Floor standing speakers vs. bookshelf speakers

[@JasonSmall]

I'm just starting to get into all this stuff and this channel is a wonderful help.

[@jamesrobinson9176]

Good luck on your journey. Enjoy the music!

[@BDawgStudio]

Welcome

[@JasonSmall]

@@jamesrobinson9176 It is a journey, isn't it? In other areas of electronics, there are ceilings you hit. If you build a PC, there always comes a point where capability outstrips practicability. But audio, man, there's no upper limit. Worse, you may find yourself going a million miles an hour in the wrong direction. Channels like this really help.

[@dank.6942]

Awesome! Enjoy the journey! My 2 cents' worth... Seek synergy within your system. It's the key to happiness.

[@amb3cog]

@@dank.6942 Good advice, but not so easy in practice. Unfortunately. It helps to take advantage of other's experience here, and to get an integrated amp, or matched separates vs random separates, and random speakers. My advice is to take everything you hear with a grain of salt (including from Paul. I don't agree with him completely today, and many days,. From my own experience, not theory), and try as much equipment as you can yourself. At home. With your other gear. In your own listening room. There's no substitute for actual experience. 😉 ✌️

[@TheChrisleekay]

I've been asking this questions of Audiophiles since I got back into audio a couple of years ago! Paul's response here is the clearest I've heard so far and has gone a long way to answering my questions! My main question was bookshelf speakers on stands take up just as much room as a floor-standing speaker, so if space isn't the concern then why wouldn't you have a floor-stander!!?? Still I constantly see on the forums Audiophiles with years of experience and high end systems connected up to bookshelf speakers. Now most of these guys have forgotten more than I know about audio so that's what confused me the most! When you ask the question on various forums some mention sub-woofers, room size, acoustics, etc but its always been difficult to get a decisive response from them as to why they were sticking with the bookshelves!

[@danieloherrick6332]

I wish the industry would stop using the term "bookshelf speaker" and use "stand mount speaker"

[@amb3cog]

I agree. Call them what they are.

[@alphaniner3770]

my stand mounted speakers have a setting for 'bookshelf use'

[@amb3cog]

@@alphaniner3770 And?

[@alphaniner3770]

Well, I always thought that was funny, because why would someone put them on a bookshelf, and indeed loose a lot of performance

[@amb3cog]

@@alphaniner3770 I guess there's plenty of situations where one might not have much of a choice, usually due to the WAF. I could see these coming in handy in somewhere like my Mom's place where she has built in shelving in the living room. Besides, that's the whole point of the switch. To help the performance, if you're stuck in that situation. I'm curious what it actually does?

[@lexicon612]

Finally landed on a video to be able to share my epiphany. EPOS Epic 2's (large bookshelves) EPOS designs and manufactures their own drivers, in house. My soul speakers and have owned 3 pair. Wore out the large woofer's in 1 pair, as in my systems I was unable to cross them over. I gave them the task of playing full range to satisfy my audio lead foot. They performed admirably. Stereo (high level input only) pair(s) of sub's to compliment the Epic 2's. Magical, or so I thought. I run a PS Audio stack so am no stranger to what good sounds like. Yes the MKII DAC. This ad appeared on US Audio mart for a pair of AR Classic 30's. (200lb shipping weight) 5 feet tall towers with 4 10" woofers (crossed at 200) Sealed box, no ports. Impossible to ship (almost) I kept reading...the clouds parted and I think I heard angel's singing as I read the guy only wanted $600.00USD for the pair. Excited, now I had to know where they are. As it turns out they were local right here in the Tampa Bay area. Within 48 hours I was looking right at them. Couldn't get the 600 out of my wallet fast enough. 2 months in and my jaw is still on the floor, and 3 pair of bookshelves are up for sale. The most amazing command of the bottom end I have ever experienced. Effortless. Chest pounding mid bass is an understatement. I can never go back. Well only to visit...because. Does the AR Classic 30's have the finesse of the EPOS. Sadly no...but, the command of the bottom end that these bring to the table is well worth the 1 step down in finesse. D'oppolito array provides a more than acceptable top end. I am keeping 1 pair of Epic 2's. I had rewired a pair to use (GR Research) tube connecters. So kinda got to keep this pair. Bookshelves are just easier to obtain (even good ones) for pretty much everyone. What I learned is that when a speaker is designed to be full range, the blending of the sub drivers matters. I consider myself borderline expert on sub implementation. My entire audio journey has always been about subwoofer systems. Figuring that true full range floor standers were only for the blank check guys. I was wrong. Bookshelves are like comfort food, don't break the bank and can still sound amazing. Anyone whom doesn't understand, you absolutely must experience full range towers done right. I hope this helps someone stuck on bookshelves, like I was. Subwoofer systems (even the expensive ones) have trouble integrating with bookshelves to achieve that effortless bottom end that I get to wake up to everyday now. I feel so very fortunate to have finally learned this.

