Putting together the pieces of a home audio puzzle brings us to one of the biggest staple points thus far in our guide writing process — floor standing speakers. Putting two of these babies into your setup can do wonders, and really beef up that surround sound we all love. Fortunately for us there are some decent options out there within many different budget ranges. These types of speakers can get pretty hefty in the price tag arena if you aren’t careful.
What are Floor Standing Speakers?
As we survey the many different types of speakers, floor standing speakers are pretty self explanatory when it comes to reading into their name. Many prefer having a nice, big and powerful floorstanding speaker on each side of their television or projector screen. It really aids in the frontal projection of your audio and spreads the frequencies and sound waves across the room as it disperses.
When shopping for floor standing speakers, keep in mind your budget of course, but read into the ‘fancy features’ each offers. We’ll highlight the important aspects of our favorite models, but going for something with the highest price right off the bat may not be in your highest interest. Try to prioritize power, the size of their components (just because a speaker’s shell is large doesn’t mean it’s sub and tweeter is), as well as what type of technology these brands are using in the speaker to encompass size and power.
The Top 10 Best Floor Standing Speakers
Klipsch Reference Premiere RP-8000F
It is impossible to comprise a list of the best floorstanding speakers without including Klipsch, and you’ll see them in here quite a few times. The conglomerate offers some pretty fancy speakers and the RP-8000F stands out as one of the best due to it’s feedback from reviews and ultimately balance of power and sound quality. Its design is characteristic of the classic Klipsch structure as it features gold drivers fitted into a classy black cabinet (many of you may already notice that). More importantly, it’s sound quality is beautiful as its offers subtle harmonics and a deep bass that perfectly engulf even bigger spaces. Each of its woofers is 8 inches wide while the tweeter is 1 inch in size. It comes with a sensitivity of 98dB and is recommended for use at 150 to 600W for great power. Notably, there are slight crossover issues with the tweeter and woofer which end up limiting the speaker’s sweet spot so you need to position them well. Nonetheless, the Klipsch RP-8000F is a solid choice as it provides you with theater-quality entertainment.
Polk Audio RTi A7
With a 1 inch dome tweeter, 7 inch bass drivers and one 6.5 inch mid-range driver, the RTiA7 is designed to offer users elevated audio performance. As usual, Polk has gone out of its way to rise above the competition with one of the best floor standing speakers here. Among its standout features is it’s dynamic balance which part of Polk Audio’s proprietary technology. It gets rid of resonances as well as distortions within the system in a bid to provide users with relatively stable articulations. This is further enhanced by their ‘Power Port Plus’ which is the system’s venting structure. When at full bass, the system conducts smooth flow of air, thus, eliminating all kinds of distortion and turbulence. What’s more, the Polk RTi A7 comes fully equipped with a Klippel motor which ensures the speakers maintains optimized performance at varying volumes. As you can see, some extra pizzazz with this floor standing speaker which drives up the price but you’ll be getting what you pay for.
Pioneer SP-FS52
Beauty goes way beyond skin deep with this technologically advanced and natural sounding home theater by Pioneer. Most critics revere this particular model for its mid-range accuracy, thus making it one of the best floorstanding speakers in the current market since the mid-range is always tough to cover for cheaper speakers. However, it has been repeatedly noted that the SP-FS52 falls short of its bass presence. It is because of this that most individuals prefer using this system with a subwoofer for added sound support. Nonetheless, its features a wide range of good quality features including its 87 dB rating which at first might paint this system as a weak converter of power while in the real sense, its 6-ohm allows for low power resistance. This implies that their sensitivity rating ends up increasing substantially making it even more efficient. On the other hand, the Pioneer SP-FS52‘s drivers are 5.25 inches wide and it boasts of a very natural sound which creates a pleasurable listening experience.
Klipsch Reference R-820F
Another gold and black speaker you might say? The Klipsch Reference R-820F is specifically designed for serious audiophiles. It effectively blends performance and power to give off solid quality entertainment which makes it easy to see why it is ranked among the best floor standing speakers of today. It comes equipped with 8 inch woofers that produce resolute mids coupled with a warm bass. On the other end of the spectrum lies a 1 inch horn tweeter that produces extended and articulate highs in a bid to complement the speaker’s overall sound. It has a sensitivity rating of 97dB, handles up to 600 watts when at peak performance, and has an impedance of 8 ohms. One of the Klipsch R-820F‘s most standout features is the bass-reflex design which allows for sufficient air circulation which in turn ensures that you do not have to worry about distortions or resonances. Simply the best floorstanding speaker if you can afford this bad boy.
