2. speakers
  3. 186857-80196

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
jonasandezekiel OP
158 posts
 

@ltmandella maybe I’m mis-labeling my speakers as “bookshelves” when they’re really “stand mounts”….I have Legacy’s Studio HD speakers. They’re about the same size as your DeCapos. I actually considered yours before I bought my mine. 
Bass is good, and I have a good subwoofer to compliment it, but I was thinking I needed more coverage in my larger room. Maybe soix is right….just get another sub.

audioman58's avatar
audioman58
4,202 posts
 

Book shelves in all honesty mid 40hz if you are very lucky 

you need agood power subwoofer or 2 like the Svs SB4000 not ported seamed sub it’s faster and more accurate . That’s for sure  depending on budget.

the 805 B&W a very nice book shelf ,much better stil the MBL 126 stand mount my favorite with matching stands in the $16k range.

erik_squires
16,330 posts
 

Are you using a subwoofer? Room correction? Are you using them all around or just in the front?

Looking at the Stereophile measurements, these don’t seem to be full range speakers at al, but close to the HT definition of a satellite. They are amplifier punishing below 150 Hz, along with a 100 Hz output peak and, while ported, the port adds very little to the overall output.

If you really like the sound quality, and are using some sort of EQ, either vai Roon or room correction, my suggestions would be:

  • Plug the ports (increases dynamic range, reduces distortion at high output, reduces excess output slightly at 100 Hz)
  • Add a subwoofer
  • Hi pass the satellites ~ 80 Hz or higher (improves dynamic range, reduces amplifier strain, improves midrange resolution)
  • Examine your amp to make sure it’s up to driving them
  • Add room treatment to balance the mid/treble energy with the bass energy.
  • EQ the bottom octaves of the Legacys to flatten it and make it more sub-friendly
deep_333
1,529 posts
 

Bookshelves+stands and floorstanders typically have the same footprint. When a dude's claiming he saved space, he did not ( it was just psychological for the dude). Unless you're stuck with nearfield listening distances (where drivers don't have room to sum) or budget constraints, don't bother with dinky lil bookshelves.

When a manufacturer offers both floorstanders and bookshelves, typically the engineer's maximum time and devotion goes to the floorstander (the bookshelf's the dinky lil afterthought). Always go with the floorstander when possible.

secretguy
1,751 posts
 

I never got the "logic" of using stand mounts when they take up the same floor space and are inferior to Floorstanders.

More to discover