Floor Standing Speakers - JBL

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.

JBL breathes life into music in a way that can be felt which is why it is chosen to power some of the world’s greatest musicians, athletes and venues. The greater the quality of a JBL sound system, the nearer you find yourself to your favoured artist.

In the youth of founder James B Lansing, movies were the primary way to consume sound and music. Before JBL was full incorporated, James B Lansing helped innovate sound technology for movie theatres. Today, JBL remains the loudspeaker of choice at an overwhelming percentage of cinemas worldwide.

The high fidelity market entered a golden age in the 1950s with JBL as a major contributor with the introduction of legendary products, such as the Hartsfield and the Paragon.

The dawn of rock festivals during this time period provided JBL with an opportunity to become part of major cultural movements in the United States. JBL famously has sound equipment featured at the Woodstock music festival in 1969 including the renowned 4310 Studio Monitor which was adapted for consumers as the famous Century L100 in the 1970s.

The 1980s and 1990s brought about an explosion of home theater audio systems where people could have the experience of “going to the movies” from the comfort of home. JBL developed products such as the L212 and the Everest and JBL Synthesis ultimate-performance complete home theatre audio systems.

The past two decades brought tremendous change in sound technology and music consumption. The advent of the Sony Walkman and the iPod proved the popularity of portable music; but JBL took the listening experience to the next level by creating a variety of headphones and portable speakers. .

Today, JBL is well-reverred master of their art as evidenced by their partnerships with other master such as NBA to Coachella to deliver an even better sound experience.

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.