KEF Q550
Kent Engineering & Foundry have for years taken pride in their unique products which give competitors a run for their money. The Q550 is one of the most recent entrants to its list of special products as it is the sixth speaker in KEF’s Q series. As such, it is the most advanced of them all in terms of performance and design. The Q550 qualifies as one of the best floorstanding speakers majorly due to its design given that it is the smallest model available in stores. It is 926 mm high, 29 9mm wide, and with a record-breaking diameter of 310 mm. What’s more, its detailed design makes for a wonderful look as it features a brushed texture, the screws are ell hidden, and it is fitted with a plastic film that is either black or white. In terms of performance, the Q550 also holds its own as its produces good quality dynamics and an overall homogeneous sound. More importantly, the KEF Q550 is omnidirectional which creates a full-surround system for an ideal entertainment experience.
Polk T50
Given its value and performance, Polk’s T50 easily qualifies as one of the best floor standing speakers for the money. At first sight, it becomes obvious that the T50 is packed with a good amount of firepower as it features 3 cones (each 6.5 inches) used to crank up sound and a soft-dome tweeter, 1 inch in diameter. Interestingly, the bass radiators appear to be woofers — a design that allows for amped bass production. But do not let its intricate nature and large size fool you; the T50 is designed to offer users solid quality sound production in a rather simple package. It is a two-driver speaker that has its amplifier connected only to the tweeter and upper woofer. More importantly, its extra-large enclosure also contributes to its reliable bass. Unfortunately as detailed in most reviews, this floorstanding speaker lacks perfection by virtue of its single finish, that is, a black vinyl. Altogether, the Polk T50 offers good value for your money.
Yamaha NS-F210
Looking for a system that offers a more lively sound? Then the NS-F210 should be somewhere at the top of your list. It features a slim cabinet for small footprints and it finish is quite exquisite. Unlike most speakers, this model does not have any binding posts or spring clips which creates an overall sleek design. Performance-wise, it comes fully equipped with metal cone drivers which offer solid quality mid-range clarity and proper projection of vocals. Its sound gaining capabilities are also reliable give that it lends sufficient definition as well as weight to voices. The Yamaha NS-F210 manages to offer all these favorable features in spite of its sleek size, which makes it one of the best floorstanding speakers in this guide.
Sony SSCS3
Up to 50 kHz frequency response, a silicon steel plate woofer, and extensive dispersion tweeter- these are some of the traits that the Sony SSCS3 one of the best floorstanding speakers of today. They are designed to provide users with room-filling sounds that uniquely unfold throughout the designated space. Additionally, it boasts of 5.12 inch woofers which are specifically structured to produce low-end frequencies. Its bass is deep, warm and stable while the vocals and mid-range dialog are also relatively resolute. Combined, these features allow for a natural sound stage with the Sony SSCS3.
Monitor Audio Bronze 6
Monitor Audio describes the Bronze 6 as its ‘most complete speaker thus far’. It comes fully equipped with two 6 1/2 inch C-CAM drivers and one same sized mid-range unit, both of which are housed in a well-defined chamber. Also added to the mix is a C-CAM Gold Dome tweeter which operates at 30 kHz. It is designed to produce harmonic frequencies which are paramount to accurate sound production. Additionally, its finishing design is simplistic yet aesthetic as it entails floating magnetic grilles and hidden driver fixings. In sum, the Monitor Audio Bronze 6 is solid, affordable model to check out as we near the end of our guide.
Klipsch Heresy III
Last but not least, we’ll stick these here in case you wanted a smaller, compact solution to squeeze into your existing setup. Despite its meager 12 inches, the Heresy III by Klipsch produces is known for its bodied vocals which offer more fullness than most highly reviewed speakers. In terms of design, the speaker’s cabinet is non-ported and heavily sealed for absolute efficiency. As is the case with other Klipsh products, the Heresy III’s mid-range is loaded with horns for a more vibrant sound expression. It also comes with two tweeter drivers, that is, a 1.75 compression mid-range and another smaller (1 inch) compressor. The Klipsch Heresey III are one of the best floorstanding speakers out there and an ideal choice for audiophiles looking to get their juices flowing in a small space.
Concluding the Best Floor Standing Speakers
If you are looking to setup your surround system, you should definitely consider using floorstanding speakers. Not only do they have the ability to supercharge your system but they also have immense appeal which in turn makes them stand out rather than merely blending in as most speakers do. More importantly, this kind of speakers are well known for their solid sound quality.
Floorstanding speakers are designed to slot in to tight spaces such as next to your TV cabinet or bookshelf. Ideally, they are meant to take full advantage of all kinds of vertical spaces, thus, creating minute footprints. They will very easily fill your living room space in rather organized fashion and offer you pretty good sound quality.