Benefits
Contents
First of all, the price is still the deciding factor. Speakers are not cheap but for a limited budget you can buy a nice compact speaker. You can’t really do that with floorstanders. Indeed, under 1500 euros you will not find, in our opinion, a balanced sounding floorstander. And even then the choice is limited.
Three candidates that we dare to recommend are the Dali Oberon 5, Monitor Audio Silver 300 7G and Bowers and Wilkins 603 S2. Great brands that can infuse more expensive components into their cheaper series
It is also much easier and cheaper to upgrade with a compact speaker. If you go from 500 euros to 1000 euros then you hear that clearly. With a floorstander, that step is a lot bigger. Do you have a floorstander of 1500 euros a pair then you quickly go to 2500 to 3000 euros to take a step.
Our Revel Performa M126Be monitors for example cost 4500 euros, their bigger brothers cost 9000 and 11000 euros respectively. A huge difference. But necessary to keep the quality the same with the larger models.
Placement and space
Second, a compact speaker works better in multiple rooms. A compact speaker is a lot more versatile to work with. You can place them almost anywhere and you can also move them easily. A floorstander usually has to stand further from the wall and so they take up even more space and define that space even more. A compact speaker can stand anywhere. On a piece of furniture, in a cabinet, in a rack, on a stand or next to the television.
Sound
As stated above, floorstanders require a lot more to reach the same level of a bookshelf. In addition, there is another problem. Very often the bass with a floorstander will dominate or it will get bonkers, certainly up to a certain level. Don’t forget that a lot of people have small to medium sized listening rooms that are often not acoustically treated. Not everyone is willing – or able to – make those adjustments.
Also, the overall quality is a lot better with a compact speaker. Cheap floorstanders often sound dull and tame. Yes, there is more bass but that’s it. A compact speaker is almost always better than a floorstander in the same price range (up to a certain price point). They are faster, more detailed and more accurate. The crossover is less complex which makes for less distortion and coloration.
They also “disappear” much more easily than floorstanders so that music doesn’t seem to come out of the speakers, making you enjoy it even more. And even the quality of the bass (definition, detail, punch) is higher than that of similarly priced floorstanders.
