Floor Standing Speakers - Elipson

Floorstanding speakers - also known as floorstanders, are designed to be placed directly on the floor (onto carpet or wooden floors, ideally with suitable floor protectors). Floorstanders are full height loudspeakers and unlike bookshelf speakers where the sound and bass response can be greatly affected by your choice of speaker stands, floorstanding speakers have been designed as a complete package to optimise bass response via careful cabinet design and driver matching at the design phase to offer a well balanced sound throughout the frequency range. Floorstanding speakers are often regarded as a better loudspeaker choice for two channel hi-fi systems and as front channels in multi-channel home cinema systems. Many floorstanders are passive, so must be used with a suitable hi-fi amplifier, although we also sell active models in our range of active speakers. For further advice on speaker choice and matching these to room and system, please call or e-mail us). All models include our 30 day money back guarantee, just incase you change your mind.

With more than 50 years in the speaker industry, Elipson offers a range of hi-fi products and stylish spherical speakers, including the Elipson Planet speakers, which take inspiration from the highly regarded BS30 vintage design (circa 1960).

Founder Joseph Leon, born in Bordeaux 1908, was an engineer from the School of Arts and Crafts and passionate in acoustic research. Elipson began in 1938 as a company called Multi-Engine which manufactured toy engines of miniature electric trains. The company's current director and engineer Henry Bazin Maurice Latour made a decision to move towards the development of speakers consisting of a sphere and an ellipsoidal reflector in 1940.

Joseph Leon aimed to concentrate all of the loudspeaker's acoustic energy through the reflector to enhance sound in an ultra-modern design that hadn't been seen before. In developing the system of the conch, Elipson allows sound to use a large space with precision and quality. Each model was worked for a place with a specific commitment; a vent, a specific speaker, a special reflector ellipsoid.

In 1948 Joseph became CEO of the company, going on to change its name to Elipson and instilling research on all-round reflectors and resonators etc. By 1960 the company began the search channel speaker with numerous patents.

Joint research resulted in a first series of around twenty models oriented at 30 degrees with an elliptical princeps, a shift in medium (HP Cabasse), a micro Melodium as a tweeter and positioned mechanical shift to optimize the phase response with other speakers. This model is legendary for its technical advances and aesthetic helping Leon become medallist of the Order of Merit for research and invention.

This collaboration also delivered another legendary model 4050 as well as the accompanying series including the 4240, 502, 402. This assured the public of the success of smaller models like the BS40 and 4040 which were sized for apartments.

In 2009, the company returned to the sources of expertise, with a series of spherical enclosures, L planet that were a modern evolution of the 4050 and the 4260. To meet the needs of both communities and individuals, Elipson offers a range of integrated speakers. High definition and very versatile, these can be used for many applications including conference rooms, shopping centres, amphitheatres, restaurants, shops, hotels, business premises, private dedicated rooms, schools.

Elipson's range will please your eyes as much as your ears and also includes a range of speaker packages, from simple 2.1 desktop solutions, to 5.1 speaker packages for home cinema, through to the highly impressive Sound Tree.

Floorstanding Speakers also make excellent stereo hi-fi speakers, as the scale and soundstage can make music more holographic and lifelike. A great pair of floorstanding speakers will instantly upgrade your home cinema or hi-fi system and deliver a controlled and bass heavy performance. The bass performance eliminates the need for an additional subwoofer, and adds weight and authority to your favourite music.

One benefit of floor standing Speakers is that they are instantly ready for setup and positioning, whereas a bookshelf speakers will require a speaker stand, position tweaking and varying amounts of stand filler to tailor bass performance. Just as adding mass to a speaker stand will improve the scale and authority of bass performance, a weighty floor standing speaker cabinet can also improve the dynamics, depth and authority of the bass as it uses the entirety of the cabinet to create bass resonance.

Floorstanding speakers should be decoupled from the floor using isolation cones or feet which minimise the surface area in contact with the floor. If you have a wooden floor or are worried about damage, floor protectors will act as a barrier between the floor and the spike to prevent any damage.

Floorstanders also tend to be more sensitive than bookshelf speakers which, in turn, makes them easier to drive and power. This means that a floorstander is suitable for use with a much wider range of amplifiers and power outputs, and an amplifier with a much lower power output may be sufficient. Due to the fact floorstanders move more air around the listening room yet use similar amounts of power as bookshelf speakers, they may be far more efficient.

These loudspeakers tend to perform better when given a little bit of space in the room, to prevent interaction with back walls or the bass booming. Some speakers feature front ports or downward-firing ports, enabling them to be positioned closer to a wall, but generally speaking allowing some space can result in optimum performance.

Floorstanding speakers can range from small and discreet to large and authoritarian. If you're looking for large speakers for a home cinema set-up, the added size of floorstanders results in greater soundstage and improved imaging. This puts you in the centre of the action and gives the impression that movie soundtracks or music are tangible and presented directly in front of you. It is for this reason that many enthusiasts choose the best floorstanding speakers to act as the front channel in an AV surround sound speaker system. These listeners benefit from a greater, more immersive soundstage and dynamics that are deep, and powerful for an amazingly detailed and realistic home cinema experience.

Don't forget, a chain is only as strong as its weakest link and the performance of your speakers can be degraded by poor quality speaker cable. As a general rule of thumb, we recommend spending around 10% of spend on speaker cables. Please call or e-mail us for any further assistance.