets), and generally present a larger sound source due to the additional drivers.

I agree with all of this.

On the con side they are physically larger and more imposing even if the footprint is smaller ........

OTOH, I do not agree with this. An aesthetically appealing floor-standing speaker will be more appealing as furniture than a small box, even a shapely one, on one or more posts. It is the latter which screams out "This is a speaker!" My wife has never commented about any of the large speakers I've had for review or by ownership. She has, repeatedly, made remarks about the unacceptability of any/all stand mount speakers.

As for their relative price and performance, I don't have any strong feelings here because (1) I can afford almost anything that appeals to me and (2) I have experimented enough with small speakers and subs to believe that they can provide satisfaction, albeit with some more effort than with larger speakers.

Nothing surprising, I think.

 

[mkawa]

Good floorstanders can have enough lower extension to make subs irrelevant. If you are not space constrained, i really prefer them

 

[DonH56]

Good floorstanders can have enough lower extension to make subs irrelevant. If you are not space constrained, i really prefer them

Not in my experience. Very, very few main speakers deliver adequate bass with low distortion below 50 Hz, let alone below 30 or 40 Hz, and you almost always compromise placement by not using a subwoofer or several thus cannot resolve room modes or SBIR effects that cause large low-frequency peaks and nulls. Off-loading the mains also improves the rest of the frequency range by reducing the load on the main speakers and amplifiers driving them. The net result is a better-sounding system that plays deeper and louder more cleanly with subs than without. I have heard the "my big speakers do not need a sub" argument for decades and have disproven it many times to myself, friends, and doubting listeners who felt a sub was not needed even when they had "big" speakers (B&W, Bozak, Dunlevy, Magnepan, Martin Logan, Sound Lab, Wilson, etc.) These days good subs are in abundance and are used by many audio luminaries so I feel I'm in good company.

 

[Rja4000]

I do prefer floorstanding whenever the room is big enough.
I hate having to purchase a stand for bookshelf speakers. And what's the point then? They become floorstanding- without the benefits.

If room is small, bookshelf speakers are the only wise way to go. Aren't they?

As for the Genelec 1032A and the like, I call them Table-standing. And I like them a lot too.

Oh, I forgot to say that for REALLY HUGE space, I actually prefer this:

I like all good speakers, when adequate for the room

 

[aarons915]

I'm in the bookshelf with multiple subs camp, I think a big part of this equation is how loud you listen though, my max SPL is around 85db and a bookshelf with a high pass can play that loud no problem. There are some who listen at 95+ db and they definitely need multiple woofers or distortion is going to be a problem. My dream bookshelf speakers are the KEF Reference ones and with subs I'd put them up against any speaker at any price.

 

[NTomokawa]

I'd love to own tower speakers, but alas I listen to music only when I'm at my computer desk. I'd need big stands to prop tower speakers up so they don't fire right into my desk!

 

[Rja4000]

There are some who listen at 95+ db

You can count me in those.
Not every day, for sure but when I get a chance....

Do you have any idea of the actual SPL level of a real drum kit, or grand piano?

 

[DonH56]

You can count me in those.
Not every day, for sure but when I get a chance....

Do you have any idea of the actual SPL level of a real drum kit, or grand piano?

My older son is a drummer, wife plays piano, younger son plays trombone, and I have many years playing in bands and orchestras, so yah... Loud! Depends on how far away you are, natch, but drums can reach 140 dB and piano 120 dB or more right at the heads/hammers though usually more like 80 dB just a few feet away. For that matter, I read an article not too long ago showing >140 dB at the bell of a trumpet (my instrument), though in practice it's more like 100~120 dB max IME. Trombones are louder when they really crank it up.

 

[Rja4000]

usually more like 80 dB just a few feet away

That may be true for a home exercise straight piano, but a grand piano has to be heard over the whole orchestra. So, that is loud. I mean much louder.

 

[Rja4000]

My older son is a drummer, wife plays piano, younger son plays trombone, and I have many years playing in bands and orchestras, so yah... Loud! Depends on how far away you are, natch, but drums can reach 140 dB and piano 120 dB or more right at the heads/hammers though usually more like 80 dB just a few feet away. For that matter, I read an article not too long ago showing >140 dB at the bell of a trumpet (my instrument), though in practice it's more like 100~120 dB max IME. Trombones are louder when they really crank it up.

The bottom line is: how could you really enjoy music at 80dB SPL?
Like in the cheapest seat (place), way above and in a corner, close to the roof and the exit door, in the concert hall?

 

[aarons915]

You can count me in those.
Not every day, for sure but when I get a chance....

Do you have any idea of the actual SPL level of a real drum kit, or grand piano?

Quite loud but I'm not sure why we would need to produce that in our living rooms. Using the same logic we should be able to produce realistic levels of a Jet flying by or a gunshot when watching movies lol...

 

[Sal1950]

At the same price point? That's not a fair apples to apples question.
To get set of stand mounts to have good bass you need a good subwoofer or 4.
Just the cost of the extra cabinets is going to unbalance the equation.
Great sound can be accomplished either way but the fact that having multiple subs that
can be positioned to balance out the room modes is a big plus that can't be forgotten.
If I had the room for big speakers I'd probably make the choice of large floor standers with a
lot of drivers that can move a lot of air without distortion, or more likely a large horn system.
Then still rolling them off around 100hz and at least 2 large subs taking over for the very bottom end.
You want loud, with low distortion, and go very deep, you've got to move a lot of air, that just the facts of it.
Someone once said "you can't change the laws of physics"

 

[Casey Leedom]

I'm in the Full Range Floor-standing camp. I have Legacy Audio Focus SEs and am extremely happy with them. They're pricy at ~$11-12K/pair (depending on finish), but absolutely awesome with bass extension down to ~18Hz.

Casey

 

[LTig]

Do you prefer floorstanding speakers or bookshelf speakers? Which do you find sound generally better at the same pricepoint, and ceteris paribus?

I prefer active 3-way bookshelf speakers (on stand) with active subs.

• Why sats/subs: Usually the position for best soundstage is quite different from the position for best bass. And in case you have to move into a smaller room you can keep the speakers and either hide the subs somewhere or use the bookshelfs alone.
• Why 3-way bookshelf: reduced IMD, and with the subs you get a 4-way system with even less IMD.
• Why active: better price/SQ relation

Also what speakers and brands in particular have impressed you?

Sats: Neumann, Genelec, Kii 3, Grimm Audio LS1be