[@khunigan]

Very well explained for the newby or audiophile. Sad part is NOBODY knows what a good linear system should sound like. So its very hard to get a baseline to compare. Besides the fact that "everybodies best friend" is an audio expert that knows better than the real experts like yourself. Appreciate your validation for what I've bn trying to convey for years.

[@jcarlson2727]

a bookshelf is as good as a floorstander? Paul: "have you heard of the IRS-V?"

[@kvrhifi]

There are outstanding stand mounting speakers with great quality bass.

[@googoo-gjoob]

B&W 805 is quite impressive

[@briansimmons5363]

I thought my Elac UB5 had really good quality of bass and quanity for that matter. But at the expense of low efficiency and need a pretty decent amp to power them. All trade offs right.

[@jamesrobinson9176]

The op was about using a distributed bass array with bookshelf speakers. DBA is a newish thing involving multiple (usually 4) subwoofers. I like the idea but, have limited experience with it in practice

[@googoo-gjoob]

REL suggests, 2 is good, 4 is gooder..... 6 is _gooderest_

[@googoo-gjoob]

@Fat Rat *absotively*

[@adrianstafford6423]

Great vid,totally agree. Love the questions,love the structured informed answers. Every time.

[@nitishhejmadi3264]

Paul you are amazing man . Most of the videos I have watched did not come close to solving my doubt as you did in less than 3 min of this video .

[@Paulmcgowanpsaudio]

Thank you! Made my day.

[@ThreechTHEdruid]

Just got 5.1 genelec setup and omg it beats my old setup like night and day

[@ohjoy40]

Well a good question for sure. I agree to a certain degree with your analogy in comparison but I would have to disagree that a monitor speaker cant perform as well as a full range floor standing speaker. In fact I have heard many monitors that perform as good as any full range speaker being made today. Yes there are limitations in bass and image size but sonically they can be as good as any floor standing speaker. If a lot of bass is important to you sure a mini monitor is very limited in its ability to move a lot of air. But quality of bass can again be as good as any speaker. Integrating subwoofers to get good sound takes someone with extensive knowledge on speaker and subwoofers to get good sound. And yes to do a sub satelite system right you need two subwoofers. Bass is stereo and effects soundstaging. Look at your statement systems they also use two subwoofers. But yes you can get first rate sound from monitors IF you know how to design setup and calibrate a system properly.

[@MrDac0964]

Kevin LaTour, I agree. I used to have floor standers and now switched to bookshelves on stands augmented by a sub. I’ve never been more satisfied with my system until now. I also think room size and how loud you listen can be factors also. In a big room bookshelves may not be sufficient.

[@richardphysician5640]

Kevin, I agree with your sub+bookshelf comments, I had to tweak a bit but getting some tips online and using the experience of having a 15 inch sub back in the 90's has produced the best desktop system I've ever put together. Under 4 hundred bucks, I couldn't have gotten anywhere near this good a sound back then for even a quarter of that.

[@clickbaitpro]

I agree with that because I use Mackie studio monitors, they are nuce and warm sounding and the bass goes all the way down to 40 hz and I'm pretty much satisfied with it. I don't think I need subwoofer

[@MrDac0964]

Clickbait Pro I used to have the same opinion of my bookshelves but finally went with a sub after listening countless times to Mr. McGowan espousing the benefits of a sub. Boy was I surprised with the big improvement. I suggest you try it. I got an inexpensive SVS SB-1000 ($600) and it’s worth every penny.

[@ohjoy40]

The one thing Paul mentions which is true is if you have your book shelf speakers in a book shelf or next to wall you are not going to get great sound. That goes for any speaker. Speaker placement is the single most important aspect in getting good sound. The thing to understand and most people dont realize is when placing speakers is if you get the speaker placement right you will achieve a natural balance of sound as you are tuning the speakers to the room. The big mistake is positioning speakers and trying to tune the room to that. You will never achieve a natural balance of sound AND you will have huge coloration's which will be impossible to tune out. You will also find that you wont need any or very little acoustical treatment. So if you go into the process tuning the speakers to the room rather than the other way around you can achieve great sound if your patient and take the time to play with speaker position.

