Seems like you’re looking for data like this: https://www.grandviewresearch.com/industry-analysis/loudspeaker-market Otherwise, I have no idea why you see the advertisements you see. Maybe others in this forum are market analysts with actual empirical data about the number of sales in different categories and why. It’s way beyond most of us, I’m guessing. |
Lazy run of the mill reviewers who can’t be bothered to handle a heavier speaker, i.e., a floorstander. Get em in, get em out as soon as ya can, it’s a business. Nothing looks more goofy than that cheapman audio grunt sitting around between 2 matchbox speakers the size of his palms, over and over. It’s almost like he’s striking a pose, thinks he’s Fabio or something, as he sits between 2 crap ferns (pukosaurus rex). To be fair to Guttenberg, he looks like he might just whither away if he moved anything heavier than 10 lbs. Aside for more affordability, nothing is better on lousy bookshelfs in undersized cabinets.
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Bookshelf speakers have been around for over 60+ years. The invention of the Acoustic Suspension woofer changed the game allowing the use of a small enclosure to produce decent bass. https://smartcarting.com/the-history-and-evolution-of-bookshelf-speakers/ |
I would think you may have inadvertently clicked on a bookshelf speaker ad and the search engine then flagged that you looked at bookshelf speaker and then started barraging you with bookshelf speaker adds. If you triggered and interest... then it can pop up all over. Once you notice it, then you start noticing them... like you buy a car you never thought you would buy... and suddenly you see them all over the place. I haven't noticed any increase in bookshelf speakers being highlighted or more common. They have always been common because because they can be cheap... and of course over the last 20 or 30 years because of PCs. |
Could be a number of reasons. Internet ads are controlled based on algorithms. I also think that younger buyers don't have large houses (or houses for that matter) so smaller speakers work better in apts, condos, or small houses. And, smaller speakers with a woofer are really sounding good. I listened to a pair of B&W bookshelves with a Rel sub and was impressed at the sound in relation to the system cost and space required. |
This could be true! Lately I’ve been marveling about the high sonic quality of bookshelf/monitors, often seeing the Vivid Kaya 12 advertised. Another ad TAS April 2025 for Crystal Cable Minissimo. Stereophile April 2025 reviewed the Vovativ Hagen monitor. |
I think that this is no longer 1978. Folks entertainment time, and funds, are split between social media, video streaming, gaming, etc. And young folks are not buying houses at the rate that previous generations did (could be the prices), and so are in smaller, multi-purpose, rooms. Audio as we know it is a dinosaur and a very niche dinosaur at that, IMHO, and YMMV. |
yogiboy, Acoustic suspension was instrumental in the early design of small speakers but it is essentially dead these days. Thiel/Small research into the design of bass reflex speakers allowed the design of small ported speakers which are more efficient and bassier although usually with less bass definition. Today the concept is misunderstood and almost everyone including reviewers call any closed box acoustic suspension when it almost never is. Acoustic suspension is a special variant of closed box and all closed boxes are not acoustic suspension. In fact the drivers today have design characteristics for bass reflex and can't work properly in acoustic suspension boxes. Edgar Vilchur must be rolling in his grave after his concept once had 2/3 of the audio market before Thiel/Small. |
@viridian has a point. The number of houses I've been in even in my own Gen X that still have floor standing speakers is pretty minimal. Anybody who has anything up from a sound bar usually has a pair of bookshelf speakers. Maybe a sub if they're feeling really frisky. And Millennials and gen Z? Do you think they want to deal with floor standing speakers, especially those who stream most of their stuff? |
I have gone full circle from floor standers to stand mounts and back and forth again. in my 14X18' room i found a 3 way floor stander over powers the room being 12' away. the midrange is over powering to my aging ears and harsh regardless of EQ. which only adds phase issues and loses clarity. My Elac DBR6.2 sound amazing in my room no EQ. crazy good soundstage and bring life and realism to the music. Yes i have HSU sub the passes at 50Hz. while the speaker play full range. Not going back to floor standers not in this room. |
Standmount Speakers are really all about economics. The foot-print of a stand and a floorstander are generally the same! However, the cabinet is by far the most expensive part of a speaker and the materials and labor involved with making a Standmount vs Floorstander is exponential. The difference in sound is in the bass region because you can’t cheat physics. You need cabinet volume to create bass substantial below 30HZ and most Standmounts can NOT do this. Hell, most towers speakers can’t ’actually’ measure below 30HZ. Manufacturers can charge 40-50% of the cost of a Floorstander and use 10-20% of the materials to make them! The math is pretty simple. |
Lot more to it than just bass...The floorstander (if it wasn’t designed by a bozo) will couple better into a room with its vertical woofer stack...floor bounce, modal response, etc. The crossover changes, cabinet volume affects every driver, the entire driver integration process changes, etc.. Never get fooled into thinking that a bookshelf and floorstander from the same series are the same speaker, and the floorstander just came with a lil extra bass, which you can easy peasy make up for with the crapbox bookshelf version + subwoofer. Not to mention...If the speaker didn’t come with a dedicated stand that the designer spent significant time on (which he almost never will), you have introduced an unnecessary lousy variable called the stand.
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@yogiboy ....Yes, the AR-3 and the 3a's....it didn't take all that long for the Shrink Factor to drive speakers down to one's that'll fit in your pocket.... A 'roomy' one, but my drift you've got.... I still remember vividly hearing a pair of Infinity Infinitesimals and was blown sideways... Only gotten Better v Worse, one's POV ;) |
I think the trend is towards smaller and more compact components for most buyers. The number of buyers that want floorstanders in their main living space is low due to the significant other approval needed in my experience. It happened to me when I went from bachelor with a system and floorstanders that dominated the living room to married with 1st on the wall speakers and now to soundbars in family rooms. Most of the dedicated listening rooms I’ve seen are more devoted to home theatre for the family with multiple smaller speakers around the room. I understand that bookshelves on stands can take up the same amount of space but they are more acceptable based on what I see and hear in friends and neighbors homes. |
