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Antman said:
This opinion by forum member antman got me thinking again about this very topic, which is best; standmounter or floorstander at a specific price point?
Speaking of price, one should always remember to include the price of stands when buying your first set of standmounters, if you already have a decent set, OK.
For a HT system, floorstanders at the front is probably best. With stereo systems it is probably different.
For entry level stereo systems, I think standmounters are far superior if musicality and any sort of soundstage are required. Or is it?? I remember myself having floorstanders in the beginning (Kef Coda 9.2, Kef Q55, Acoustic Energy AE9). Nowadays I'd do it differently I think, but the argument is not as clear cut apparently.
For midfi systems the choice gets even harder, but I still stick to my opinion on standmounters being better. If you need more low end, get a musical sub like a REL Strata or Storm. Yet something like a B&W 703 standmounter can potentially prove me wrong, not to mention the Sonus Faber Concerto Domus. What you do need when getting these types of floorstanders is a biggish room, they won't sing in a small room.
For 'high-end' (daar 'pop' daai woord alweer uit!!! ;D) systems the standmounters are getting fewer, but there are still some amazing one's. Think of Sonus Faber Extrema's, or some of their later models such as the Elekta Amator, Cremona Auditor, and the memento (perhaps not strictly speaking a standmounter). The Revel Ultima Gem is amazing, only the Extrema?s beat them for me ito standmounters. Here my opinion changes a bit however, mostly because high end floorstanders manage to create a soundstage similar to standmounters, with additional dynamics and extended frequency response. HOWEVER, these ?high-end? floorstander should come with warning labels, stating ?NOT room friendly?. You need space, or at least some form of room treatment to get the best out of these monsters. Standmounters improve with room treatment too, but are generally less fussy about room interactions.
None of these are clear cut, so what do you guys think?
