Should I graduate to floor standers or will larger bookshelves suffice?


Hey guys,
I moved into a larger space several years ago, more of an open floor plan, and soon realized that my current speakers, Legacy Studio HD, in a surround array, might be a bit overwhelmed. It’s a weird, asymmetrical space, but it’s also significantly larger than my previous one. So the title of my post says it all…can I still get adequate coverage with bookshelf speakers, or do I now need floor standers? A friend told me to basically “sit closer to the tv” but that isn’t practical.

I thought about the Calibres from Legacy as an option, which is about my price range…up to 7k or so. I also see all these great internet only brands, like Fritz, or Philharmonic, etc, and I hear about their prodigious extension and sound stage, but can these bookshelves fill my room, or any room for that matter?

Let me also add, I have no problem graduating to floor standers, so suggestions are also welcome.

Thanks in advance.

jonasandezekiel

It’s possible that the suggestion of being closer to the speakers is correct. You own good speakers. I’m not sure location of your listening position isn’t the problem. Putting different speakers in the same spot might not fix the problem.

I’m just going to weigh in on this from a enjoy the music point of view.

I have a unique tune Amp and Harbeth P3ESRs running from a Node2 in my office. It’s nice.

I have a Cary Audi front end into Fritz bookshelves in my formal living room.

My floorstanders aren’t even in tje same discussion. They are both awesome...but graduate and have some fun with a big 2 channel system that doesn’t ever make you think about a sub.

@kennyc yeah, I agree, but no way can I find and demo all these different brands and models, especially of course the internet only ones. Unfortunately, this has become a common way to buy speakers these days. And yes to the stand mount/floorstander dilemma as well. But I’ve always had a soft spot for stand mounts. Though I think the only way I’m getting another stand mount is if it’s larger than what I have, with more output in the bass. 

@jonasandezekiel Can you keep both, or maybe hang onto both for awhile while you compare sonic presentations? Seems very educational, and fun.