| Columns Retired Columns & Blogs |
June 17, 2018 - 4:29pm
#1
Monitor Audio Bookshelf vs Floorstander
| Loudspeakers Amplification Digital Sources | |
Analog Sources Accessories Featured | |
Music Columns Retired Columns | |
Show Reports | |
Features Latest News Community | |
Resources Subscriptions |
© 2024 StereophileAVTech Media Americas Inc., USA
All rights reserved
IMHO, there is no reason for floor-standers to be muddier or less open unless they are badly made or badly set up in the room.
I think the reason was that the bass from the towers are alot harder to mesh well with the sub.
Anyways what is your opinion on the two choices I listed. Monitor Audio Silver 300 + sub or Monitor Audio Gold 100 + sub. Or maybe another bookshelf in that price range since I am pretty set on the Silver 300 if I go with towers.
Yes, they are a bit harder to integrate than bookshelf type speakers because, typically, the latter have much less output in the range of the sub. OTOH, they also have much less output power capability in the range above where one uses the sub. So, the issue comes down to how you intend to set up the main pair with the sub. Do you have any plans for that yet?
I cannot make any specific recommendations because I use bookshelf type speakers only for surround applications.
Could you elaborate on what you mean by how I intend to set up the main pair with the sub? I hadn't thought further than setting a crossover at 60 to 80 Hz.
So it seems you are partial to using floor standers yourself so you would personally go with the Silver 300 over the Gold 100.
Set a crossover on what? How will you position and balance the levels? The reason that many have disappointing experiences with subwoofers is a too casual approach to setup.
I own the Silver 8s and would choose the Silver 300s if I did not already have the 8s. I have reviewed both.
Kal, I love beautiful floorstanders also. That's what my current set up is. But I suspect the reason I love them is for the way they look. There's an enormous amount of psychology and placebo at work in audiophile listening. Those components that you like will always "sound better" than those you don't. Witness the absurd arguments about the sound of wires. Ten years ago I had two small bookshelf speakers on pedestal stands and a B&W powered sub, and the sound of this system was amazing. Open,transparent,three dimensional, I loved listening. Still, I wanted to be looking at floorstanders. I don't do surround,just stereo. Cranky old guy (me). I was an audiophile in 1968 (lived in Chicago, which seemed to be burning down at the time).
What absurd arguments about wires are you speaking of?