Can a monitor sound like a floorstander??

I beleive the ONLY sonic advantage of monitors over floorstanders has been in the imaging department and the ''vanishing act'' of speakers when trying to locate them in the dark. However, with many floorstanders being very narrow (slim) when looking at them from the front, dispersion is optimal and you get the benifit of monitor-like imaging. Size-wise, they do not take any more room than monitors on good stands (which tend to be of the heavy-bulky variety for best sound) and of course you get the low-end bass information down there when it's on the recording. The quality of this low-end of course depends on the quality of the speaker and the speaker enclosure, but generally speaking, I gave up on monitors long ago. The really goods ones are expensive enough that I feel going to a quality floorstander is a better route. This is what I did and do not regret it one bit. Cheers!

>I beleive the ONLY sonic advantage of monitors over floorstanders has been in the imaging department and the ''vanishing act'' of speakers when trying to locate them in the dark.<

Not true. Most rooms, mine included, have modes that will wreak havoc with deep bass response and just happen to be the very spot where the speakers other qualities are best. By going with a large stand mounted monitor + sub, you can get into the mid to upper 30s with the monitor, then have the sub finish the job while locating each where it sounds the best. And if the subwoofer is worth it's salt, there won't be any integration issues either.

Oz

Ozzy62 said:

"By going with a large stand mounted monitor + sub, you can get into the mid to upper 30s with the monitor, then have the sub finish the job while locating each where it sounds the best. And if the subwoofer is worth it's salt, there won't be any integration issues either."

I would have to agree with that. It certainly seems to be the case with my Summits, which have a rolloff stated to be around 40 hertz. It has been necessary to set the crossover point on the Rel Storm 3 to 27 hertz to avoid overwhelming bass.

Have you listened to the GamuT L3? I found it to be an amazing speaker that can handle anything you throw at it.

I have never, ever heard a monitor that truly produces deep bass, and with a two way monitor you'd either need huge excursion in the LF driver, which would wreck the midrange, or a large diameter LF driver, which would have to then be crossed at a lower frequency with the HF driver.

Nrchy may be correct that it can be done for a price, but I myself wonder if it can be done at all.

Many monitors are advertised to "not require a subwoofer", but no monitor I've heard will really reproduce full scale orchestral music with any authority.

I think you either need to trade to floorstanders, or consider adding a subwoofer. I have a REL strata which blends very nicely with my GMA Europa monitors, though I think for a customer in the US the Velodyne DD series that auto-adjust to the room response may be the better answer.

If at all possible I would try to get a demo of a good quality subwoofer, because they can be blended very well, and are much more capable than many detractors claim. A home demo would be the best as it's quite room and positioning dependant.

One caveat : the subwoofer itself may have to be positioned out into the room to avoid causing room resonances. If space or aesthetics preclude this option then you might have to learn to live without deep bass.