Upstairs speakers dominate most living rooms, but they sound exceptional on a large soundstage. Cheap models can be surprisingly loud, but if design corners are cut, they can cause bad vibrations. The best designs have built-in insulation that prevents sound from reverberating.
Speaker and amp pairing advice
It’s rare these days to find speakers and amps that aren’t completely compatible, but before you buy, make sure they’re both ohms compatible (speakers usually have ratings between four and eight ohms, amps typically four to 16 ohms) and – to make a big generalization. – That your amplifier is 50 percent more powerful than your speakers.
How to get the best sound from floor standing speakers
Floor standing speakers are designed to project sound at your ear level when placed. Ideally, for best results, you should place the speakers well apart and at least 30cm from any floor.
The best floorstanding speakers to buy
Clip RP-8060FA II
Delivering the best sound for live performance, the Klipsch Reference Premier Series offers 11 options including bookshelf, surround sound, subwoofers and center channels so you can customize a system that fits your home and budget. The original RP-8060FA II features excellent quality cabinetry and floorstanding speakers. Up-firing Dolby Atmos speakers are hidden on top, their performance is powerful and dynamic, while the spun copper eight-inch cerametallic woofers add depth and power to low frequencies with a distortion-absorbing aluminum Faraday ring. And their Tractrix horn technology works wonders at high frequencies, perfect for live concert recordings and movies.
Q Acoustics 3050i
A few years old now, these floor tiles remain very good value. Available in black, white, walnut or grey, the MDF cabinet has a unique tuning structure that helps reduce unwanted vibrations, while HPE (Helmholtz Pressure Equaliser) duct technology helps equalize the air pressure inside, eliminating resonance. Playing hi-res tracks on a laptop (using Tidal) combined with my Marantz HD-AMP1, I was very pleased with the energy on offer. They’re warm, engaging and pack a lot of punch, and surprisingly, don’t complain too much if you’re placed in unsuitable positions.
KEF LS60 Wireless
Launched for KEF’s 60th anniversary, these all-in-one stereo speakers are something special. They’re elegantly slim – surprisingly, given their 1,400W combined power – and play up to 24-bit/192kHz from any source. There’s support for AirPlay 2, Google Chromecast, Spotify Connect and Tidal Connect, to name a few, plus HDMI (eARC) inputs, optical, coax, aux-in and subwoofer, which doesn’t mean you need one.
The speaker configuration boasts one Uni-Q driver – a 19mm tweeter sitting between a 10cm driver – and four back-to-back 5.25-inch drivers that will dramatically boost your low, mid and high frequencies. Playing to pull from one point, creating a large sound stage and no sweet spot.
Everything I played through the LS60 Wireless sounded great, and I was in awe of how well the thin speakers handled the low frequencies. The scale and power of an entire orchestra and the timing and power of a single instrument for a broadcast system are truly remarkable. It was a perfect opportunity to spend quality time with speakers at home. KEF.com
Buy from hificorner.co.uk
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