Floorstanders always trump bookshelf speakers?

[audioaffair]

To paraphrase a character in Pulp Fiction, "that's a bold statement!"

Would you guys agree with this?

Of course all speakers need to be set-up and positioned properly, but this statement would be written from the perspective that bookshelf speakers are affected by the stands (type, height, filler) whereas floorstanding speakers are designed to work in situ on the spikes they are provided with.

Bookshelf speakers can come pretty close, but given the budget and space, would you always go for floorstanders?

 

[chebby]

Please check rule 11 of the house rules and amend your signature to remove the links ...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/about-site/house-rules

"11. The site must not be used to solicit business of any kind – this includes any information in signatures and biographies, and specifically prohibits trade users from linking within forum posts or their signature to their websites, special offers, etc.."

 

[audioaffair]

Please check rule 11 of the house rules and amend your signature to remove the links ...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/about-site/house-rules

"11. The site must not be used to solicit business of any kind – this includes any information in signatures and biographies, and specifically prohibits trade users from linking within forum posts or their signature to their websites, special offers, etc.."

Chebby - done, removed the store links, sorry, should have read the rules first. The manifesto link isnt to solicit business, etc though - this is purely to share the message of good hi-fi

Where do you sit on the question posted?

 

[chebby]

Where do you sit on the question posted?

On a shelf.

 

[BigH]

To paraphrase a character in Pulp Fiction, "that's a bold statement!"

Would you guys agree with this?

Of course all speakers need to be set-up and positioned properly, but this statement would be written from the perspective that bookshelf speakers are affected by the stands (type, height, filler) whereas floorstanding speakers are designed to work in situ on the spikes they are provided with.

Bookshelf speakers can come pretty close, but given the budget and space, would you always go for floorstanders?

Rubbish if anything its the other way around esp. at the sub £1000 level. Also some rooms are not suitable for floorstanders.

 

[The_Lhc]

Please check rule 11 of the house rules and amend your signature to remove the links ...

http://www.whathifi.com/forum/about-site/house-rules

"11. The site must not be used to solicit business of any kind – this includes any information in signatures and biographies, and specifically prohibits trade users from linking within forum posts or their signature to their websites, special offers, etc.."

Chebby - done, removed the store links, sorry, should have read the rules first. The manifesto link isnt to solicit business, etc though - this is purely to share the message of good hi-fi

Err, your signature still looks like a link to your website to me?

 

[CnoEvil]

Would you guys agree with this?

Not without a lot of qualifications.

 

[bluedroog]

I wouldn’t start considering floor standers till my budget topped £2k, I’d rather have a top quality two way stand mount speaker (which at £2k there are many) than have a similar budget spread over a larger floor stander. That isn’t to say any floor stander under £2k can’t be good but I’d rather a pair of smaller agile speakers. A top quality pair of floor standers are quite a thing though.

 

[nirvy111]

I've only ever bought bookshelf speakers for budget reasons and/or for limiting bass output for a given situation.

 

[nopiano]

I wouldn’t start considering floor standers till my budget topped £2k, I’d rather have a top quality two way stand mount speaker (which at £2k there are many) than have a similar budget spread over a larger floor stander. That isn’t to say any floor stander under £2k can’t be good but I’d rather a pair of smaller agile speakers. A top quality pair of floor standers are quite a thing though.

That is pretty much exactly my view too. To the inexperienced buyer the percieved value is greater with a floorstanders, but all that wood just vibrates and costs more to ship.

 

[James7]

I wouldn’t start considering floor standers till my budget topped £2k, I’d rather have a top quality two way stand mount speaker (which at £2k there are many) than have a similar budget spread over a larger floor stander. That isn’t to say any floor stander under £2k can’t be good but I’d rather a pair of smaller agile speakers. A top quality pair of floor standers are quite a thing though.

Agreed. Given the budget and space, yes, floorstanders can deliver the quality offered by decent standmounts with added bass extension and power - but in typical living rooms, in the UK at least, and with a typical budget (let's say under £2000 - I don't suppose the number of speakers costing more than that takes up much market share) I would almost always expect standmounts to sound better.

 

[lindsayt]

To paraphrase a character in Pulp Fiction, "that's a bold statement!"

Would you guys agree with this?

Of course all speakers need to be set-up and positioned properly, but this statement would be written from the perspective that bookshelf speakers are affected by the stands (type, height, filler) whereas floorstanding speakers are designed to work in situ on the spikes they are provided with.

Bookshelf speakers can come pretty close, but given the budget and space, would you always go for floorstanders?

It's the proviso in bold that makes a big difference.

Even then it depends what floorstanders we're comparing against what bookshelves. There have been an awful lot of poor to mediocre sounding examples of both genres.

All of my favourite sounding speakers have been floorstanders / large speakers. None of my favourite sounding speakers have been bookshelves.

Most of my favourite floorstanders have not sat on spikes. When you get 70+ kg's on a large footprint you don't need them.

And to be honest, comparing my favourite bookshelves to my favourite floorstanders, it's not been close. The floorstanders have won by a considerable margin.

So for me, given the space, I'd always go for floorstanders over bookshelves if I could pick the floorstander I was having.

