There’s one thing I came across while testing the Acoustic Energy AE309 Mk2 high-end speakers recently. It was how close in character and tone they were to their stationary sibling, the AE300 Mk2.
The compromise between the two pairs is unmatched, and the jump in size brings all the benefits you’d expect from a larger speaker while maintaining the balance and tone of its smaller sibling.
Now I can hear some of you shouting in unison, “Of course they do!”
Well, you’d think so, maybe. But I’ve been testing speakers of all shapes and sizes for the better part of 20 years, and you’d be surprised at the number of times I’ve made the transition from standing to standing from the same distance and been left scratching my head.
I mean, surely in most cases it’s just a matter of moving the drivers from the stand into a larger cabin, adding more bracing, damping, and the job’s a good’un?
If only it were that easy…
What you want in this case is consistency between the models in the range. To be able to choose any speaker and that they share the same sonic framework and characteristics, regardless of size.
But building a floorstander presents many challenges. First, you go from a small, solid box to one that is much larger in volume. This makes it difficult to control all the various internal vibrations.
Add to that the fact that you may have limits on how much resource you can put into the design, additional damping and bracing required, and you may be limited in the performance you can extract, especially at cheaper rates.
As prices rise, however, these potential stumbling blocks become smaller and smaller.
Drive units used in stand-mount may not be upgraded for use in a large box. They will have been selected to work with a given volume behind them, and fitting into a larger box may not be ideal.
A manufacturer can change a specific driver for different speakers in a range (Focal is a brand that has done this in the past), but this can increase the cost involved.
So what if you increase the driver size instead? This inevitably presents new obstacles. A new driver will have different acoustic properties and requirements from the cabinet. And you have the added cost and complexity of designing a new driver.
Where tweeters are concerned, going over cabinet size is rarely a problem. They usually work in their own enclosure, separate from other drivers, working in an open area in a large box.
Ground floors are also more difficult to fit because, in addition to the extra volume they offer, they have large panels. Larger panels are less rigid, which means they are more prone to vibration. Larger panels also have larger surface areas, which means more radiating surface for any sound they produce.
If you have a driver that produces sound and one or more closed panels that produce their own sound, that’s not good for sound quality. More reinforcement and softening can help, of course – but it all costs money.
Signs that something is wrong on the floor include speakers that sound a bit balanced, with poor bass control; they can also suffer from rhythm.
Don’t think of this as a slight to the underdog, though. Far from it. We all know the long list of benefits that a large tower can bring to a hi-fi system. Great positives like great bass weight and extension, great sound, and great scale flexibility are reasons to consider a pair.
And, of course, they can fill much larger spaces with sound than a small stand-mount. If the underlings make sense of your room layout, then, as long as they’re at the right level for the rest of your plan, you’ll be rewarded with sex.
MORE:
Our choice best standmount speakers per budget
And the high quality speakers
Mountain vs. floor standing: which type of speaker should you buy?
How to choose the right speakers and get the best sound