Floor standing speakers are a great way to bring rich and full sound to a large room. Whether you’re planning on outfitting a home theater or a music room, this can be a good alternative to the more commonly used home bookshelf speakers. In most cases a floor unit can feature a higher range of sound, as well as more power, which is ideal for watching movies or listening to music. But floor standing speakers can also be much more expensive than bookshelf options, but for that extra price, you can find speakers that you’ll enjoy a whole lot more.
One of the main things to look out for in every floor standing speaker set, is which type of sound they provide. The most typical types of speaker sound composition are 2-Way, 3-Way, and 4-Way. This refers to the way that the speaker processes and transmits sound. A 2-Way speaker only has two dedicated drivers, one for low and another for high range sounds. These usually won’t be much better than your standard bookshelf speaker and should only be considered if you’re shopping on a limited budget. 3-Way and 4-Way provide much better sound because they are able to register much more sound in the mid range, opposed to just low and high pitches.
Another important factor to consider, is the way in which your speakers transmit sounds around a room. Some speakers are set up with direct radiating sound, which is the most common. This means the speakers only emit sound which is intended to be transmitted outside the front of the speaker. That can be good or bad, depending upon how you’ll be listening to the music or film. If you’ll be in front of the speakers this won’t be a problem. But if you’re situated behind the speakers, or off to the side, the sound quality will suffer.
To avoid this you can look to Bipolar and Dipolar speakers. Bipolar set ups have speakers that transmit sound out of the front and back of the speaker to create a much larger, and richer sound field. Dipolar a very similar but each speaker driver emits sound at a different time to create as rich of a field as possible. Typically Bipolar are the better quality, but Dipolar hold up well also.
When purchasing floor standing speakers, make sure to go to an electronics specialist, so that you can test the speakers before you purchase them. The only way you can be sure that these speakers will hold up to the uses you have planned, is if you fully test them yourself. The best way to do this, is to bring your favorite song with you to the store. That way you can test the speakers on your favorite type of music, and really get a good idea of how they’ll perform for you. Different speakers are better for different types of music, and determining the right set for you can only be done through testing. That way you’ll find floor standing speakers that really meet your standard.