[@BastianUllr]

There is an advantage in near field and it's driver integration. Regularly a 3-way speaker will have challenges with coherent sound in the nearfield, compared to a stand-mount speaker with subwoofers by example. If you are sitting afar, then floor standers work great.

[@philipsawyers719]

Hi Paul Thanks for the clear explanation 👍 very well. Floor standing speakers it is.

[@SilmarilS79]

It's interesting following Paul videos. It says in another episode that no passive tower can achieve a good low end response. (Which is why PS Audio is building an active tower). And yet, it's exactly how a Bookshelf+sub combination is.. Most towers use the same mid/high configuration in Bookshelf and Tower models. Just that towers have LF drivers. I think is also wrong on the mating of bookshelves with subs. Most if not all good quality bookshelf with a 6" or more drive will go down to 50-60hz easily, which will mate easily with a good sub without having sub presence problem. My opinion on this, if you are on a fixed budget for speakers, you will have a better price/performance ratio with bookshelf+sub than similarly priced towers (which will require more amplifier power, and offer lower low end performance)

[@1959ludo]

Ludo, When you have a small room and you cannot change the sound of that room than a good bookshelf speaker on stands is the solution. Flourstanding give to much base and will sound to boomy.

[@juliangst]

bookshelves don't overpower small rooms, they often have better imaging and staging and of course are cheaper. And sometimes the bass woofer of a floorstander is not in the optimal position where the floorstander is at, so sometimes moving the bass to a dedicated subwoofer elsewhere in the room can lead to better results

[@CodeVenomSnakes]

It matter the speakers you get.

[@juliangst]

Roger Pham yeah of course, but I wouldn’t say that floorstanders are always superior

[@bikdav]

Very well explained on all fronts. To me, the bigger the better.

[@enhncr]

Perfectly said. Plus if you are listening electronic music only tower and the sub with hpf set to towers around 80-120Hz will give you the best result. Tested ;) without lower bass your towers are the best ;) and all the hawed work is going to the sub.

[@gtric1466]

Pauls fun and good with the technical stuff. Shawn from Zero fidelity I believe gives the best most honest reveiws of equipment and Steve the audiophiliac has good insight and interesting stories.

[@DavidKowalski]

Some bookshelf speakers have a sufficiently low-frequency response to blend seamlessly with subwoofers but those are usually so large and heavy that they require more expensive stands -- meaning one could have bought floor-standing speakers for roughly the same price.

[@garygray3834]

Once again fantastic explanation thx Paul 👍

[@Condorsat10]

Bookshelf speakers take up the same amount of space as floor standers when in use. If you store them, it's another matter.

[@Simon-dn9kv]

Don't do bookshelf speakers usually do the disappearing act better than floorstanders especially in the affordable price region? At least that's what I was told.

[@mondoenterprises6710]

Traditionally, didn't a bookshelf speaker sit on a bookshelf as a closed unit or with a front port?

[@pimianimavdo1523]

Indeed, floorstanding vs bookshelf , when all is well done and setup for proper listening, is a no contest situation. Having said this, you can reduce a loudspeaker cabinet if properly implementing an isobaric design. Such a "science based trick", again if well done, can provide very good bass extension in/with a smaller volume per loudspeaker. Nice :)

[@ingenfestbrems]

Some good reasons bookshelf’s speakers work on the floor better for someone. Many are 2ways and some like sound of 2ways. And some thinks the esthetic with stands looks just awesome. Some don’t want deep bass, or can live fine whiteout. And they are often cheaper, and upgrading later with stands and subwoofer, maybe selling after buying all other things and then afford floor standing, then already having a subwoofer. This hobby i had since I was 12 and knowing others and sellers and stores this is the way many end up with a awesome stereo 🙂🇳🇴👍🏻

[@TylerStout]

This video was a lot different than I was expecting especially when you said there is no advantage for bookshelf speakers. Honestly if you said $1k/pair budget (including stands) when paired with subwoofers (what I assume the person meant by bass array) I'd have to imagine the bookshelf speakers would sound better but maybe if it were a higher budget say $2k/pair or $5k/pair maybe the story flips due to the inability to really squeeze more out of a bookshelf speaker. This is all assuming the bookshelf can meet SPL targets of the listener which might not always be the case for longer seating distances.

