"Bookshelves" were a compromise at one time. They were cheaper and easier to position for people living in small spaces, easier to move, and were compared to standard speakers themselves which were wide baffle boxes with either three-way or hybrid horn designs. College students could afford a pair of Bose 301s, but big JBLs, Klipschorns or Cornwalls were out of the question. Bookshelf speakers were compared to "monitors" which were understood at that time as meant for professional installations and had industrial finishes. "Tower" speaker designs did not really come into common popularity until the late1980s with high-end companies like Boothroyd Stuart Meridian. The design leaders of the time included Bang & Olufsen whose small cabinet models combined fine design and materials with excellent sound. Popularity of sat-sub arrangements came even later once passive subwoofers were replaced by reliable and affordable powered subs that were available. So "bookshelves" weren't really displacing tower speakers or floorstanders as they are known now.
Why "bookshelf" sspeakers?
This is not a rhetorical question. I’m asking because I don’t know.
The question is this: What is the point of "bookshelf" style speakers if they are not going on a bookshelf or table? In other words they are on speaker stands.
Here is the reason I’m asking. For a short time I had a pair of Aerial Acoustics 5T speakers along with a pair of Aerial Acoustics 6T towers (which I still have).
I listened to each set of speakers through a Bryston AV amp. I felt like the 6Ts sounded much better. More bass. Fuller sound. (I think a subwoofer would have resolved that easily for the 5Ts.)
The 5Ts are not exactly small and would barely fit on most bookshelves (although they are front ported and recommended for bookshelves by AE). The ones I listened to were on heavy metal stands which made them almost as big and heavy as the 6Ts.
So why buy smaller speakers which need to go on large heavy stands that make them as big as a floor standing speaker and not sound as good? Space saving does not seem to be the answer and I see some ’bookshelf’ speakers that are a good bit bigger than the AE 5ts.
I’m sure there must be a good reason since I see many people with them. And of course my assumption that a floor stander sounds better than a bookshelf might be wrong.
I guess cost comes into play somewhere in the equation as well.
Interested in people’s thoughts on this.
- ...
- 61 posts total
I currently have 4 sets of stand mount speakers that I rotate in my system. Storage of the ones I am not using is a breeze and I just could not have floor standers taking up all my living space, if I had that many sets. A small house problem. Book shelf speakers are generally cheaper, so I can collect more! I do run 2 REL subs with them and simply enjoy the swapping of the speakers on a regular basis. |
viridian: How are big speakers = big problem? I’ve had big speakers all my life and they have traveled with me all over the world during my numerous moves. Big speakers= big sound if you ask me, and there is just no substitute for what they can do. If you don't have to why compromise? It's the equivalent of buying a mini refrigerator versus a full size one. |
- 61 posts total