 

[matthewpiano]

I wouldn’t start considering floor standers till my budget topped £2k, I’d rather have a top quality two way stand mount speaker (which at £2k there are many) than have a similar budget spread over a larger floor stander. That isn’t to say any floor stander under £2k can’t be good but I’d rather a pair of smaller agile speakers. A top quality pair of floor standers are quite a thing though.

I largely agree with this. I'd be looking at things like the Audio Note AX2, ATC SCM11, PMC Twenty 21, B&W PM1. Dynaudio Excite X14, Vienna Acoustics Haydn etc. I'm not sure floorstanders would even come into the equation.

I like the excellent imaging/soundstaging and tightness of sound that a small speaker brings.

 

[Covenanter]

I've always had floorstanders (since my student days) but that's probably just prejudice. I've not heard any modern standmounts except the LS50s which I have to say sounded "artificial" to me (although the Superfi salesman said they are one of ther best selling lines).

Actually it surely comes down to how well designed they are and how they are made. I'm not sure there is any inherent advantage of one type over the other. Just listen and see what you like.

Chris

 

[plastic penguin]

I wouldn’t start considering floor standers till my budget topped £2k, I’d rather have a top quality two way stand mount speaker (which at £2k there are many) than have a similar budget spread over a larger floor stander. That isn’t to say any floor stander under £2k can’t be good but I’d rather a pair of smaller agile speakers. A top quality pair of floor standers are quite a thing though.

That is pretty much exactly my view too. To the inexperienced buyer the percieved value is greater with a floorstanders, but all that wood just vibrates and costs more to ship.

Purely on the shipping of the box that is true, but factor in the cost of stands, the weight and how that costs to ship then it pretty much evens itself out. Also, IMHO the stands look completely fugly, unless you have the money to buy PMC or Spendor and suchlike, which costs an arm and a leg.

Saying all that, still wouldn't swap my TB2s for anything.

 

[lindsayt]

Why are so many people talking about budgets and £'s in this thread? Are you all obsessed with brand new speakers only?

If so why?

The opening post makes no mention that we have to impose such an artificial limit on the speakers we're comparing.

Remove this "£brand new speakers only" restriction and all talk of you needing to spend so much money to get a bookshelf-beating floorstander goes totally out of the window.

 

[matt49]

Why are so many people talking about budgets and £'s in this thread? Are you all obsessed with brand new speakers only?

If so why?

The opening post makes no mention that we have to impose such an artificial limit on the speakers we're comparing.

Remove this "£brand new speakers only" restriction and all talk of you needing to spend so much money to get a bookshelf-beating floorstander goes totally out of the window.

To be fair, the OP did use the word "budget", albeit without specifying what budget.

I have a very narrow take on this, as electrostatic speakers only come in floorstanding form, so the question "floorstanders or standmounts?" doesn't arise.

Matt

 

[BigH]

Why are so many people talking about budgets and £'s in this thread? Are you all obsessed with brand new speakers only?

If so why?

The opening post makes no mention that we have to impose such an artificial limit on the speakers we're comparing.

Remove this "£brand new speakers only" restriction and all talk of you needing to spend so much money to get a bookshelf-beating floorstander goes totally out of the window.

Floorstanders always trump bookshelf speakers?

 

[Vladimir]

How about monkey coffins?

 

[davedotco]

How about monkey coffins?

I have always fancied Monkey Banana.

Given the shape, I think they might be related....... *dirol*

 

[Vladimir]

I can fit 6 of those monkey bananas inside a pregnant penguin.

 

[davedotco]

I can fit 6 of those monkey bananas inside a pregnant penguin.

DM6s, there's a nightmare I never expected to have again........*shok*

 

[Vladimir]

Beauty is in the eye of the... oh who am I kidding. *shok*

 

[lindsayt]

Why are so many people talking about budgets and £'s in this thread? Are you all obsessed with brand new speakers only?

If so why?

The opening post makes no mention that we have to impose such an artificial limit on the speakers we're comparing.

Remove this "£brand new speakers only" restriction and all talk of you needing to spend so much money to get a bookshelf-beating floorstander goes totally out of the window.

Floorstanders always trump bookshelf speakers?

If I am selecting the floorstanders (or anyone else with a reasonable knowledge and experience of a variety of speakers) and there's enough space, then for overall sound quality floorstanders always trump bookshelves.

There are cerrtain things that give you technical advantages which lead to siginificant improvements in sound quality that just won't fit in a bookshelf. Electrostatic panels. large bass drivers, almost true infinite baffle enclosures, larger horns.

 

[Frank Harvey]

Why are so many people talking about budgets and £'s in this thread? Are you all obsessed with brand new speakers only?

If so why?

The opening post makes no mention that we have to impose such an artificial limit on the speakers we're comparing.

Remove this "£brand new speakers only" restriction and all talk of you needing to spend so much money to get a bookshelf-beating floorstander goes totally out of the window.

Budget does come into it. Under £1,000 you are generally better off with standmounts, even when taking into account the cost of stands. From £1,000-2,500 things can swing either way, and from around £2,500 upwards, there's enough budget to get the best out of a floorstanding speaker, and in turn, trump standmounts.