[@stevefisher8323]

Bookshelf speakers simply have less baffle area and less diffraction effects. This in turn can open up the soundstage. Smaller drivers typical with bookshelves have less intermodulation and transient problems. Combining bookshelfs with subs can add that base and the greater placement flexibility bookshelf's can provide.

[@filofilo8127]

Have had several stand mount speakers over the years and have now moved to floor standing. ..( Vienna Acoustic). Simply because I have a larger listening area and would like a bit more depth in the lower end. But stand mounts can deliver exceptional sound and imagery.

[@zachariahadams]

Having separate subs can allow you better placement in your room.

[@LordVictorHalgaard]

Bookshelf speakers most certainly have advantages over floor standers too: Simpler crossovers, causing less phase distortion. Smaller source of sound, making good imaging more likely. And to the point of a bookshelf speaker on a stand taking up as much space as a floorstander: Yes, but a 3000$ bookshelf speakers is going to be made with far better components than a 3000$ floorstander - it’s quality over quantity in a sense; so if the room isn’t too big or you have subs, bookshelves can often get you a lot more sound quality for your money. It all depends on the sort of music taste and room you have. Just my 2-cents.

[@cowboyflipflopped]

There's something to be said, though, for just having more drivers. Even with whatever phase issues may or may not be audible, with sufficient amplification, even at the same perceived volume levels, more drivers create a bigger, more enveloping sound. There's no replacement for displacement-- especially in home theater, or orchestral recordings.

[@SilmarilS79]

@@cowboyflipflopped That's why people crossover their main speaker at 60-80 hz toward more powerful subs that can move air. So you don't even use half of the tower potential that you have paid for.

[@bingoberra18]

With separate subs and bookshelf speakers that go flat down to 50-60hz you should have the possibility to adjust the subs according to how the room interacts with it. With floorstanders youre left to the passive crossover to handle the room, so I suppose that is less optimal in a less optimal room.

[@whatonearthamito]

I run bookshelves and cross them over at 100Hz with my 2 subs (yes, I know that's high; at least by common practice). I can NEVER locate either of my subs (one is around 2 feet away from my sitting position, the other by the front wall) and the bass sounds like it's coming from the sound stage (i.e. drums, bass guitars etc.) and NOT from the speakers (isn't that the point?)

[@kevinwheeler6164]

I bought my B&W Dm100i's over 30 years ago and recently bought a pair of smaller B&Ws from a friend. The small ones don't have fuses like the larger and they DO have biwiring capability. They both sound alike but, by today's standards the CDM2SEs might be called 'bookshelf' but the DM110is would not though they were in 84 or 86 when I got them. I love them both.

[@QoraxAudio]

If you have a full floorstanding box, you can built a long transmission line in it for better bass response. Something that's impossible without the necessary space in the speaker cabinet. I've seen others complain about the name "bookshelf speakers" and I agree with them. Plenty bookshelf speakers don't even fit on a normal size bookshelf lol A better name would be "HiFi monitors" to indicate that it's the formfactor of a studio monitor, but designed for HiFi use, with a HiFi "sound" to it.

[@mikecoffee100]

Since I don't have the room liked I used to a book shelf and sub is good for me .

[@JukeboxAlley]

Ill always love my old fortes, ar3a, and many ads models, old klh to name a few, but i have to say, im using the ls50 and edifier s2000 pro more than anything nowadays. I love both.

[@nissimtrifonov5314]

Of course the bookshelf speakers have an advantage! They are cheaper 😅😅😅

[@CodeVenomSnakes]

That is truth.

[@BasvanHeelRoseboom]

Yes and its a good thing. For the money you save get a more quality speaker. So bookshelf... More quality IF you spend the same money

[@nissimtrifonov5314]

​@@BasvanHeelRoseboom you can only pick 2 of the 3: quality, bass, (cheaper)price

[@nickbud9840]

They are not much cheaper if you include the cost of stands.

[@nickbud9840]

@Fat Rat That's a smart cost saving and sound enhancing move.

[@marcus1970]

Sub array just means multiple subs that are co-located.. ie stacked

[@dmp762]

You can place a bookshelf speakers on a variety of different types of furniture.

