Bookshelf to Floor Standing for 800 sq.ft. condo

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Pam jost

Enthusiast
I recently posted about replacing my B&W 602s, and was suggested to consider floor standing being that bookshelves on stands take up the same amount of real estate.

However, it's an 800 sq.ft. open concept condo and I can't blast music due to neighbours, and a vital detail to note is that I have to sit within about 6 ft. from the speakers due to the room layout. So should I stick with bookshelves or open up to floor standing? If floor standing seem feasible, any suggestions? Budget is CAD2-3k (I'm in Vancouver, BC).
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
Definitely look at the Paradigm Premier 800Fs, those are outstanding. Also check out the RBH R-55Es and Revel Concerto2 F36s. The Salk Song3 would be great if you can spend a bit more as well.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Agreed. And same recommendations as before.
I sit about 6-7 feet back from my speakers in a 2000'3 room. I like to listen loud, but don't have to in order to enjoy quality sound.

I think more importantly for you, is your space and neighbors: since you can't reasonably employ a subwoofer, consider looking for speakers that will fill in a little lower... 32-35Hz, on the low end... will really fill out the sound. It shouldn't get the cops called on you either! ;)
 
Swerd

Swerd

Audioholic Warlord
Floor standing speakers have an advantage over similar quality bookshelves mainly because their larger cabinets allow deeper and louder bass response. With speakers that share drivers, designers, and overall build quality, this should be the only difference. At lower volumes, I see no reason for floor standing speakers.

Although it's true that floor standing speakers take up no more floor space than bookshelf speakers on stands, I think sitting ~6 feet from the speakers is better with small bookshelf speakers, not floor standers.

What was your experience with your B&W 602s? Are they overpowering when 6 feet away, or could they be played quietly and sound good?
 
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Pam jost

Enthusiast
Thanks everyone. I think the problem is speaker placement. I'll start a new thread...
 
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shkumar4963

Audioholic
I recently posted about replacing my B&W 602s, and was suggested to consider floor standing being that bookshelves on stands take up the same amount of real estate.

However, it's an 800 sq.ft. open concept condo and I can't blast music due to neighbours, and a vital detail to note is that I have to sit within about 6 ft. from the speakers due to the room layout. So should I stick with bookshelves or open up to floor standing? If floor standing seem feasible, any suggestions? Budget is CAD2-3k (I'm in Vancouver, BC).
Sitting 6 ft away, you must buy a book shelf speaker. Here is why...

In a floor standing speaker, the drivers are farther apart and the sound coming out from them does not blend well till a few feet away from the speaker.

There are a few speakers that are better suited for near field listening. They are concentric speakers like those made by Kef and others. Most important is the blending of sound above 500 hz .

Check them out.

By the way, did you consider mounting speakers on the wall to save space?
 
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Pam jost

Enthusiast
Sitting 6 ft away, you must buy a book shelf speaker. Here is why...

In a floor standing speaker, the drivers are farther apart and the sound coming out from them does not blend well till a few feet away from the speaker.

There are a few speakers that are better suited for near field listening. They are concentric speakers like those made by Kef and others. Most important is the blending of sound above 500 hz .

Check them out.

By the way, did you consider mounting speakers on the wall to save space?
I did consider wall mounting, but doesn’t it degrade the sound being mounted by metal and not sitting on a solid surface? Any recommendations?
 
lovinthehd

lovinthehd

Audioholic Jedi
Wall mounting a rear ported speaker can have issues being too close to a wall but a front ported one or sealed one would be better (aside from that may still not be ideal placement in relationship to boundaries). A firm mount that doesn't rattle would be fine....maybe something like this http://www.pinpointmounts.com/AM-40_Side_Clamping_Bookshelf_Speaker_Wall_Mount.html (VideoSecu makes or brands something very similar). I'd only drill into studs for something like that, tho.

ps Are floor stands not a consideration or currently in use?
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
If you use good hardware suitable for your speakers weight, and mount into studs, I think you'd be fine... but positioning is more important as regards to ports and other defration or reflection sources in the room.
 
ryanosaur

ryanosaur

Audioholic Overlord
Wall mounting a rear ported speaker can have issues being too close to a wall but a front ported one or sealed one would be better (aside from that may still not be ideal placement in relationship to boundaries). A firm mount that doesn't rattle would be fine....maybe something like this http://www.pinpointmounts.com/AM-40_Side_Clamping_Bookshelf_Speaker_Wall_Mount.html (VideoSecu makes or brands something very similar). I'd only drill into studs for something like that, tho.

ps Are floor stands not a consideration or currently in use?
Ha! Great minds, Lovin! :)
 
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shkumar4963

Audioholic
I did consider wall mounting, but doesn’t it degrade the sound being mounted by metal and not sitting on a solid surface? Any recommendations?
There are speakers designed for wall mounting like Kef Q100. They have the front port. The sound quality does not degrade because of mounting.

But would they look good? Only you can answer that question.
 
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shadyJ

Speaker of the House
Staff member
There are speakers designed for wall mounting like Kef Q100. They have the front port. The sound quality does not degrade because of mounting.

But would they look good? Only you can answer that question.
Wall-mounting the Q100 absolutely would degrade the sound quality. It will be getting a major boost from boundary gain, and the wall will also contribute a significant amount of diffraction. Just because you can doesn't mean you should.
 
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