Floor standing speakers, also referred to as Tower speakers, are very appealing due to their tall profile and sleek designs. The tallness of these speakers enhances the sound quality, making your home feel like a theatre. There are various speakers, but the two commonly used categories are bookshelf speakers and tower speakers.
Choosing between them depends on the buyer’s taste, budget, and space for installation. Bookshelf speakers are huge and long as well. Thus it wouldn’t be a great choice if running low on space. On the other hand, floor standing speakers are narrow, tall, and slim, due to which it takes very little space in your room and yet deliver excellent sound performance.
With a wide range of floor-standing speakers on the market, it becomes difficult for buyers to choose one perfect tower speaker setup. You can either buy it single or as a pair depending on the level of stereo sound you enjoy while watching movies or listening to songs.
Now that you know a little about tower speakers, let’s see the parameters before buying them. Each of these parameters applies to all of the floor-standing speakers in the world.
Primary considerations for floor standing speakers
1. Technical specifications
Specifications do not tell you everything about the speakers, but it gives you a basis for comparison with other speakers. So, please glance at each speaker’s specs to get an idea about its integral performance.
Here are some of the necessary specs to look for
Sensitivity: This can also be referred to as efficiency. The sensitivity of a speaker is measured as the number of decibels a speaker can deliver at 1 milliwatt power. For example, a speaker’s sensitivity is 90dB, so that it will play louder than the speaker with 88dB sensitivity. Knowing the sensitivity of a speaker is essential as it determines how loud the speaker can sound in an empty room.
Frequency response: Frequency response is measured in Hz. This tells you the capacity of your speakers to reproduce wide audible frequencies. Tower speakers stand out of the league because they are well known to reproduce a full range of sound varying from low to high frequency. Say if a speaker’s frequency response is between 32Hz to 25kHz, it will produce medium sound compared to speakers having 44Hz to 18kHz frequency range. Typically, a speaker can handle frequencies from 45-20,000Hz, but it is not always necessary that the speaker will respond to every frequency. Thus, look for a speaker with a frequency response range from 20Hz to 20kHz to achieve high-quality sound performance.
Power Handling Capacity: Every floor-standing speaker must sound perfect. In order, it to sound stunning, it needs an ideal amplifier. The speaker’s power must complement or match the power of the amplifier. Many speakers require a power amp to deliver maximum sound effects. But, that is not the case with tower speakers; they come with a powered amplifier that lets you listen to the music even on the highest volume.
Crossover frequency: This is a factor where various frequencies split. There are 3 types of frequencies: high, mids and lows. So, if you buy a single speaker with dedicated drivers for high, mid, and low frequencies, you wouldn’t have to buy a separate tweeter to handle these frequencies. Therefore, make sure the tower speaker you buy has 3-way drivers so you can have uncompromised stereo quality.
2. Cabinet Quality
Speaker casing or cabinet is an important concern when buying a floor-standing speaker. Most of the cabinets are made of high-quality wood as they are anti-resonant and can help deliver compelling audio quality. Thus, wherever you go shopping for tower speakers, ensure that the cabinet is heavy, anti-resonant so that even if you play music at high volume, the speaker does not produce tremors.
Vibrations can also be caused by the type of floor you have. If it’s a wooden or marble floor, make sure the speaker’s feet have proper padding or carpet beneath them.
3. Size
Size is another crucial parameter to consider before buying a tower speaker. Floor standing speakers are usually larger than bookshelves or desktop speakers. You need to make sure that the speakers you are planning to buy will fit the space in your home. Thus, measure the size of the space available and then make your selection for the floor-standing speaker. In general definition, the bigger the size, the louder the sound effect will be. But what size you choose is a personal preference, if you have a bigger room, you definitely would want to buy a bigger size speaker, but if you run out of space, smaller tower speakers would be an intelligent choice.
If you didn’t know, let me tell you that other factors cause the change in the solidity of the stereo sound, and that is materials in your room such as the floor, furniture, thin walls, decorations. All these items can drop the intensity of the sound coming from the speakers irrespective of the size. Thus, make sure the room’s acoustics are maintained by using dampening materials such as carpets, thick walls, etc., to enhance the speaker’s performance.
4. Drivers
Drivers, you can say, are the best companions of floor standing speakers as they produce sound via vibrations caused by the speakers to deliver a wide range of sound in an empty room. There are basic 4 types of drivers available in the speakers, but the driver varies from model-to-model and brand-to-brand.
● Tweeters: These are the smallest drivers present at the speaker’s top, good to emit high-pitched voices such as birds chirping. Tweeters can produce sounds of high frequencies ranging from 2000Hz to 30,000Hz. Tweeters are subdivided into four types based on the materials made of Horn, Dome, Planer, Cone.
● Midrange drivers: These are types of tweeters but not the same. These drivers can emit sounds of range from 5000Hz to 2000Hz where human voice and some types of instruments. Some horn tweeters can also serve as midrange drivers as they resonate in a similar frequency range as midrange drivers.
● Woofers: Woofers are the backbone for some floor-standing speakers. They are good for low-pitch sounds such as animal sounds(cats, dogs). These drivers produce lower frequency sounds and have the highest bass response. The frequency range woofers can handle ranges from 40Hz to 1000Hz+. Woofers add heavenly bass to the sound emitted from tower speakers, making them suitable for clubs, homes, and concerts.
● Subwoofers: As the same suggests, subwoofers perform similar functions as woofers. These drivers can handle the lowest frequencies from 20 Hz to 200 Hz. Subwoofers are used with some smaller bookshelf speakers to mimic the sound similar to tower speakers. Thus, these drivers are used in home theatre systems.
5. Speaker Configurations
Floor standing speakers have different configurations, but the three major configurations are listed below. Each of these configurations is classified based on the number of drivers they carry.
● 2-way configuration: The speaker includes 1 tweeter and 1 woofer. They both also fill out the need for a midrange driver. Such speakers are helpful in small rooms and possibly need a subwoofer to manage sound from the bottom ends. These speakers go well with cars, trucks, tiny rooms, desktops, and many more.
● 3-way configuration: This configuration includes 1 tweeter, 1 woofer, and 1 midrange driver. Here, each component minds its own business and works in its dedicated frequency ranges without interfering with the mains. Thus, 2-way speakers are more preferred over 2-way speakers.
● 4-way configuration: 4-way speakers are similar to 3-way speakers with only an addition of 1 super tweeter that amplifies some upper frequency ranges that a regular tweeter cannot handle on its own. Besides a super tweeter, it also includes 1 tweeter, 1 midrange, and 1 woofer. Many professional musicians and audiophiles rely on these speakers to produce excellent sound performance without causing severe vibrations even at high volumes.
Conclusion
Having floor-standing speakers at home can make a lot of difference in your listening experience. You will realize how effective and powerful tower speakers can be compared to bookshelf speakers. However, choosing the perfect floor standing speaker is not simple.
If you think the speaker you have selected has passed all of the above requirements, then you can call yourself a smart buyer. Tower speakers are more expensive than other types of speakers, and you would not want to invest your money in anything.
All of the above considerations are important before making a decision. Choose a speaker with at least 3 to 4 drivers, proper wire terminals, and excellent cabinet construction.