[@thisisnev]

US homes generally have large rooms, but they're less common on the other side of the Atlantic. In a smaller room, floorstanders (and, for that matter, subs) can produce too much bass.

[@wymotome]

Too much bass? If only audiophiles didn't hate tone controls, maybe there'd be a way to take care if that...

[@alphaniner3770]

not only the size of the rooms - also the proximity of neighbors, especially older houses with walls, floors and ceilings that allow all that base through... a bass woofer can be turned off after 10PM ;o)

[@NicolaDiNisio]

My second system, in smallish room (4x3 m), has Dali Spektor 2 (stand mount) with a properly setup sub. It is a delight and when I turn the sub off, it's switching to an old radio. So you can use a sub in a small room and it makes a world of difference.

[@thisisnev]

@@wymotome Yep - we vintage fans have got that base covered, thanks! It just seems a tad wasteful, though, to pay extra for bass only to dial it out.

[@wymotome]

@@thisisnev I would gladly pay extra for tone controls, even though they might add a slight bit of harmonic distortion that we'll never be able to hear (excuses of 'audiophile' companies to not include them, sadly). But given the option, I'd rather have to dial bass back then jump through hoops in order to try and add it in. It's easy to get rid of bass, but not so easy to add it in...

[@boriselenin1889]

there are just opposite opinions from other engineers, from Dynaudio, for example. They say the smaller the speaker the better, because there's less room for reflections and resonances to appear.

[@UnhingedBecauseLucid]

In small rooms or even if the room has depth but is narrow, if the gypsum panel that make up the drywall is not very thick, if the walls & flooring haven't got vibration dampening materials into it like a lot old houses, and if your setup is destined 90% of the time to be sitting in front of a computer to chill out while surfing the internet ... and finally, if you're budget constrained ... then all these are factors that favor the bookshelf speakers. Of course, there's always the reasonable halfway of indulging in the not so "bookshelf" variety that are 3 way speakers, as I imagine these would better blend in with an eventual small sub ... but in all honesty ... if the speakers are of decent enough quality to begin with, it'll do the job of procuring you your daily dose of goosebumps just fine ...

[@humanitech]

Both are designed for different reproduction needs and purposes ...stand mounts and monitors are fab in smaller rooms, spaces and studios and we'll made and or reference versions can offer excellent sound stage and quality. Bigger floor standers and panel speaker suit bigger spaces and often have more drivers that generally can give more scale and body ..but often need more room and space to breath and isolate. The also need better cabinate construction and bracing as they can sometimes boom and resonate and show room limitations..especially if poorly designed and made. I have gone from stand mounts (then with subs) to floor standers and subs, and I prefer the later for sound, but the stand mounts were good too and are visually less bulky and intrusive...especially when placed a meter into the room.

[@jimshaw899]

And then there's the economic factor which probably overrides: it's almost impossible to sell anyone a stand mount speaker for over $20,000 a pair. And that's the real rub for the "high end" speaker manufacturers. Again, like the hundred dollar loaf of bread, ONE is hard to sell, but you HAVE to sell SOME to stay in the high end bread business. So, make it a huge, fat loaf. ;)

[@ThinkingBetter]

Money is made through a combination of margin and sales volume. Nowadays people buy smaller speakers a lot more. Reason is that most sales is online and younger consumers are into a philosophy of "small is cool". And when people buy online, people also tend to spend less.

[@xanderguldie]

Its almost impossible to sell a $20000 stand mount speaker because it's ridiculous. You have a loads of fantastic stand mounted speakers under $2000 a pair.

[@ThinkingBetter]

Xander Guldie Yes, if a small bookshelf speaker cost UD$20,000, it is unlikely to be about audio fidelity.

[@SpeakerBuilder]

I would argue in favor of a pair of two way satellite speakers (which are also called bookshelf speakers), set on stands for proper height, crossed over at @ 100 Hz or 150 Hz, with two bass speakers crossed at the same frequency, each pair driven by separate amps and filtered using an active crossover. Now these two separate pairs of speakers can be independently placed in the room, the bass speakers located in the proper position to attain flat response in the bass region at the listening position, and the satellites located in the proper location and at the proper toe in and rake back angles to attain good imaging.

