Should I graduate to floor standers or will larger bookshelves suffice?


Hey guys,
I moved into a larger space several years ago, more of an open floor plan, and soon realized that my current speakers, Legacy Studio HD, in a surround array, might be a bit overwhelmed. It’s a weird, asymmetrical space, but it’s also significantly larger than my previous one. So the title of my post says it all…can I still get adequate coverage with bookshelf speakers, or do I now need floor standers? A friend told me to basically “sit closer to the tv” but that isn’t practical.

I thought about the Calibres from Legacy as an option, which is about my price range…up to 7k or so. I also see all these great internet only brands, like Fritz, or Philharmonic, etc, and I hear about their prodigious extension and sound stage, but can these bookshelves fill my room, or any room for that matter?

Let me also add, I have no problem graduating to floor standers, so suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

jonasandezekiel

Showing 1 response by drmuso

@jonasandezekiel

You mentioned your room is an open floor plan and asymmetrical. I’ve lived with such a room for decades. There is a conventional corner behind the right speaker and a more open area with a corner behind the left. With conventional box speakers, the right speaker’s bass is more reinforced by the corner. There are also some imaging problems due to the asymmetry.

I discovered that dipole planar speakers helped to reduce these issues. I had the Magneplanar IIIa and then Apogee Duetta II. I had the latter refurbished a few years ago, and they’re better than ever. If the issues I described above apply to your situation, I recommend you consider planar speakers. They excell at producing a realistic, 3-D soundstage and realistic-sized images. Many often have exemplary tonal reproduction. If you like realistic bass, I would recommend a refurbished set of Apogees. If you listen to less bass-heavy music, then Maggies or electrostatics deserve consideration.