floorstanders or bookshelf with Sub?

[Deleted member 48436]

Was about to order the SONY STRDG820, with a pair of Q ACOUSTICS 1050's and an as yet undecided sub.

I'm thinking if I get a decent active sub, I really don't need floorstanders? Would this be a reasonable assumption? I could get some decent bookshelf speakers and then spend the extra on a sub?

Any advice appreciated!

 

[BlueWizard]

You'll get as many different answers as there are people willing to respond.

I think there is great benefit to having more speaker above the Sub crossover. Most subs crossover around 80hz, but the real and most important information is above 80hz, so it is important that that information be reproduced clearly, fully, and accurately.

So, I say tower now, and tower with sub later.

Others are certain to disagree.

Steve/bluewizard

 

[Crustyloafer]

I'm thinking if I get a decent active sub, I really don't need floorstanders? Would this be a reasonable assumption?

Yes.

To clarify slighty further, there are virtually no floorstanders on the market, or suitable amplifiers to drive them that could comfortably negate the need for a good quality dedicated subwoofer.

At the sort of price point you seem to be aiming at you are well within the realms of there not being any floorstanders that are realistically worth considering at all, let alone replacing a subwoofer with.

I would concentrate on getting some decent quality bookshelfs/satellites and getting the best sub you can afford.

 

[Deleted member 48436]

So really you're agreeing with what I said? ;-)

Problem is now, which decent Bookshelfs to get...

 

[Crustyloafer]

So really you're agreeing with what I said? ;-)

Sorry for my confusing answer, I have edited it accordingly. What you say is correct, for home cinema if you have a decent quality subwoofer then floorstanders are not necessary. That is not to say they do not have their advantages in some respects but most decent floorstanders are quite expensive. For music it is a slightly different matter in my opinion and it really is beneficial for the main loudspeakers to be capable of reproducing all of, or at least nearly all of, the frequency range of the source material on their own. Again floorstanding speakers that can do this and do it well tend to be reasonable expensive and so quite often those on a tight budget for speakers and amplification might get better results with a sub and stand mount speakers.

Problem is now, which decent Bookshelfs to get...

There are lot of decent quality bookshelf speakers to look at. My own personal recommendation for a high quality but yet very compact standmounting speaker that is equally adept at movies and music would the entry level model from PMC, the DB1i. It really is a remarkable little speaker and most people are genuinely very surprised at the quality of the sound from such a small box when they first listen to them. More info on the PMC DB1i can be found here:

PMC Ltd