Bookshelf or floorstander?


I'm wondering what are the advantages and/or disadvantages of a bookshelf speaker versus a floorstander... assuming both are run with a sub (and ignoring the need for a speaker stand for the bookshelf speaker). I'm wondering if it is easier to integrate a sub with a more full range speaker, than with a bookshelf that may only go to 40 or 50 Hz. Anyway, I'm curious about what the thoughts are on this. TIA.

Dennis
eeerie1

Showing 1 response by zaikesman

Warren, if I'm not mistaken, Eeerie1 acknowledges the need for stands in his question. Regardless, to try to 'answer' (ha!) the darn thing, I'm going to waffle - I think in some situations, it can be easier to integrate a sub when the speakers are not strong in the lower ranges, and the reverse can be true in other situations.

But I will say this: I wouldn't choose my speakers based on any theorizing about the sub factor - I'd try to get the speakers that sound the best in my room for my budget, a criteria that could wind up pointing towards either type of speaker, and then worry about integrating a sub afterwards. If the sub is for movies, and it's not seamlessly integrated, it often won't matter all that much; OTOH, it it's for music and it can't be seamlessly integrated, then you're better off without it anyway, providing you've already chosen the speakers that sound best to you in your application.

My own personal preference is: If you mostly listen to full-range, dynamic music, or in a larger room or at higher volumes, then try to get a full-range speaker if you can fit it into the room and the budget; if you listen mostly to small-scale, quieter music, or in a smaller room, you might well be able to take advantage of better quality for the same price (excepting those pesky stands), and quite possibly better imaging, with a stand-mounted speaker. In other words, everything I've said basically = saying the sub is not the determining factor when it comes to deciding which or what kind of speakers to get, but rather that the sub should follow the lead of the speakers (and therefore by extension [Sorry!] also the room and the source material used).

Complicating the matter some more is the fact that not all floor-standers qualify (or try to) as 'full-range' speakers in the first place, so simply dividing your choices into groups based on configuration is somewhat of a false distinction. Also, if you are using an amp the isn't a great choice for trying to control the woofers of a larger speaker design, you may be better off relegating more of this duty over to a sub with its own internal amp, so speaker/amp matching, as always, can come into play. Hope that made sense...I have my doubts...but anyway it may not be of much practical help... ;^)