One of hi-fi’s greatest assets is the sheer amount of choice that’s available to you. But, like many things like it, a great blessing can be a great curse! When there is so much choice, what do you ultimately go for? If there really such a big difference between all of the various options?
Well, I’m afraid to say that: yes. There is a big difference. But that’s okay, we have recognised that and it is our job to provide you with the best possible answers to the biggest questions in hi-fi. Including the question that is as old as hi-fi itself: do you get bookshelf speakers or floorstanding speakers?
Yes. There is a difference. And yes, we can tell you what that difference is. In fact,we can break it down to nice bite-sized chunks for you.
- Sound
- Positioning
Starting with…
Bookshelf
The Bookshelf speaker is a confusingly named one. For starters, you must never place it on an actual bookshelf. Well, I say ‘never’. It’s not against the law or anything. But in order to achieve maximum sonic performance (or even close to maximum), it must be paired with a dedicated speaker stand – and some spikes too! There have been numerous attempts to re-label bookshelf speakers as ‘standmounting’ or ‘standmounter’ speakers, but it’s never quite caught on. Despite the fact that no audiophile would ever dream of pairing a bookshelf speaker and, well, a bookshelf – the name has endured!
Sound
Cabinet design is absolutely crucial in determining sound quality. The larger the cabinet, the greater the possibility of colouration. And one of hi-fi’s main objectives is to minimise the colouration created by speaker cabinets, and many reference-level floorstanding cabinets will have gone to great lengths to avoid this colouration that a bigger cabinet typically creates. As bookshelves are small and compact by nature, they already have a significantly reduced risk of this colouration. As a result, bookshelves have a naturally punchy, ‘active’ sound full of detail. They are capable of great accuracy and rhythm and many believe bookshelves offer greater imaging than their floorstanding equivalents.
Positioning
A speaker’s position in the room is critical and optimum positioning highly variable. A bookshelf speakers are incredibly versatile – never underestimate the power of the speaker stand!
The prime position for any speaker is with the tweeters at ‘ear height’, but as ears typically come at different heights, this could be deemed problematic. And therein lies the magic of the bookshelf speaker – it;’s incredibly versatile. Not only does its compact nature mean it’s much easier to place – and takes up a relatively small space – the vast array of speakers stands in all of their shapes and sizes means its easy to customise the position to the strengths of the speaker, your taste… and of course your ears. Further flexibility is offered through many speaker stands being hollow and ‘fillable’. You can decide how ‘full’ the stands are, as well as what you fill them with. Filling speaker stands with a dense material such as sand adds physical weight to the stand which improves stability, as well as adding a ‘weight’ to the sound. This improves upon the bass performance and adds a level of authority your typical bookshelf can sometimes lack.
Floorstanding
There’s no mistaking a floor standing speaker. Sometimes referred to as a ‘tower’ or a ‘floorstander’ (we like floorstander), these are the largest of the speaker types and they don’t require stands. Although plinths are available, and it is recommended that you use the aforementioned spikes for isolation from external vibrations. But other than that, all floorstanders require is careful positioning and the correct wiring – and they’re ready to go.
Sound
While bookshelves have the advantage on detail, floorstanders have the advantage in the soundstage. Their larger cabinets may be prone to colouration, but the higher-end the floorstander, the less that will be a problem due to the careful design and manufacture of the cabinet. This is one of the reasons why budget floorstanders are usually avoided in favour of mid-range bookshelf speakers, which don’t pose the ‘colouration’ problem. A well designed floorstander will offer, in place of a slight deviation on detail, a greater bass response and a powerful soundstage – the level of ‘immersion’ the listener will experience. Floorstanders are less of an audio-only experience, they’re a fully physical experience, an experience that will alter the higher up the chain you go.
Positioning
One of the ‘downsides’ to floorstanders, is also one of their major upsides. While bookshelves require care, attention and ‘tweaking’ to get the perfect sound, floorstanders don’t require quite so much in terms of prep. Their cabinet is designed to offer the best sound it possibly can, which means you don’t have to do anything, bar perhaps fixing some spikes to the bottom. What it lacks in versatility and space-saving, it makes up for in sheer plug-in-and-play goodness. Yes there are still a few factors in play – the placement in the room, the angle, and how much they’re toe’d in, but not having to faff about with brackets and stands is quite the upside in our book!
Yes. He knows.
As with anything hi-fi related, it’s all about choice. And of course, each speaker is different and it’s not quite as straightforward a choice as you’d necessarily hope for. But whether you’re a floorstanding or bookshelf type of person can be loosely determined by identifying the following priorities:
Imaging vs Soundstage
Flexibility vs Convenience
Detail vs Bass Response
Space Saving vs Presence
If your priorities lie in the first column, you will do well with a pair of compact bookshelf speakers with suitable stands. If you’re leaning more towards the second, then chances are you’d prefer a nice pair of floorstanders.
Is that as simple as it gets? Well, no. But it might have given you a little nudge in the right direction.