[@joaoroman9583]

Speaking overall, Bookshelfs better imaging and more neutral. Floorstanders better bass and soundstage. Floorstanders can suffer from coloration more easily due to larger cabinet influence. Also you can get an high end bookshelf for a price that is very hard to find a floorstander.

[@shakhussain21]

Hello from India...🙏🏼 Thanks for explaining this point so nicely... I regularly watch your channel & like it a lot, today I have a question for you, I have Polk RTiA7 + CSIA4 + RTiA1 + DSW Pro 550. In second thought I was bit confused if I would have Purchased RTiA3 in place of RTiA7 it have saved me lot of money, but after watching your this video I'm pretty convinced that I have made a right choice. What do you say...!? I'm thinking to exchange CSiA4 with CSiA6 what do you Suggest...!!!

[@krucacing]

Some say floorstander resonance from the bass driver will effect the midrange and highs which all placed in same cabinet hence soundstage performance decreased?

[@Audiofreak71]

Which is why you buy a good quality floorstander that separates each driver into their own cabinets, like Vandersteen as an example, then you run much less of a risk of having that issue.

[@krucacing]

@@Audiofreak71 yeah maybe. Another reason is you can place your sub in optimal location for best bass reponse in room

[@Audiofreak71]

Alah Mak I have large floorstanders and still have my very large subwoofer in the optimal spot in my room , all depends on the room.

[@luke78333]

The main advantage of a stand-mount over a floor stander is that you don't pay for a very expensive cabinet. Typically you can save huge money by purchasing the same drivers from very a expensive floor stander, but in a small box. Eg: Technics R1(27k) vs Sb-c700 (2k). Usually at only the expense of 10-15hz on the bass (and sometimes none eg: Andrew Jones speakers).

[@edthefirst2859]

A pair of AR 3a's was quite a load for a "bookshelf" to bear, but man they could really do the trick since they were sealed, acoustic suspension speakers.

[@mmgee]

Is a large Advent speaker not a book shelf speaker? For a really big book shelf

[@Luis-Tesla]

Thanks Paul

[@robh9079]

a case for standmounts; a small room where the bass cannot fully develop, or maybe an acoustically poor room where bass exacerbates the problems, or where the midrange is more of a priority - consider that better drivers can be available on similar price standmounts. floor vs stand+sub = floor. once you've paid for the extra cab/amp of the sub your budget is going to err wipe the floor with a floor.

[@briansimmons5363]

The only advantage I have heard people speak of the advantages of stand mount is imaging. Oh, the ability to move the bass where it performs best in the room independent of the stand mounts. And by that I mean a subwoofer.

[@qazxswedcxzaqws]

They have fewer crossovers and often far less complexity which is a huge advantage in both the sound and cost and also a very difficult hurdle to overcome no? are ya gonna just completely gloss over that extremely important part of speakers? Also you like to make it sound like the woofer needs wayy more cabinet room than it actually does...

[@geminijinxies7258]

I've tried both types and in the room I use, speakers on stands sounds the best. If the room was bigger and maybe had concrete walls and floor that could've changed the outcome.

[@brydon10]

Yes, that is usually the case.

[@Hubjeep]

I heard (no pun intended) that lower "bass" frequencies were "omnidirectional", no matter where you place the sub-woofer it's hard to identify where it is by listening.

[@winsonip4447]

Bookshelf speaker sounds good on the stand and it was so hard to pair a good stand. Floor standing speaker just make you free from those problem.

[@dividead100]

I think he means at the same price but if you include the price of the subs that argument becomes pointless.

[@Lexington365]

I stopped buying bookshelf speakers as soon as I heard floor standing speakers. I would take a £500 pair of floor standers over a £5000 pair of bookshelves (assuming I wasn't allowed to sell them on and buy a £5000 pair of floor standers). If you have the space opt for floor standers. Most companies do a smaller version (Kef Q550 springs to mind) in their range.

[@slistone1940]

Related unrelated question... what’s your favorite floor stander for $3000 or less?

[@sudd3660]

i am pretty sure the question was floorstanding vs bookshelf with subwoofer. to that i say bookshelf speaker unless you go high enough in price. main reason is that floorstanding speakers are often ported or something that is not good for sound quality and are placed for best sound an not bass.

[@justanotheryoutubeuser5029]

Main advantage of bookshelf speakers is if you have a small room to work with. Although there are floor standing speaker that will work in small rooms but generally they dont.

[@hugobloemers4425]

I call that an honest answer.

[@ThinkingBetter]

It takes a high-pass filter to ensure that the smaller bookshelf speakers don't end up wasting power and polluting the bass with distortion when you add a subwoofer. Ideally you have a cross-over that works on a line level or digitally optimizing the signals to each L+R+sub for what they do best.

[@briansimmons5363]

A small bookshelf will not pollute the bass with distortion when you add a sub. Adding a sub does not add distortion to a speaker that is not connected to it. The bookshelf's distortion at various output levels, is what it is. Adding a sub doesn't change that. Adding a high pass filter on will change/reduce its distortion at various volume levels.

[@ThinkingBetter]

​@@briansimmons5363 Well, most small bookshelf speakers are designed to stretch their bass response using tricks that aren't resulting in good bass. For small speakers playing sub bass, usually when you go even a bit loud, you get port noise and the speaker cone getting closer to the optimum excursion limits introducing a lot of distortion. Thus, your smaller speakers might acoustically add 10% of distortion and perhaps also some decay issues from its tuning to your otherwise clean server subwoofer bass. Actually I have such exact setup in my home office here and I've gone through the exercise of not using high-pass filtering for the smaller speakers. Sure, what comes out of the subwoofer itself is not affected by whatever you do with your side speakers, but your ears hear the sum.

[@peterscott2662]

Most AVRs have a "Small" speaker setting for that reason, and many have adjustable crossover point.

[@Finn-McCool]

A "stand mount" speaker is sometimes literally just smaller than its"towering" counterpart because the cabinet is smaller. Same X-over, same drivers, same sensitivity and even the same cubic feet of displacement. The tower speaker simply becomes the stand built in to accommodate the height. ...on the other hand.... The KEF LS50 is NOT just a miniature BLADE! Everything must be considered in context and there are no hard and fast rules that govern the question. Obviously the person asking the question meant that the subwoofer was "taken care of" and so ALL THINGS BEING EQUAL there are indeed times when a tower speaker has no benefit in its height and there are times when it ain't even close! -✌🏼

[@ryanj9235]

Is Guinea not a country in Africa? Agree that floorstanders are the way to go, especially considering the prices of some decent stands these days!! Even with a sub, you still want convincing performance from the speakers between 60 and 100hz.

[@brydon10]

It depends on room size and setup. My room sounds best with standmount speakers and a subwoofer.

[@ThunderStruckMTB]

I'm guessing he meant multiple subs.

[@finscreenname]

There is no replacement like displacement. Also Subs don't hit the higher bass tones and a book shelf is not going to fill the gap. I fell like I am writing a script for Paul because as soon as I type it Paul says it. PS, my IRS IIIA's are floor speakers that are as tall as a shelf. Best of both worlds. lol

[@Andrewatnanz]

im gonna put floor standers in my bookshelf ! HAHAHA (evil laugh)

[@CodeVenomSnakes]

Point is that tower speakers can have more bass in the speaker vs bookshelf that have little or no bass at all. Bookshelf speakers you have to get a subwoofer to sound good.

[@robertevans2143]

Not true. Since I bought my Totem stand mounts, I will never listen to tower speakers again. Maybe a sub for movies.

[@CodeVenomSnakes]

@@robertevans2143 that is up to the person. If like bookshelf speakers that fine. I love both size speaker. Also satellite speakers are great but too small of my house. Any size speakers can be good in the correct size room.

[@gotham61]

Are you sure it’s Guiney and not Guinea?

[@josefbuckland]

I don’t read and don’t have shelf’s for books or speakers but I have floors. BIG FLOORS lol

[@voodooman142]

I think a set of bookshelf with a proper set up bass array should always outperform a floor standing speaker. Explanation: You can't move the bass of a floorstander around in your room to get the best bass performance. And especially with a bass array you should get perfect bass in the whole room. No more dips. But I think a bass array is not a thing for true 'vintage' audiophiles. :-D I think you need DSP and room correction to make it work properly.

[@charlesferguson6678]

Lord these questions....

[@nemanjasaric9052]

Weeell, The Super HL5plus is stand mount speaker and Evoke 30 is floor standing. No need to generalize

[@stonefree1911]

I agree and disagree here. The weenie bookshelf speaker type Paul is referring to will not sound as good as a quality floorstander, BUT a quality Standmount speaker (often erroneously called bookshelf) can sound very good with subs for bass. I run Wharfedale EVO 4.2's on stands with, for now, 2 martin logan subs, and it sounds, to me, every bit as good as a comparable floorstander.

[@tothemax324]

I had the Evo's and I think they should be treated as floor stand because in my small listening room they sounded like nice trash and no offence btw

[@jameswyllie9608]

Can any body else here the tune at the end even when the sound is down

[@MrPeeBeeDeeBee]

I have never understood why you would put a stand under a small speaker. Use that space for taller and better bass response cabinets with the same footprint.

[@briansimmons5363]

Cost is one. Yes one has to factor in the price of the stands.

[@erod9088]

A quality bookshelf with a quality subwoofer is vastly superior to a floorstanding speaker. Period.

[@EliasTheHunter]

And yet not as good as a quality floorstanding speaker and a quality subwoofer.

[@Oystein87]

There are some larger bookshelf speakers with alot of bass. But it's not common.

[@starg47]

I'm waiting for the PS Audio floor standers, Cmon Paul.

[@jamesrobinson9176]

I hope you're a patient individual. 🙂

[@vincentthompson3662]

I will never buy another pair of bookshelf speakers. When I got floor standing speaker I heard all the music that I had been missing for years

[@ACM1000000PT]

and what happen to small room? i mean there is some people using bookshelf in small room with size of 3 m x 3 m xD

[@CodeVenomSnakes]

That is fine. Bookshelf speakers great in a small room.

[@dalechalfont112]

I'm seeing pictures with a pair of $5000 B&W 805 speakers with a stack of 3 REL subs per side and that sort of thing. Which is absolutely stupid but I think that's what the question asker meant. Why the hell woulf you spends equal or more on subs that only blend to the bookshelves natutal rolloff point with a high level output when those 6 subs might only be performing from 25hz to 43hz or something like that....people have lost their minds.

[@savvassidiropoulos5952]

I've been a fan of small loudspeakers for a while. Mainly because it was easy for me to build a good design 2 way satelite speaker system. Subwofers did enhance the end result to a point. Much later on, I am listening to a pair of KEF 107, with a few hundred watts per channel. 20Hz-20kHz -/+2dB frequency response with clarity and bass response I can feel. They are floorstander bandpass subwoofers with bookshelf pods sitting on top of them, right?

[@hom2fu]

Bigger is better. Big Box for low frequency. If you don't want to hear the bass, bookshelf is the way to go. Why they say bookshelf speaker when it have a rear port?

[@robertevans2143]

Guess you have never heard the Totem Rainmaker or any other Totem stand mount.

[@henrym78]

There are many stand mounts that sound great. Stand mounts work better in small rooms and they tend to image better.

[@dayfornight88]

There's only one speaker company That make bookshelf speakers that outperform towers Totems

[@jjohns288]

Big sound comes from big speakers.

[@HiFiInsider]

size does matter when it comes to sound.

[@poserwanabe]

Saw a vid the other day titled "Show us your rack".. It's not what I thought it was..

[@poserwanabe]

The quick answer would be..... Physics .

[@shahrulhaidi3782]

Bookshelf more challenging

[@stijnvanderlooy5311]

Euhm. Simpler crossover maybe?? That beats many floorstanders. Djeez... that´s like first grade in hifi class

[@paulroscelli2545]

Then the next question is: with the floor stand or do you need, all things being equal, A subwoofer at all?

[@Crokto]

you dont need anything, but paul's always advocated for subs (tho there are floorstanders with subs in them already in which case i dont think youd generally wanna add another one)

[@richardphysician5640]

I have run systems both ways. I say as inexpensive as subs have gotten why not try one, see if you like it. Heck, if you're handy you can save money and build your own from a kit! Placement of a sub is very important, make sure to watch subwoofer set up videos. Don't turn it up too high, you're not trying to shake the house down but only trying to build the floor. Let me know if you need a recommendation.

[@andreasmoller9798]

Fllorstanders all the way will never even consider bookshelfs

[@AmazonasBiotop]

Strange that Mr Paul do not know what a bass array is when he other second video brags about the two arrays in his infinity system has. I think he is just after to lay the ground work for PS audio new upcoming floor stand speaker. So there is a lot of reasons a stand mount speaker with 2 sub bass is better than a floor standing counterpart and there is less good tings also. But of course he is first and foremost a business man and preserving his legacy. ;-)